Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009

A letter from Dr. George S. Bridges, president of Whitman College

To Members of the Whitman Community:

Recently, I informed you about Whitman’s response to the country’s economic downturn and measures advanced in the 2009-2010 budget. Like many other institutions, private and public, we have examined every area of the College budget in order to sustain and strengthen core programs while also identifying significant cost savings. I write today about actions we are taking to reallocate resources and reduce expenditures in varsity sports.

Background

Since I became president, the Trustees and I have sought to strengthen our athletic programs with the goal of achieving an increased level of excellence that enriches the competitive experience of our students and the reputation of the College. Thanks to generous donors and previous incremental increases in operating budgets, we have significantly strengthened leadership in the Department of Sports Studies, Recreation and Athletics (SSRA) and provided additional resources for team travel, hiring assistant coaches, and enhancing other aspects of varsity athletics. However, the recent economic downturn and reductions in budgets preclude us from providing athletic experiences of the competitiveness and quality we desire for students at Whitman.

SSRA and Skiing

Skiing has a distinguished history at Whitman. Over time, the squad has competed at both the club and NCAA sanctioned level—enjoying success at the club level with regularity. The Nordic team’s recent success at the USCSA championships is particularly noteworthy and represents an accomplishment that makes us enormously proud. Our skiers and their coaches, this year and through many generations, have performed very well.

In the fall of 2006, Whitman commissioned a review of SSRA (with reviewers from Pomona, Colorado College and Whitman) and examined possible approaches that the College could take to improve its athletic teams. Among the issues raised in the review was whether Whitman should retain skiing as an NCAA sanctioned sport. Despite not reaching consensus on skiing, the reviewers noted that practices and competitions were geographically separated from campus, skiing was not a conference sport, and that the demands of travel increased the likelihood that students missed classes (Review Report, p. 7).

In light of the current economic downturn, Provost and Dean of Faculty Lori Bettison-Varga, Athletics Director Dean Snider and I have discussed at length how SSRA will meet its dual responsibilities of strengthening its programs while also reducing expenses. We have concluded that skiing must convert to a club-level sport (as it was in the 1980s), leave NCAA sanctioned skiing competition and compete as part of the Northwest Conference of United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) where Whitman skiers have excelled (quite recently and in the past).

I have consulted the Board of Trustees on this matter and expect that skiing will become part of our club sports programs in the 2009-2010 academic year. Some resources supporting our current ski teams will be re-allocated within SSRA to meet pressing budgetary needs and to ease the transition to club sport status. Our coaches and the student-athletes currently competing on the teams were told of this yesterday. The Trustees will finalize action on this matter by April 10, 2009.

Given the long history of skiing at Whitman, I anticipate that you may wish further explanation for the rationale behind this recommendation. There are significant challenges associated with maintaining alpine and Nordic ski teams at the varsity level. Among the reasons for converting skiing to a club-level sport are the following:

• Student Experience: There are only eight other NCAA ski programs at colleges and universities in the West, all of which offer athletic scholarships. Despite tremendous efforts in recruiting and coaching, Whitman’s recent transition to NCAA competition in skiing has been more difficult than anticipated or desired. The challenge of competing in the Western Region has been extraordinary; many of the competitors in the region are attending universities on full scholarships and are recruited internationally. Our skiers and coaches have acquitted themselves well, even under these circumstances.
   
  Yet becoming truly competitive against these schools is unrealistic and not necessarily desirable. Doing so would require a permanent infusion of new resources and athletic scholarships to recruit and retain some of the most capable collegiate skiers from the U.S. and other countries. Making this commitment would require resources that Whitman doesn’t have and a philosophical shift that we are unwilling to make. And it would conflict directly with mission of Division III athletic programs – the level at which all of our other varsity sports compete.
   
  Over many years, Whitman skiing has experienced the greatest success when competing with other teams in the Northwest Conference and in national championships of the USCSA. By withdrawing from NCAA sponsored competition and shifting solely to USCSA competition, I believe our students will experience more success athletically and, by virtue of limiting their travel to competitions with Northwest colleges and universities, more opportunities to participate in on-campus programs at Whitman.
   
• Financial: For more than a decade, Whitman has invested not only its skiing budget, but also provided the team with 95% – 100% of the national travel budget for all varsity sports. The per-student cost of the ski program is $5,625 (excluding staff salaries). This is more than twice the per-student cost of the next highest program, basketball ($2,600/student – also excluding salaries).
   
  Despite this level of funding, our budget for skiing is hardly adequate. With increasing travel costs and NCAA competitions that require multiple flights outside of the Northwest each year, our teams will require more support simply to participate in races needed to qualify for NCAA sanctioned championships. Further, the training equipment, apparel and uniforms that are routinely provided to student-athletes in other sports are already difficult to fund.
   
  In these economic times, we cannot justify augmenting or even sustaining the current ski budget while adequately supporting our other athletic teams, and maintaining the SSRA travel budget for competing in NCAA sanctioned sports.
   
  After re-allocating $40,000 to support travel for our remaining teams, the conversion of skiing to a club sport will result in approximately $200,000 in annual savings.

I also anticipate that some may wish to discuss the rationale for these changes or to voice their concerns about skiing in person. I invite you to meet with Dean Snider and me in the Maxey Hall Auditorium either on:

• Wednesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. or
• Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m.

Alternatively, you may direct written comments to me at president@whitman.edu.

Plan for the Future

Change such as this is neither easy nor comfortable. Whereas aspects of our athletic program will benefit from the resulting re-allocation of resources, our ski coaches must move on to new positions elsewhere and our skiers must decide whether to join our alpine, Nordic and snowboard club teams in USCSA, www.uscsa.com, an association that boasts competition both in our region and nationally and in which we expect Whitman skiers and snowboarders to compete successfully. We will actively support our coaches and our skiers through this transition as we do all staff members and students facing these types of circumstances.

Thank you for being patient as we continue to strengthen Whitman athletics strategically while also adapting to the steep and unanticipated decline in Whitman’s resources. I continue to value your suggestions and support as we move forward. I fully expect that skiing, like many of our outstanding club teams, will remain a vital and successful part of Whitman athletics long into the future.

Sincerely,

George S. Bridges