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The Role of Intercollegiate AthleticsOp-edPresident Gregory L. Geoffroy Appeared in the Des Moines Register, May 19, 2003 The recent situation involving former Iowa State University men's basketball coach Larry Eustachy was a very difficult one for everyone involved. It threatened Iowa State's reputation as an institution of higher education, and it created stresses among the university's alumni and fans throughout Iowa and the nation. In the end, I believe that the situation was resolved in a way that was fair and reasonable for all. The resolution allows the university to move forward with its men's basketball program, which we have begun doing with the naming of Wayne Morgan as our new coach. It also allows Mr. Eustachy to obtain help for his alcohol problem so that he and his family can move forward with their lives. I want to thank Mr. Eustachy for accepting responsibility, and I wish him and his family well in the future. There were no winners in this situation. However, there do not have to be losers, either, if we turn our attention to rebuilding all that was damaged as a result, healing the divisions that were created, and, most importantly, if we learn from what occurred. The key lesson we, as a university, learned, is to make sure we have our priorities in order and our energies focused on what matters most. Our first and most important responsibility is to fulfill our mission to the people of Iowa as their land-grant university. That means providing the best educational programs possible to students, conducting high-quality research that is relevant to the needs of the people of Iowa, and helping Iowans put this research to use to improve their lives. That's what being a land-grant university means, and we are determined to fulfill this responsibility as well as or better than any land-grant university in the nation. We've always known that intercollegiate athletics can be a powerful positive force in helping us carry out this mission, because of the relationships that it builds and the visibility that it creates for the university. What became particularly clear from our experience over the past month is that it can also be a powerful negative force. This has caused us to look at this issue from a broader perspective and think about the real purpose of an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics program, in particular, the most visible sports in these programs, football and men's basketball. Intercollegiate athletics is a very large and very visible part of the university. It provides learning opportunities for students who are gifted athletically; it adds interest and excitement to the learning environment for our other students; and it builds relationships and support among our alumni and friends. Intercollegiate athletics is also a "window" to the university for many people, both in Iowa and throughout the nation, including the millions of people who follow intercollegiate athletics through the media. It's a tremendously powerful window, presenting its own image of the institution to the public, and affecting the institution's overall perception and reputation. The image of the university created by intercollegiate athletics impacts nearly everything we do, from the recruitment of students and faculty to shaping the opinions of the university in the minds of leaders of our society and the many people that we serve. For all of these reasons, we must ensure that the image of the university that is portrayed by intercollegiate athletics is both positive and reflective of our overall mission. Intercollegiate athletics must build pride in the institution. It must support the university in our recruitment of students, faculty and staff, and in building our reputation as a valuable resource in the minds of the leaders of our society. For this to occur, the people who represent the university through our intercollegiate athletics programs must adhere to the highest standards of ethical behavior, and their behavior must reflect the values of the institution and the state and people we serve. This is especially true for the coaches of these programs, especially the most high-profile ones--football and men's basketball. Like it or not, in our media-driven world, these coaches have become the most visible representatives of the university, not only in Iowa, but nationally---more visible than faculty and university officials. As such, and because of the very high salaries they command, we have a right to expect the absolute highest standards in their behavior and character. They are teachers and role models for students, and they are high-profile public ambassadors for the university. We not only expect such high standards, we must insist on them, and this will be made clear in all future coaches' contracts. As an educational institution, we are held to a higher standard because of the important role we play in preparing students to be the future leaders of our society. The public places a tremendous amount of trust in us because of this role, and we must live up to that trust in everything that we do. President's homepage |
Office of the President, 1750 Beardshear Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (515) 294-2042, president@iastate.edu Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-4111 Published by: University Relations, online@iastate.edu Copyright 1995-2002, Iowa State University. All rights reserved. |