Another iteration of March Madness is in the books. Kudos to last night's newly anointed champions, and kudos to the rest of the basketball powerhouses and their fat T.V. contracts. The players, with their free education, benefit too, of course.
And there are also the underdogs, the yearly cinderellas everyone falls head over heels for. Nine-seed Wichita State was in town for the Final Four. Bonus points if you can tell me which state they are in. Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) dunked their way to the Sweet 16 and onto the national stage.
Harvard, for once not the top dog, won their first-ever NCAA tournament win.
On the basis of their basketball teams, these three schools reaped plenty of benefits, both tangible and intangible. In other words, March was a good month.
There's the cold hard cash the teams receive from T.V. contracts. Less tangible, but arguably more important, is the publicity value, as winning teams and cinderellas make for good copy. (Butler University [In.], in a study commissioned by their athletic program, did put a precise number on the publicity value of their 2010 NCAA Championship bid: $639,273,881.82).
To point out the obvious, publicity equals a higher profile. Even less tangible, but no less important, is the effect a Cinderella-run has on the home school. School spirit is fomented, not just among the kids currently enrolled, but among the (income-earning) alumni.
If you are keeping count, a successful tourney run generates profit, increases a school's popularity and adds excitement to the school's community, among other things.
Given the many many incentives, a successful Division I basketball program can have, it begs the question: should Emory position its basketball team to compete in Division I and pursue the potential glory and riches that await?
This is not to denigrate Emory's current Division III basketball program, or the strong athletic program as a whole. The Eagles work hard to be the best they can be at their level, of this there is no doubt.
Rather, the question is should the Eagles, specifically the basketball program, aim for a higher level?
First off, it is more or less impossible for Emory to do so. According to Athletic Director Tim Downes, schools can be multi-divisonal and Divison III programs can have one Division I sport. However, athletics scholarships are not offered at the Division III level and this extends to programs that have one Division I sport. (There are certain multi-divisional exceptions, but usually those schools have single Division I programs, which have been grandfathered in.) The process is also cumbersome.
"It is timely and it's expensive," Downes said. There are certain facility requirements and the issue of finding a conference to join, Downes added.
And there is no indication Emory will alter its athletic course any time soon.
"I've received [Division I] inquires, I think its natural," Downes said. "Institutionally we look like a Division I school. However, we've never had any serious conversations."
Nonetheless, though the possibility of seeing Emory dance in March is very dim at best, the topic is worth exploring because, well, other schools are doing it. More specifically, Harvard.
FGCU's tournament success this year comes 16 years after graduating its first student.
In short, FGCU has concentrated on beefing up its athletics program as a means to establish itself and grow. To be frank, FCGU is famous because of its basketball team. Their circumstance, for obvious reasons, does not apply to Emory. But what Harvard is doing serves as a better comparison.
President Wagner has often articulated the goal to make Emory a "destination school," though his actions this past year might suggest otherwise. Harvard is as "destined" as a school can be and they, like FGCU, are making moves.
Their reputed smarts proceed them. Read Jack McCluskey's ESPN post on Harvard's first NCAA tournament victory or Bloomberg sports columnist Jonathan Mahler's piece – that win was no fluke.
This year's first postseason win was not due to some sort of Crimson moxie, it was the result of a calculated commitment to the basketball program. As McCluskey notes, Harvard hired Tommy Amaker as their head coach in the spring of 2007 after he was fired by Michigan. Amaker cut his teeth as a player and then as an assistant coach at Duke, as part of Coach K's basketball factory. In other words, Harvard brought in a man straight from the Division I heavyweights, well versed in not just basketball but, more importantly, recruiting. (Amaker lucked into Jeremy Lin, who was already at Harvard when Amaker came on board. Then again, everyone lucked into Jeremy Lin.)
The point is, Harvard is implementing a plan, a plan which requires extensive resources.
Yeah Harvard is dedicated to excellence, but only a fool would believe that them wading into the expensive trenches of college basketball is purely out of dedication.
This is a calculated move: the Harvard bigwigs calling the shots believe investing in basketball is justified.
In simpler terms, it is worth it. Trying to conclude exactly how so is speculative, but the incentives are clear. More telling is a school with Harvard's cache and hegemony is doing so. Emory also has resources. We have a $5.4 billion endowment. (At least that's what the tour guides preach.)
How much "belongs" to the College, especially in contrast to the Hospital, is another issue. And a big endowment does not necessarily mean the hard cash that is needed to fund and build a top flight Division I caliber program is available. And that's assuming hard cash will lead to basketball success. My overall point is that Emory has pretty considerable capabilities.
Let's be serious, a significant chunk of Emory's regular season athletics schedule is against regional liberal arts schools; Emory's student body number and financial heft dwarfs many of its opponents. (There are exceptions of course, most notably the formidable swimming program which faces off against Division I programs on the regular.) Emory is already peculiar for not fielding a football team.
We go to school in Atlanta, but this is still Georgia. Georgia Tech is a 15-minute drive away. And in times when storied football programs are being shut down, neighboring Georgia State University recently started a football program. Also, did you see how much that new Falcons stadium will cost the public? ($200 million.) But then again, I think it's safe to conclude Emory is not a southern school.
In fact, the University Athletics Association, Emory's Division III sports conference, is relatively new, having been founded in 1986. Before then, Emory forewent varsity athletics and focused on physical education and recreational activities. So Emory's athletics program is relatively young.
"Athletics is the front porch to your house. It does bring in more applications, it does attract students," basketball Head Coach Jason Zimmerman said. "People know FGC because of what happened in the last two weeks. Is that right? It comes back to the commitment. What is your philosophy? Our mission is excellence in the classroom, excellence in the field."
Zimmerman and Downes both emphasized that athletics should reflect the school's philosophy. The UAA is comprised of similar schools, (as opposed to being based on geography like most Division III conferences), such as research universities who want to compete in athletics.
"I feel very strongly that the NCAA needs places like Emory," Downes said. "Talk about the scholar-athlete, it's real here. Our primary focus is developing students and using athletics to develop students. Higher education needs places like Emory to justify student athletics."
Certainly, for all the glamour and gold, student development is not a top priority for many pure Division I schools. And we haven't even gotten started on football. That is not to say Division I is non-academic, just like it is untrue that Division III is not non-competitive.
But without a doubt, things can get pretty ugly at the most competitive level: recruiting scandals, grade scandals and other skullduggery.
At the highest competitive level it is difficult not to compromise standards, notably with respect to recruiting.
"Now if you admit student athletes who can't handle the academic rigor of your school, you're going to have problems," Zimmerman said. "Between getting the most talented athlete you can get and the athletes who can make it at your school academically, I think there's a fine balance there."
It's all about finding the right person, which is hard work. Though it is not impossible to run a clean, principled and successful Division I basketball program, there are schools which do so. It seems that Emory is content with staying in its niche for the foreseeable future.
Yes, the benefits of the Division I NCAA tournament are clear, but Emory will not participate. Anticlimactic? Admittedly, and selfishly, yes.
– By Vincent Xu
Photo by Christine Hines
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