Survey says yes to athletic scholarships
John Raymond
Issue date: 3/25/05 Section: News
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The Lafayette Maroon Club, an organization dedicated to supporting Lafayette athletics, has indicated overwhelming support for athletic scholarships in a recent survey conducted within its ranks.
According to Club President Laurie Samet '79, of those who responded to the survey, the sentiment was surprising.
"I am amazed at the response that we got," said Samet. "People were not just saying yes or no, but gave paragraphs or pages of responses. There was not only quantity, but quality."
Precisely 157 responses were garnered from 1071 sent emails that asked members to author a comprehensive response to whether limited athletic scholarships should be implemented at Lafayette. Of the 157 responses, 108 replied in favor of awarding scholarships, while 30 were in favor of the Board of Trustee's October decision to award need-based aid to student-athletes. Only 19 members stood neutral, advocating either further study or recommending a different course of action dependent upon evolving circumstances.
The survey, launched last fall in response to the Board's October decision and conducted over the course of late fall and early winter, will have its results released to Maroon Club members in the shadow of Bucknell University's epic upset over the University of Kansas in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament last Friday.
Many sports critics are ranking Bucknell's victory as one of the top-five tournament victories of all-time. Amidst the tournament hype, the national media has tended to focus upon the academic and athletic quality of the Bucknell Basketball Team and the University. Many writers noted the fact that many of the squad's players are representative of Bucknell's academic quality--scoring 1300 on the SATs and stressing academics as a means to an end. For example, Bison center Chris McNaughton, who banked in the winning hook shot with 10.4 seconds remaining in the game, often spoke about his mechanical engineering work.
However, Bucknell's success is linked more closely to the Maroon Club survey than meets the eye. They have in common a highly controversial issue within the Patriot League and Lafayette College. In 2002, Bucknell became the fourth Patriot League school to award athletic scholarships in basketball. Colgate followed suit in 2003, leaving Lafayette as the lone Patriot League school not awarding scholarships. Bucknell's Athletic Director, John Hardt, while addressing the national media, attributed awarding athletic scholarships as one of the reasons why Bucknell defeated Kansas. "I think it's difficult to imagine us being in the NCAA tournament, let alone advancing, without the benefit of athletic scholarships."
According to Club President Laurie Samet '79, of those who responded to the survey, the sentiment was surprising.
"I am amazed at the response that we got," said Samet. "People were not just saying yes or no, but gave paragraphs or pages of responses. There was not only quantity, but quality."
Precisely 157 responses were garnered from 1071 sent emails that asked members to author a comprehensive response to whether limited athletic scholarships should be implemented at Lafayette. Of the 157 responses, 108 replied in favor of awarding scholarships, while 30 were in favor of the Board of Trustee's October decision to award need-based aid to student-athletes. Only 19 members stood neutral, advocating either further study or recommending a different course of action dependent upon evolving circumstances.
The survey, launched last fall in response to the Board's October decision and conducted over the course of late fall and early winter, will have its results released to Maroon Club members in the shadow of Bucknell University's epic upset over the University of Kansas in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament last Friday.
Many sports critics are ranking Bucknell's victory as one of the top-five tournament victories of all-time. Amidst the tournament hype, the national media has tended to focus upon the academic and athletic quality of the Bucknell Basketball Team and the University. Many writers noted the fact that many of the squad's players are representative of Bucknell's academic quality--scoring 1300 on the SATs and stressing academics as a means to an end. For example, Bison center Chris McNaughton, who banked in the winning hook shot with 10.4 seconds remaining in the game, often spoke about his mechanical engineering work.
However, Bucknell's success is linked more closely to the Maroon Club survey than meets the eye. They have in common a highly controversial issue within the Patriot League and Lafayette College. In 2002, Bucknell became the fourth Patriot League school to award athletic scholarships in basketball. Colgate followed suit in 2003, leaving Lafayette as the lone Patriot League school not awarding scholarships. Bucknell's Athletic Director, John Hardt, while addressing the national media, attributed awarding athletic scholarships as one of the reasons why Bucknell defeated Kansas. "I think it's difficult to imagine us being in the NCAA tournament, let alone advancing, without the benefit of athletic scholarships."