Athletics Over Academics? : San Diego State Professors Question School’s Priorities and Place Part of the Blame on NCAA Division 1 Status

The turmoil in the San Diego State athletic department that has spread to the administration has triggered strong responses from professors at the university.

Physical education professor Bill Phillips believes “something has slipped in terms of adequate supervision” at the university.

“President Day has often said he is responsible for the university,” Phillips said. “The athletic department reports directly to him. If he doesn’t know what’s going on and he has to have an audit, something is wrong.”

Political science professor Richard Gripp said he is “suspicious about what is really going on, and where money is being allocated. There might not be much in terms of ghosts and skeletons, but I wonder whether money that should be used for the academic side is being siphoned off to athletics.

“I would feel more comfortable if the president would lay out where the money goes. It’s a public university, and the public ought to know what’s going on. The discussion of funds ought to be made public. But he (Day) feels it is his university. That’s his autocratic style. He doesn’t have this right to keep information from the public. Taxpayers ought to know what’s going on--good, bad or indifferent.”

Gripp said he thinks Day is “setting her (Athletic Director Mary Alice Hill) up to be bounced out. It seems he is not cooperating with her very much.”

Day has issued one statement throughout the entire controversy, and that only stated why he is not commenting. Members of the athletic department and administration have been instructed by Day to refer all questions to the president’s office.

While Day is not talking, a number of professors have used this controversy as a means of renewing their platforms on the priorities of a university.

“When a university sets athletic goals over academic goals, it’s not a university,” Classics professor Nick Genovese said. “Athletics are a wonderful thing, but I don’t believe they should dictate how the university should be directed.”

Said Gripp: “First and foremost, we’re an academic institution. I’m concerned that we’re a training ground for pro teams.”

Those are among the reasons why Gripp, Genovese and Phillips (the water polo coach at SDSU from 1963-68) believe San Diego State would be better off not competing at the NCAA Division 1 level. And they say none of the reasons have to do with a disdain for sports.

“A state-supported institution such as San Diego State has no business being Division 1,” Phillips said. “State does not give funds to support athletics at that program. The money it gets would support a Division 2 or 3 program.”

Genovese believes SDSU should have a sports program comparable to San Francisco State. SDSU and San Francisco State are among the 19 schools in the California State University system.

“They’re a fine university,” Genovese said. “Where are they in athletics?”

San Francisco State has a football team and competes in NCAA Division 2.

“We’re in a bind because we made that commitment to Division 1,” Genovese said. “We did it on the expectation of community support. But I don’t think we have the community support.”

What SDSU does have, according to Genovese, is “straight out professional athletics on campus.

“Are these people really university students?” he asked. “They’re not. They’re athletes who represent the university. They’re athletes who don’t understand what being a student is all about. It’s outrageous. It’s unethical for a university to allow that.”

Said Phillips: “The ‘student-athlete’ is used to field a winning team. In many cases, his educational potential is not a high priority. When eligibility is used up, the athletic department tends to lose interest.”

Said Robert Detweiler, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters: “The students (athletes) run the spectrum from very good to functionally illiterate. I don’t know if I could be away as much as they are and cut it. Particularly the players on the basketball team.”

Professors believe that both the student and the university are being cheated.

“I’m fearful that we’ll embarrass the university through athletics.” Detweiler said. “That they’ll be a scandal like when the basketball team was put on probation.”

In the April, 1984 issue of the The Faculty Forum , a publication written by members of the faculty, Phillips and Genovese co-authored an essay, “The New Alchemy: Sheepskins From Pigskins.”

Excerpt from the article: “ ... Indeed, the integrity of our athletic program has recently been called into question. The culprits are long gone, but are we sure that none of the slime has rubbed off on us?

“Let us keep clear heads and watchful eyes as the custodians of the academy at San Diego State. And let’s be skeptical of those magicians who would have us believe that a sleek sports image is now the new philosopher’s stone to academic gold.”

Genovese is against bringing in athletes with “marginal” academic records, and is in favor of cutting scholarships. Phillips and Genovese are both opposed to what they believe is an overemphasis on football and basketball.

“There is an inequality in terms of resources allocated to athletes,” Phillips said. “Travel should be equitable between the football team and the water polo team.”

The funding of major versus minor sports is an age-old question. And one that usually ends up being debated.

“How can you say you’re offering a first-class program when one team is supported and another has to raise its own money?” Phillips asked.

He was referring to the men’s volleyball and tennis teams which were cut in the spring. Coaches from both teams have been trying to raise funds so their teams can continue to compete. The women’s gymnastics team was also cut, but gymnastics Coach Ed Franz said his job as coach did not include raising funds. There will not be a gymnastics team this year.

“There is an ongoing eroding of the athletic program in favor of the golden chalice of a national championship,” Phillips said.