College Division : He Welcomes Differences at Small College

When it comes to college athletics, John Brooks Slaughter doesn’t mean to imply that smaller is better.

It’s just that after 6 years as chancellor of the University of Maryland, the first-year president of Occidental College in Eagle Rock thinks that small-college athletics is a welcome change.

“I like (small-college athletics) but saying I like it doesn’t mean I’m throwing arrows at (National Collegiate Athletic Assn.) Division I programs,” he said. “I’m just very comfortable with the approach we take to athletics at Occidental. It’s more appropriate to what we are looking for in a college environment.”

Slaughter was chancellor at Maryland when basketball star Len Bias died of cocaine-related causes in June 1986 and Coach Lefty Driesell later resigned.

But Slaughter, who was named president of Occidental last August, said his decision to switch jobs had nothing to do with those problems.

“My decision to become president of Occidental was based strictly on the kind of academic institution it is,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of its fine academic tradition.”

The selection of Slaughter, who is black, was hailed as a breakthrough by prominent black educators because Occidental’s student population is predominantly white.

Slaughter, 55, who headed the NCAA Presidents Commission from 1986 to 1988, said he immediately noticed a difference between the Division I and III approaches to athletics when he attended an Occidental football game for the first time last season and found the players lining up to shake hands and exchanging small talk afterward.

“I had been to small-college football games before but never in the capacity as president,” Slaughter said. “It was a new experience for me.”

Slaughter, who touched upon the differences between the divisions in a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, said the reasons for competing at the Division III level are not the same as in major-college programs.

“Perhaps the most important (thing) is that for the most part the athletes are participating in intercollegiate athletics as just a part of their college experience, rather than the reason for their participation,” he said.

“All of these athletes are not just looking to go into a professional sports career. These are athletes who are maybe not as big or as fast as major-college athletes but want to participate just the same.”

Slaughter said the difference in financial incentives at major- and small-college programs cannot be underplayed.

“There are not the same financial incentives at Division III as there are at the Division I level,” he said. “(In Division I), you have to fill the field house and fill the stadium, and in order to do that you have to win, and in order to win you have to attract the players.

“All those things are based on a desire to win. That’s something that doesn’t exist at the Division III level. You don’t have to keep winning in order to keep the program going.”

Not that winning is not emphasized at the Division III level. Particularly at Occidental, where the Tigers have consistently fielded successful teams in football and cross-country.

“We still want to win at Occidental,” Slaughter said. “We believe it’s still important to improve (athletically) and do your best. We still want to win the game, but as the president of our institution I’m not going to worry about it if we don’t win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.”

And Slaughter remains a fan of major-college athletics.

“I enjoy athletics at all levels,” he said. “I’m still very interested in what the University of Maryland does. There are still people there who I know and admire and I follow them whenever I can.”

It’s just that Slaughter likes what he has seen from athletics at the small-college level.

“I think there is really a place for different approaches,” he said. “But I think there is a need for places like Division III programs because it’s really seen as part of an educational program rather than just athletics. . . . It’s important for all athletes to receive an education that will prepare them for life.

“I don’t bemoan the fact that there are kinds of institutions where athletes are more developed or advanced and can pursue their athletic careers but I think more time should be spent on academics.”

Slaughter thinks Occidental has struck the perfect balance.

College Division Notes

The Cal Poly Pomona women and UC Riverside men were both ranked high in the first regular-season NCAA Division II basketball polls last week. Pomona was ranked No. 1 in the women’s poll but has dropped to No. 4 despite winning twice and Riverside No. 2 behind Virginia Union among the men. Two other California Collegiate Athletic Assn. teams are ranked--Cal State Bakersfield is No. 19 in the men’s division and Cal State Northridge is No. 16 in the women’s.

Senior defensive tackle Gary Willison of Azusa Pacific has been selected to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics’ All-American football second team. Willison, a 6-foot 4-inch, 255-pound transfer from USC, led the Cougars with 10.5 sacks in 8 games and added 66 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. Linebacker Jeff Gustin and center Pat Earnest earned honorable mention. . . . Offensive lineman Roger Laubengayer of the Occidental football team has been named to the NCAA Division III All-American team by Football Gazette. Laubengayer helped the Tigers to an 8-1 record and their fifth SCIAC title in the last 6 years. Quarterback Tony Werbelow and linebacker Tim Swanson were honorable mentions.

The Biola women’s basketball team, off to its best start in recent years at 15-3, earned its seventh straight victory and ran its NAIA District III record to 6-0 with a 75-70 win over defending champion Cal Baptist last Saturday. . . . Terry Franson, Azusa Pacific track coach, has been named an assistant for the U.S. team that will compete in the 1989 World University Games in August at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Franson has guided Azusa Pacific to 6 straight NAIA titles. . . . Sophomore defender Arturo Juarequi of Cal State Bakersfield was selected to the Division II All-Far West second team in soccer last week, marking the first time that the Roadrunners have had a player named to the squad.