Inspire, Summer 2012

Why does a university like Cedarville, recognized primarily for its Christ- centered focus and academic excellence, emphasize athletics? It’s uniquely American that athletics and education are married as they are in the United States. If you’re a competitive young athlete who wants to play at the next level, you have to do it through the educational system. Professional scouts recruit almost exclusively at colleges and universities. Christian athletes who feel God has given them the ability and desire to play sports at that level ask, “Where can I go to do that?” and “Can I go to a Christian college?” Cedarville is a place where these student- athletes can grow academically, spiritually, and athletically. The integration of these elements is part of what makes Cedarville, Cedarville . Why did Cedarville leave its former association, the NAIA? We loved being part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). It was a great fit for Cedarville, and we were successful there for many years. We’re only at the NCAA level today because of the foundation we gained there. We want to do what’s best for Cedarville today and align with an athletic association that reflects the ways we’re growing institutionally. What are some of the advantages of NCAA membership? NCAA levels the playing field so that similar schools play teams with similar recruiting policies and accountability standards. That wasn’t guaranteed in the NAIA, where we might very well compete against student- athletes who have played internationally and possibly professionally. Although there are more regulations and stricter consequences for violation under the NCAA, this ultimately protects us by ensuring that we play teams who abide by the same recruiting standards that we do. Another DII distinctive gives student- athletes more access to coaches that was difficult under a different model where coaches wore four or five different hats. Students come here from all kinds of backgrounds and find a strong, trusted mentor in their coach. Many athletes would say they were most influenced by a coach during college, more so than a professor or academic advisor. We’ve been able to restructure the department and hire more staff and graduate assistants so coaches can focus on their athletes and provide more opportunities for positive interaction. The NCAA has brand recognition that people know and respect. We’ve already seen increased interest and awareness about Cedarville because of this affiliation. We haven’t changed our mission, our purpose, or our Christ-centeredness. In fact, these have been strengthened. This isn’t about promoting our athletic program as much as it is about having an expanded platform from which to introduce others to the University and ultimately to Christ. How does athletic affiliation accomplish that? As one of our coaches said, “It’s a brand- new mission field.” When we let people know who Cedarville is, they find out who Jesus Christ is. We’re starting at the beginning to meet people and build our reputation as a Christ-centered university where that focus is evident in everything we do, including our coaching philosophy, our athletes’ character, and our fans. Dr. Brown is chairing the president’s council of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), our new athletic conference. Many of us have also been involved in other ways. For example, our compliance coordinator, Drew Howard, volunteered to work at the spring sports festival. It’s great that he can be there, wearing a Cedarville shirt, and people know that he’s there representing the University as well as Jesus Christ. Most people’s familiarity with the NCAA stems from DI athletic programs. In what ways is DII different? Some DI athletic programs have developed a reputation for producing pre- professional football or basketball players who may not make the grade in class and, after a season or two, leave for the pros. At our level of competition, athletes cannot play unless they are good students. DII focuses on character development and moving students through to graduation. Most DI programs want to make things better, but they do not want to give up the millions of dollars that come in from ticket sales, merchandizing, and major media events like BCS bowl games and March Madness. We don’t have anything like that at our level, and we are definitely not selling students’ jerseys in our bookstore. We often hear about sports scandals and rules violations that happen at that level, but what you don’t hear is that a lot of their millions go back into their institutions, libraries, or scholarships for example. 12 SUMMER 2012