January 5, 2006
Athletics leadership is focus of new program
Jim Antony gets pretty excited when he talks about the new Masters Program in Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership, to be offered by the College of Education starting this summer.
And no wonder — Antony’s the program’s founder and executive director. And clearly, he thinks it’s a great idea happening at just the right place and time.
Antony, an amiable and high-energy fellow, said there are other similar programs nationwide, “but few have a focus on intercollegiate athletics.”
The new Masters of Education in Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership will be a 12-month program designed to teach students the leadership and business skills they would need to hold leadership and administrative positions in higher education, or within an athletics department. The program will link with faculty members from the College of Education, the School of Business, the Information School, the Evans School of Public Affairs and administrators from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
It’s not a degree in coaching, Antony stressed. “There’s no P.E., no kinesiology. This is a leadership-oriented program.” It’s designed to build student skills in a number of what Antony terms “core competencies” that apply to athletics administration and oversight. These areas will include National Collegiate Athletic Association compliance, the ethical and moral implications of college athletics, budget, financial, marketing and advertising skills, and the understanding and application of technology systems as they relate to athletics administration.
There won’t be many who strictly aspire to be coaches among the students, he said, but the degree might fit for a coach (or any other person with a college athletics background) interested in becoming an athletic director or a stronger administrator in college athletics, he said. “I believe this will give them the skills to go for that next promotion.”
Antony likes to tell how it all got started: “We have this critical mass of master’s students coming into our higher education program, telling us they want to work in a college or university setting, as administrators, but they want to be administrators in the field of athletics.” He and others got to thinking about designing such a program a couple of years back, he said. “We gained some real momentum with the arrival of (new athletic director) Todd Turner and President Mark Emmert. They were intrigued from the start.
“So about 15 months ago I spoke to Dean Pat Wasley and Vice Provost Dave Szatmary and made a pitch. I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this crazy idea,’ and they were gangbusters about it.”
Still, it’s worth asking: Is such a program right for a university just healing from athletic department scandals? Certainly, Antony said. Since the arrival of Turner and President Emmert, reforms have come to athletics at the UW. “Because (Turner) is there, we feel the UW is in an excellent position to launch a natural conversation about how to run an athletics department, and the development of leaders who appreciate the role athletics plays within the larger role of the University. Also, this president has proved himself; he has repositioned the athletics reporting lines at the UW, giving greater accountability.”
Antony added, “We benefit greatly by relations with the Athletic Department. It is important to remember that, despite the scandals, lots of really excellent things have been going on in athletics for many years. But — this is an academic program. And the UW has an impeccable academic record. This new program benefits from that record, and just happens to be connected with athletics.”
An advisory board has already been formed for the program, Antony said, which includes most of Seattle’s professional sports CEOs, two past presidents of the NCAA, the PAC 10 commissioner and athletic directors from such places as Stanford, Berkeley, Arizona and Notre Dame.
“It was amazing how willing they were to serve,” he said. “The three questions we asked were: 1. Are we crazy to launch this program? 2. What will be the structure of the program and, 3. If you hire a graduate, what skills do you want them to demonstrate?” Board members helped map out the core competencies that will be the foundation of the curriculum, he said.
Turner himself offered praise for the new program: “As a product of the master’s program in sports administration at Ohio University, I know the value of a focused education in administering athletics in higher education. I am excited that the University of Washington will now offer an opportunity, and I am proud to be involved at its creation.”
Tom Hansen, PAC 10 commissioner and a member of the program’s governing board, said, “It is appropriate that an institution of the stature of the University of Washington has initiated this bold and creative program to teach and advocate leadership skills for intercollegiate athletics administrators. This is a pioneering enterprise which will be of considerable benefit to these individuals and the institutions which they all serve.”
Sara Lopez, a nationally respected leader in sports and higher education administration, has already been hired as the program’s administrator, and between now and June the faculty will finalize course content. Antony said the plan is to teach “out of the box,” with active student participation and mentoring by professionals. Instead of a thesis, he said, students will submit a professional portfolio at the end of their study, “showing their ability in each of the core competencies.”
Antony, who tends to neatly number points as he speaks, said he has high hopes for the program in years to come. “My ambition, my hope, is that within three to five years this program has a national presence that allows us to: 1. Start talking about an undergraduate minor in athletic leadership and, 2. form a national research center on the study of intercollegiate athletics issues.”
Summing up, he said, “We’d like to train leaders who understand that athletics is one small part of what a university is about.”
For more information: Visit online at http://www.ial.washington.edu.
Additional comments about the program, gathered by Jim Antony:
- “It is appropriate that an institution of the stature of the University of Washington has initiated this bold and creative program to teach and advocate leadership skills for intercollegiate athletics administrators. This is a pioneering enterprise which will be of considerable benefit to these individuals and the institutions which they will serve.” — Tom Hansen, commissioner, Pacific-10 Conference.
- “This is a tremendous opportunity for anyone with a passion for Athletic Administration. The leadership skills and experiences learned in this program will be second to none. The University of Washington has put together a world class staff to administer this great program.” — Jim Livengood, director of athletics, University of Arizona.
- “The Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership Program at the University of Washington is a much needed program for those individuals that wish to pursue a career in collegiate sports. The Program is designed to prepare individuals to administer and lead in the ever changing and exciting world of collegiate athletics.” — Cary Groth, director of athletics, University of Nevada, Reno.
- “I am really excited about this master’s program; because, unlike other programs, this one truly prepares someone interested in Athletic Administration. The curriculum addresses all of the tough, yet necessary issues that athletic directors face daily.” — Judy Rose, director of athletics, University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
