1960

156 Overleigh Road Bernardsville, NJ 07924

Track and field, tennis, golf, crew, football, soccer, cross country, field hockey, ice hockey, basketball, squash, swimming, indoor track, skiing, baseball, and lacrosse are intercollegiate sports for men and women at Dartmouth College. While some of these teams have been excellent in recent years, most of the major men's teams have been an embarrassment, at least for me.

Since hundreds of the class of '60 were involved in athletics as freshmen and/or upperclassmen, I thought that perhaps others would like to take some affirmative action to improve the Dartmouth teams. Dartmouth has a system in place, The Athletic Sponsor Program, which is one of the College's best kept secrets due to the potential conflict with the Alumni Fund for our dollars.

The program's purpose is to underwrite expenses of campus visitations for outstanding prospective student-athletes in all sports. Such visits provide the opportunity to experience first-hand the uniqueness of Dartmouth. Such recruiting programs are sanctioned by the NCAA and the Ivy League. Student-athletes are allowed one campus visit paid for by the athletic department. These funds are not a part of the DC AC budget. They are raised solely through the Athletic Sponsor Program. The monies are restricted for this use only and are totally separate from the Dartmouth College budget. Thus, I think of this program as an additional charitable tax deduction, like a contribution to Tuck, Thayer, or the Medical School.

Contributions normally range from $100 on an annual basis. No limits are set, but it should be noted that the average recruitment expense exceeds $300. Checks are payable to Dartmouth College, but sent to: Athletic Sponsor Program, Alumni Gymnasium, Hanover, NH 03755-99845. Donors may specify a particular sport, but most prefer the "general" category.

Competition for outstanding scholar-athletes is extremely high. Therefore, it is imperative that Dartmouth's prospects be given the opportunity to visit Hanover to experience that peculiar ambiance. An overwhelming percentage of Dartmouth undergraduates presently enrolled made their decisions after a campus visit.

Twenty-five years ago, Penn was an athletic doormat. A group of alumni conceived the idea to fund campus visits in a organized and legal fashion. Today, Penn raises more than three times as much as Dartmouth for its campus visitation program. Brown followed suit, then Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The results speak for themselves.

The success of Dartmouth's athletic teams depends upon our direct support. So, if you're like me and want to feel good again when you read the college boxscores, send a check to the Athletic Sponsor Program. We reap what we sow!

Now I can finish packing our diving gear and underwater cameras for tomorrow's departure to Fiji, a country that's currently troubled by racial conflict but still has some of the world's most beautiful coral reefs. This is another business trip to research a chapter for our forthcoming book.