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ALUMNI CORNER

Making Athletics a Priority

By Brian Krisberg ’81
First Vice President, Columbia College Alumni Association

For decades, Columbia and its intercollegiate athletics program have had a less than satisfying relationship. The University acknowledges the place of athletics at a great research university; indeed, Columbia participates in 29 intercollegiate sports and spends millions of dollars on the department each year. The results indicate, however, that the University simply has not demonstrated the same commitment to quality and excellence in intercollegiate athletics that it gives to the academic experience.

With the arrival of President Lee C. Bollinger in 2002 and Director of Athletics M. Dianne Murphy in November 2004, the University is beginning to address in a serious and methodical manner the issues and problems that have caused the department to underperform for so many years. By any measure, there is only one direction Columbia can go in intercollegiate athletics overall, and that is up. In the past decade, Columbia has won the fewest Ivy sports championships. In the same period, Columbia ranks last in its overall Ivy League finish ranking measured separately across 11 men’s core sports and 12 women’s core sports. On the women’s side, Columbia isn’t even close to seventh place.

None of this is meant to take away from the success achieved during this period by individual teams such as fencing, tennis, lightweight crew and women’s cross-country, or individual athletes such as Cristina Teuscher ’00 or Caroline Bierbaum ’06.

Why, you might wonder, has broader success in intercollegiate athletics not been achieved? Athletics has consistently been put aside at Columbia in favor of other priorities deemed more pressing. These priorities included the 1970s focus on “quality of life” issues (such as fixing dormitories and dining halls), the 1980s focus on implementing coeducation and improving alumni relations and admissions and the 1990s focus on strengthening the Core Curriculum, renovating the College Library and Hamilton Hall and improving student life (including construction of Alfred Lerner Hall, the student center).

"Success in athletics is a priority for this president."

When Bollinger arrived at Columbia, he realized immediately that bold action was needed and authorized then-Athletics Director John Reeves to replace the head men’s football and basketball coaches. The arrival in 2003 of Bob Shoop and Joe Jones, young, energetic assistants from major Division I programs, was a signal to the Columbia community that success in athletics is a priority for this president. Following Reeves’ retirement, Bollinger embarked on a national search for his successor, further evidence that he wants the athletics department to occupy a different place in the Columbia community going forward.

Murphy came to Columbia from the University of Denver, where she oversaw tremendous success in men’s ice hockey, as evidenced by a national championship, and where she led the elevation of the athletics program to Division I status. She would not have come to Columbia without a structural change in reporting relationships whereby she reports directly to the president (previously, the athletics director reported to the provost). Murphy participates with upper-level University administrators in meetings and strategy sessions that her predecessors did not attend. Her charge is to bring fundamental change in the culture of the athletics department.

Since Murphy’s arrival, the department has rewritten its mission and value statements and has prepared for University trustees a confidential, detailed strategic plan that provides a comparison, both qualitative and quantitative, to peer institutions, and identifies areas for improvement. The priorities for the new leadership in the department are organized around achieving excellence in three areas: intercollegiate athletics, gender-equity and recreational athletics. Within each of these priorities, the department has identified things it needs to do in the areas of “people, places and programs,” as Murphy likes to say.

In the short term, the athletics department is focusing on the retention of student-athletes in intercollegiate programs and renovation of athletic facilities. Retention will be achieved by improving class scheduling for student-athletes and reducing the intense competition for Columbia’s limited facilities. Too often Columbia’s teams are forced to practice without a full complement of players or at very inconvenient times. Renovation will boost Columbia’s ability to compete effectively for recruited student-athletes.

Murphy says, privately and publicly, that the athletics department needs to be managed more like a business with accountability, targets and measured outcomes. The coaches are participating in workshops where they work on recruiting techniques, mentoring and leadership, and are being offered more opportunities for professional development. The department will focus on hiring quality individuals, keeping them in the department and raising overall morale.

For students, parents, alumni and administrators who follow Columbia’s intercollegiate athletics programs, there is reason to believe that athletics will be a higher priority in years to come. The new leadership has a positive and refreshing attitude, recognizing that the current state of affairs is not working and seeing this as an opportunity for change. Clearly, this is a long-term proposition that will require many years and a continuing commitment on the part of the University, especially in the area of facilities, where Columbia lags well behind its peers. With increased resources, an environment conducive to better results and a focused vision from the top, Columbia’s performance in intercollegiate athletics should rise and become a source of pride to match the experience students receive in the classroom.

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