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WCU Athletics Committee

Meeting of 25 April 2008

 

Present: Swanger, Menickelli, Wilfong, Cipriano, Cooper, Causby, Smith, Brown, Knotts, Cantler, Mayo, and Abel.

 

Not Present: Grube, Wooten, Beaudet, Mickelsson, Walker, McCoy, Boan

 

Meeting called to order at 1205 in the UC Rogers Room.

 

I. Approval of Minutes – The minutes from the February 8, 2008 and April 11, 2008 meetings were approved

 

II. Old Business

  • Justin Menickelli provided a summarization of the past year’s actions of the Athletics Committee to include the topics of preferred registration, the subcommittee on Academic Support Services report, APR presentation and overview, and the statistic that there had been one appeal meeting held.

 

III. New Business

  • Coach Wagner (new Head Football Coach) provided an overview of the current status of the football program and answered questions from the committee. Topics included:
  • Welcome and introduction
  • Statement that the support structure provided by the university and in particular faculty and staff for the football program had been excellent.
  • 22 student-athletes were signed to athletic scholarships this past February with 12 from North Carolina. Coach Wagner indicated that North Carolina will remain an emphasis in recruiting.
  • The new staff is working to change the culture of the football team and have adopted a pyramid approach to success that is designed to promote teamwork, participant buy-in, and maximum excellence.
  • The spring football period went very well with over 2,000 in attendance at the spring game.
  • A goal of the football program will be to have at least 50 to 60 student athletes remain on campus for the summer in order to better prepare themselves both academically and athletically.
  • Members of the football team have been participating in a great deal of community service to include highway cleanup, community reading programs, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and general community public relations.
  • In regards to this season’s expectations, Coach Wagner expects that the team will be disciplined, consistent and fundamentally sound.
  • Key program and athletic needs identified by Coach Wagner include an improved academic study area to include updated/additional computers and refurbishment to provide an aesthetically pleasing presentation for student-athletes, recruits, and parents.
  • Academic Support Services Report: A full copy of the Athletics Committee Subcommittee on Academic Support Services for Student Athletes Report 2007-2008 (attached) was provided to members of the committee for review and discussion. Key recommendations from the report were: 1) improve the computer facilities in the Jordan-Phillips Fieldhouse facility; 2) Consider the feasibility of adding another full-time staff member; and 3) Recommend that the SASS work with the Assessment Office to create an outcomes based assessment. A review of the report by the overall committee ensued with the following recommendations and discussions coming forth:
  • A proposal for next years Athletics Committee would be to make a formal recommendation regarding computer lab access for student athletes, computer availability, etc. This would be a focused item for next year’s committee and it was recommended that Bil Stahl be asked to meet with the committee during the first meeting next year to discuss these issues.
  • Chip Smith shared that support staff for athletic advising has been reduced from one full-time position to one ½-time position. Currently, there is a strong need for at least one full-time position to oversee special eligibility requirements and guidelines that are not required for regular students. A recommendation was made by the members of the Athletics Committee to support the designation of a full-time academic advisor position for Athletics.
  • In regards to creating an outcomes based assessment, it was shared that much of the data that would be needed for assessment purposes is already being collected so assessment programs could be implemented relatively easily.

 

IV. This was the final meeting for the 2007-2008 academic year. The next meeting will take place Fall, 2008.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Cory Causby