| In a new feature, America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen will address timely topics around the conference and intercollegiate athletics in a Question & Answer format on a quarterly basis at www.AmericaEast.com. |
Chatting With The Commissioner - July 19, 2012
Q: The America East
had one of its best years ever. Can you
reflect back on the 2011-12 season and some of the highlights that stand out to
you?
A: There are
several moments which really stand out to me with the most recent, Stony
Brook's trip to the College World Series, being at the top of the list. Winning the Super Regional at LSU was
monumental for the entire university and the conference. In fact, it is one of the best stories in all
of college athletics over the past year.
Lucy Van Dalen's national championship in the mile at the
NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships was also a special story. It was
Stony Brook's first-ever national championship and third in America East
history. Lucy was also selected as the America East Woman of the Year,
Scholar-Athlete of the Year and she'll be competing for New Zealand in the
Summer Olympics.
We also had great moments in March when the Vermont men's
basketball team won the conference championship, defeated Lamar in the NCAA tournament
four days later and then put on a gutsy performance against North
Carolina. On the women's side, it was fun
to watch the UAlbany women's basketball team win its first-ever conference
title and play tough against the defending national champion in the NCAA
tournament. Seven basketball teams --
three men's and four women's -- played in a postseason tournament, more than
we've ever had before.
The field hockey teams, collectively, had an incredible
season, moving up to third in the NCAA conference RPI behind only the ACC and
Big Ten. America East has become the premier field hockey conference in the
Northeast, ranking above both the Big East and CAA and finishing the season
with four teams in the top-20 national poll.
Finally, the America East had the third highest overall
conference APR for the 2010-11 academic year, behind just the Ivy League and
Patriot League of all 31 Division I conferences. This is a remarkable accomplishment for our
student-athletes who take great pride in their academic success.
Overall, the success America East teams and student-athletes
had this year is a true testament to the broad-based athletic mission we have
for the conference and it was one of the league's finest years ever.
Q: Did your first
year as commissioner go as expected?
A: Whenever you
start a new job, it's a whirlwind of activity as you learn about the
organization and how it operates. That's
certainly been true in my first year.
When I started in November, we had just begun our fall conference
championships so everyone and everything was in high gear and it hasn't stopped
yet. Having worked for the conference
before, I was familiar with many faces and places which certainly made the
transition a bit smoother. That said,
much has changed in the 5 ½ years since I left so there is still much to
learn. My approach was to begin with an
open mind, open eyes and open ears as I visited with our presidents, athletics
directors and other administrators on my initial tour around the league. Over the past several months, it's clear to
me that our membership is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to move the
conference forward. There have been some
pretty honest conversations reflecting upon our successes, what works, what does
not, how we can all hold each other more accountable and what it truly takes to
improve the conference's position and change the expectations we have for
ourselves. The primary objective for my
first year was to re-engage our membership...to re-establish a sense of trust,
transparency, honesty and collegiality in our conference's culture. I believe we've made great progress in that
regard over the past several months. We
have tremendous experience among our athletics directors, other administrators
and our conference staff and I believe we're heading in the right direction.
Q: What were some of
the key takeaways coming out of the Annual Meetings last month?
A: We had very
productive meetings in June. The
dialogue was positive as we continued our ongoing discussion about how to move
the
league forward. We made decisions to
eliminate some policies implemented a few years ago as it became clear there
was no longer support or data-based reasons to continue them. In regard to the future, we will continue to
be more aggressive in our use of digital platforms and promotion of our
league's success in both academics and athletics. Finally, our presidents are more engaged than
ever and are committed to advancing the conference. It's exciting to see the energy within the
league right now and, despite losing a member, the remaining members are
focused on the future.
Q: Can you talk about
Boston University's announcement to withdraw from the conference and how that
will affect the way the conference operates this upcoming year and beyond?
A: It was
certainly disappointing to learn the news as they've been a league member for over
30 years. Obviously, this presents an
unfortunate circumstance for everyone involved, but I recognize that each
institution needs to do what it believes is in its best interests. Similarly, the conference needs to do what it
believes is in its best interests. Given
that 23 of 31 conferences have seen membership changes in the last two years,
we're certainly not unique or immune from the anxiousness regarding conference
affiliation that has spread across Division I.
One issue that's attracted attention in the BU community is
the conference rule that prohibits institutions who withdraw from participating
in conference championships. To clarify
a few things, this rule has been around for several years and all nine of our members
were part of the discussions to adopt the rule.
The rule applies to any institution that announces its intent to
withdraw; therefore, it was not made specific to BU. All of our schools are aware of the rules
applicable in this situation.
Specifically, they know there is a time period for notice, an exit fee
if that time period is not met and ineligibility for championships. Therefore, any school that contemplates
withdrawal knows that its student-athletes will be ineligible for conference
championships. Neither the presidents of
the remaining schools nor I can speak to how BU's administration reconciled
this consequence in its decision-making process...that's a question that should
be directed to them. Our members simply
applied the rules in place and that's precisely how governance is intended to
work - rules are adopted by the membership and applied to all. If rules aren't applied, there is no reason
to have them.
The bottom line is that all of our schools know the rule and
its impact. We all make decisions every
day for which we must accept responsibility, even if there are unfavorable
consequences. This situation is no
different. A decision was made by an
institution with the consequences known in advance. It's not the duty of the remaining schools to
relieve an institution's responsibility for its decision.
So, we're all moving on.
We expect everyone associated with all nine schools to act in a
professional and respectful manner in the coming year. While it's naïve to suggest there won't be
tension at points, we expect all administrators, coaches, student-athletes and
fans to remember who they represent and to do so in a positive manner.
The remaining schools are committed to moving forward
together. There are obviously issues
that we'll discuss regarding our league's future, but as I said previously,
there is engagement by our members and we're heading in a forward direction.
Q: What's the best
part of being commissioner of the America East?
A: This is truly a
great conference with which to be associated.
While it's been a whirlwind so far, I've enjoyed it immensely. In any job, it's the people with whom you
work that determine your experience and chance for success. I work with a lot of people, both in our office
and across our schools, and can say that everyone adds value to the conference
in some way, which means we're well-positioned to accomplish great things. More importantly, though, there are quality
individuals on every campus and in our office which makes it easy to spend
hours in the office, on the road, on the phone, in meetings and at events
working on behalf of such great people.
To be sure, there are challenges we have to overcome and the
changing landscape of college athletics presents many unknowns, but we're
prepared to move forward. The past year
was one of the best ever for the America East and there is no reason to think
that won't continue.