Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 22, 2002

Volume 30, Number 19

Policy Statement: Adding Varsity Opportunities

In considering the possibility of adding varsity sports to an athletics program that already has 35 of them, it is well to recall the constraints of any University. No University can have an infinite number of schools, departments, or programs or can include every field of study or every extracurricular opportunity in its panoply of offerings. Yale celebrates the energy and enterprise of its students in envisioning new and augmented activities. Yet it also mandates that new University commitments be made with care, lest expanding the scope of some activities diminishes the resources for adequately supporting those that already exist.

Despite the caveat above, there are occasions when adding programs to a University makes good sense. In the case of varsity athletics it is expected that these occasions will be rare, for the following reasons. Yale is already one of the leaders in the country in the number of varsity sports it offers. Those who choose Yale as a college are aware of what those sports are. In addition, Yale offers a varied club sports program that provides an outlet for students' ambition, energy and achievement.

For all these reasons, it is to be anticipated that when a new varsity program is considered, there will be not one or two, but a finely interwoven network of inducements that will make the case compelling. Because these may differ somewhat from sport to sport, it is difficult to list them with exactitude. But the following describes some of the factors that will be weighed before establishment of a new varsity program is undertaken.

* There should be evidence of a history of deep interest in the sport on the part of the Yale community, particularly among undergraduate students.

* The sport should have appropriate competition in the Ivy League or among regional competitors.

* There should be evidence that Yale will have an opportunity to perform well in the sport, either on the Ivy or the regional or national level. All sports are not equal in relation to Yale. It is a simple fact that in some sports Yale has a history and a tradition that make the case for continuing them in a more formal way or on a higher level more compelling, especially if they meet other criteria. A sport in which Yale has a history of champions or championships would command greater consideration than one with a lesser record of achievement.

* The sport should be able to muster the resources it will need without draining support from other ventures. There must be an appropriate venue to site the sport, appropriate facilities or the monies to construct them, and the means to fully maintain them. There must be funds to hire and pay a full-time varsity coach and an assistant coach, according to the established methods and criteria of the department, as well as finances for equipment, team travel and other expenses required to operate the program and sponsor competitions.

* Given the University's commitment to providing equal opportunities for men and women in varsity athletics, careful consideration must be given to the effect on gender equity of the addition of any new varsity sport.

* A sport must be able to compete at the highest level without requiring new emphasis on athletic distinction in undergraduate admissions.

The list above is not meant to be comprehensive or definitive, but to suggest the particular kinds of factors that must be taken into consideration when varsity status is contemplated. The more general aim of the list is to demonstrate that adding programs is not a simple matter. In terms of administrative oversight, medical attention, training staff, sports information and other important but less immediately visible forms of support, new programs -- even funded ones -- lean on the University for sustenance and nurture. Those who conceive new programs, therefore, will always be challenged to demonstrate that their incorporation will strengthen, rather than weaken, the overarching network of opportunity that the University already offers.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale architect leading effort to rebuild Twin Tower site

Cellist will tour nation as winner of Sphinx Prize

University awards sailing varsity status

Town-gown project aims to bring health information to underserved

Nurse warns against repeating Tuskegee abuses

Unique program will assess democracy at work

Doing good is good for you, Yale chaplain tells students

Speakers to explore interrelationship of 'Law and Truth'

Exhibition explores ever-expanding art of collage

Fourth annual Klezmerpalooza festival returns home to Yale

Policy Statement: Adding Varsity Opportunities

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes