Death of a Program

11-7-88

Perspective:

Death of a Program

It was a pretty good week for Cobber sports. Despite some setbacks, the Concordia athletic programs continued to thrive in an environment of success and public interest.

But a little news item out of St. Paul offered a quiet reminder of the flip side of sports. The agony of defeat, if you will.

The College of St. Catherine canceled their women's basketball program. In five years of MIAC competition the "Caties" had a conference record of 5 wins and 101 losses. This fall only five women showed up for practice. And none of those five played last year. Their dedicated third-year coach, Christopher Olley, knew they could not go on that way.

A program dead for lack of interest. Christopher Olley went to St. Cate's committed to build a winner. Or at least respectability. St. Cate's is a Catholic women's college with about 1900 students. It used to be the "sister" college of formerly all-male St. Thomas. But St. Thomas went co-ed in the late 70's and has been a women's basketball power ever since. St. Cate's struggled thereafter.

Christopher used to bring his team to Concordia for annual thrashings and gaze with envy at Lady Cobber players. He recruited year round, went to camps, and courted all the right prospects. No coach in the league worked harder. He developed, quite understandably, a finely honed gallows humor. He became fond of joking, "You guys got women who can hit a 20-foot jump shot and think nothing of it. I got some players who can't throw it that far."

But he also seriously wondered why some programs succeed and some fail. Don't we all.

At high schools and colleges alike, the battle to have a "winner" goes on each day. Coaches in losing programs lament over a perceived lack of administration support, an absence of student interest and the declining desire of our youth to want to be the best they can be. Low self-esteem, selfishness and recriminations poison the air. Losing does that to people.

But just down the road from each of these losing programs, and sometimes just down the hall, are high school and college athletic programs brimming with dedicated student talent. There are proud parents and coaches who see in our youth a vast reservoir of hope and energy. Good feelings and friendships seem to abound. Winning does that to people.

Educational administrators point to their successful athletic teams as a reflection of the institution's campus-wide commitment to excellence and the education of well-rounded students. Administrators with losing athletic teams stress that a lack of excellence in athletics should not be confused with what is going on in the academic arena. And they point out the academic ills that can result from excessive emphasis on athletic success.

The debate between these two groups of administrators, those with winning teams and those with losing teams, always contains a fascinating mix of wisdom and rationalization.

Both groups need to listen to the wisdom in the other's perspective. And good luck Christopher in your next coaching job. Remember, we're with you, win or tie.

These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle pyle@cord.edu. These articles are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Jerry Pyle.

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