The Bottom Line
IN intercollegiate athletics the successes of a few teams tend to overshadow a school's overall athletic program. The reverse is also true. Brown University, for example, has for years compiled a top won-and-lost record in all sports while, until recently, the Bruin football team was a consistent loser. Because of its football failure, Brown was unfairly criticized as having a terrible athletic program. Dartmouth has enjoyed much fanfare over the last two decades from its success on the football field. "We had a good record in football but were bad in everything else," says Seaver Peters '54, the director of athletics. That is no longer true judging from the Cinderella year just completed by Dartmouth teams.
The Big Green football team won the Ivy League championship for the first time since 1973. The soccer team advanced to the regional NCAA playoffs. The hockey team won the Ivy League title and ended up third in national rankings. The basketball team's 14-12 record was the second best for Dartmouth in 19 years. The swimming team, disappointing during the dual meet season, peaked at the right time to finish fourth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Swim League championships: The lacrosse team (see story below) came within a whisker of tying for the Ivy League lacrosse championship, an elusive goal since 1965. The track team had some top individual performers, especially in the weight events. The golf team, produced a good record again (7-2), and last month the men's heavyweight crew took third place in the Eastern Sprints, its best finish ever.
The women's teams were also successful. The field hockey team finished second in the East and advanced to the quarterfinals of the national championships. The basketball team won its own and Manhattanville tournaments and might have won the Ivy League title had it not lost its star center to injuries. The ice hockey and gymnastic teams finished third in the league. The lacrosse team captured fourth place at the New England tournament. The crew finished second in the women's Sprints. And, yes, the women's squash team finished with a 9-3 record.
"I think the reason for the good year is that we had as good a coaching staff, in toto, as we've ever had here," says Peters. "Of course, you have to give credit, too, to the undergraduates, but it was the coaches who recruited them here." A lot of the credit should go to Peters because he's the person who's been hiring the coaches during his 12 years as athletic director. "The most important thing I do is hire people, and I've certainly had enough experience doing it," he says with a chuckle. "I was thinking that the year we would like to emulate is 1958-59, when we won the football, basketball, and hockey championships. This year we came as close to it as we have in a long, long time."
Peters was particularly buoyed by the success of the hockey team. "It was an amazing accomplishment; it was better than anyone dared hope," the 1953-54 Dartmouth hockey captain says of the team's second-place finish in the ECAC tournament and its third place showing in the NCAA tournament. Peters recounts a chat he had with hockey coach George Crowe, who was named national coach-of-the-year in a post-season poll conducted by The Hockey News. "George was tickled to death with the season," Peters says, "but after the glow had worn off he came to the realization that a coach can't control the destiny of his team. There's no great security after a successful season. Will the fans expect you to win it every year? What if the team goes 12 and 14. People are going to say 'What happened?' We'll only lose three forwards next season. But success doesn't necessarily breed success."
As for the general sports outlook, Peters feels Dartmouth's commitment to athletics, although substantial, is on the decline. "We've taken more than our share of budget reductions over the past five years," he explains. "Most of the departments can't say that. Some years ago, Dean Carroll Brewster said intercollegiate athletics shouldn't be dictated by the bottom line; but they are now dictated by the bottom line."
Peters' predicament is caused primarily by the explosion of women's athletics at the College. He comments that "Peters, the DCAC, the Trustees, and the outside consulting
firm — we all underestimated the impact of coeducation on the athletic program and the facilities. We didn't see the interest in women's athletics and the pressure on our facilities. The growth of women's athletics has been dramatic. We've gone from zero to where we are now in just seven years, and we're still growing. Next year, for example, we'll offer full financial support for women's soccer and ice hockey. It's a desire to expand the program and it's also a legal requirement through Title IX." Title IX is the federal law requiring equal athletic programs and facilities for women. The law has accelerated the women's program, but it has caused budgetary problems for the DCAC.
The College has given the DCAC a special injection of $1OO,OOO to be in compliance with Title IX for women's athleticsnext year. The budget committee for the College also told the DCAC to cut its net expense budget by $55,000 for 1979-80. The special injection declines to $67,000 in 1980-81, to $33,000 in 1981-82, and it disappears in 1982-83. The committee said in its recommendation: "To not provide a special infusion of funds would require reducing men's sports, and this would lead to the unfortunate result that 'coeducation has hurt men's athletics at Dartmouth.' "
The director of athletics feels the special funds should continue in future years. "I think it's wrong that the DCAC has to come up with all the money to fund Title IX," Peter says. "If we do, we'll have to cut programs, and this will hurt the overall morale of coaches and the athletes." No athletic program will be cut next year. The full Athletic Council, however, was scheduled to hold a special meeting earlier this month to make specific recommendations on how to cope with the budget for 1980-81 and beyond.
The DCAC operates on a gross expense budget of $2.4 million. Income of $660,000 leaves the net expense at $1.74 million, not including the $600,000 to $700,000 for maintenance and operation of facilities. The only way for the DCAC to cut its net expense is to come up with extra revenue from such sources as increased admission fees, locker and hockey rink rental, and booster clubs. The alternative is to cut programs. If a program is cut, it would have to be one offered to both sexes. "If you find $24,000 for women's ice hockey," Peters says, "then you have to cut something from the rest of the program. It isn't right somehow to cut men's and women's lacrosse, and I use that sport only as an example, to fund women's ice hockey."
The DCAC has four priorities: expansion of the women's locker room; an indoor recreational-basketball facility; and courts for racket ball and paddle ball and squash. "There's no way we can meet all of those needs with the money from the Campaign for Dartmouth," Peters says. The DCAC will receive $2.6 million from the campaign. One million dollars will be used to build the recreational-basketball building and $300,000 will be used for the women's lockers. The remaining $1.3 million will be used to operate and maintain the facilities. "We don't know our direction right now on the other priorities," he says, pointing out that the Athletic Department was the first beneficiary of the Campaign for Dartmouth with its new outdoor track. "I see the need for the institution to assume the lead and to continue to expand the realization that athletics are an integral part of a collegiate education," Peters adds.
Men and women will not be treated differently in the College's admissions policy as a result of action by the Board of Trustees in April. How will this decision affect athletics at Dartmouth? "The problem is that we don't know how the numbers are going to change," says Peters. "If'50-50' is ten years down the road, then it's likely that the others in the Ivy League will be '50-50.' Competitively, we won't be any worse off than now — but I don't know if I really believe that now that I've said it." Peters feels the top group of students will not be reduced nor that the College will change its policy on the admission of the disadvantaged. He says, "The big belt is going to come from the middle group from which the majority of the athletes, with some exceptions, fall. That, of course, is going to be true across the league."
There will be little impact on football because six of the nine opponents are Ivy League schools. Other sports will be affected. Hockey, for example, plays against Ivy foes in only 10 of 26 games. "Our abilities to compete will be somewhat less," Peters concedes. "I see down the road the necessity to focus even more on Ivy competition. I see that across the board. 1 see it more and more. And women's athletics will be better across the league."
Seaver Peters: buoyed by this year's accomplishments, uncertain about the future.
Gail Koziara '82 broke the Ivy shotputrecord by four feet and finished 11th innational women's competition. She wasall-Ivy in basketball (she high jumps, too)and received the Class of 1976 award asDartmouth's outstanding woman athlete.
