Statement from Union
College President Roger Hull on
NCAA Proposal 65
Jan. 12, 2004 — Union College President Roger Hull today spoke out against
an NCAA measure that allows eight Division III colleges and universities to continue
to offer athletic scholarships in a Division I sport.
Ultimately, the NCAA members voted to permit such
scholarships.
Hull, who said
he “wrestled with the decision until the last possible moment,” voted against
the measure at the NCAA convention in Nashville, Tenn.
“I have great respect
for those presidents and their institutions, but ultimately I had to do what I thought was right,” he said. “For me, the vote came down to a question of conscience
over collegiality.”
“I am philosophically opposed to treating a group of men or
women differently from any other athlete or non-athlete on a campus like ours,”
he said.
Hull said he had
earlier told one of the presidents of the eight institutions that he would
abstain and not speak against the proposal unless someone said the amendment
was needed in order to be competitive. At a luncheon of presidents at the
conference yesterday, two presidents referred to the need for scholarships to
be competitive.
“We may not win as many games as some of the institutions in
our conference, but we are competitive every time we get on the ice,” Hull
said. “I am proud of the way that our hockey players represent this institution
and I am proud of the fact that some of them have been among our best students.
“I have always said to the people with whom I work that no
matter what stance we take in a job like this, we will be criticized and that
we should therefore always do what we believe in.
“For me, doing what I believe in means saying that athletic scholarships
do not belong on a campus like ours.”
Union does not offer any athletic
scholarships, despite playing in Division I leagues in men's and women's ice
hockey. The College's other 23 sports are at the Division III level. Union is
the only Division III institution playing hockey at Division I without athletic
scholarships.