Deal with Bay keeps soccer at home
Club team banned from national championship tournament
mSm
Less than a year
ago, the women's soc- A
cer club finished sixth in
the nation in competition
sponsored by the Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
(AIAW)
This year, the club tries to not even
think about going to nationals again
It's not because the women aren't as
good, or because of a lack of funds
It's because an agreement made last
year with athletic director Rick Bay
which allowed the team to go to
nationals last year on the condition that
they didn't ask again this year
It was another case of a short term
benefit turning into a long term
headache for a program which faced its
share of hardships off the field while
finding success on the pitch the past
few years.
Two years ago, women's soccer
became a varsity sport within the
athletic department at Oregon But it
was cut from the athletic department
last season, along with three other
sports, because of lack of funds
As a club, it was a part of the
Northwest Collegiate Soccer
Conference (NCSC) and the AIAW But,
the NCSC ruled that no club sport
would be allowed to compete in the
conference because wins over club
teams did not count for as many points
in the standings as wins over varsity
teams
The women were left with only one
alternative — the AIAW The AIAW,
however, will not allow a club to parti
cipate at nationals unless they are
certified by the intercollegiate athletic
department, and the women were good
enough to have to worry about it.
The club raised its own funds for the
trip and approached Bay with their plea
to allow them to go. Bay consented,
because the club was just dropped as a
varsity sport But he made an
agreement with soccer coach, Manfred
Tschan and captain, Therese Bottomly,
that the club would not ask again this
year.
r But the whole team was not made
aware of this agreement The coach
and captain are gone and have left the
new coach, the club sports coordina
tor, and Bay with a lot of loose ends
“It (banning nationals) came as such
a shock to us, especially after we went
to nationals last year,” says
goalkeeper, Lori Kats (pictured above),
who found about the agreement only a
month ago It was a real let down.”
This year, the club is in a new
predicament The AIAW has virtually
folded because of budget cuts and the
move of women's programs into the
NCAA, according to Chris Voelz,
assistant athletic director Now, only a
handful of teams compete in the AIAW
The women's soccer club has fol
lowed suit and joined the NCAA The
athletic department is again held
responsible if the club goes to
nationals The women must again
receive certification from the athletic
department and also abide by the
NCAA rules
The reason for Bay’s decision to not
support the soccer club is more
complex than it may appear at first
glance
“I’m reluctant to take responsibility of
a sport I don't control,” says Bay. "All
of my athletes and coaches deal with
rules every day. The coaches take tests
from the Pac-10 We have meetings
where we cover these things There are
all these checks and balances.
"The problem is, the women 's soccer
coach doesn't answer to me and they
may not know the rules. Even when you
know the rules you can violate them."
This year's soccer coach, Tom
Ebelew, realizes the predicament of the
athletic department. "The way it
stands, the whole athletic department
could be put on probation,” he says.
But "the potential benefits outweigh
the risks. It seems to me that what is
happening is the risk is so slight when
weighed with the chance of having a
national championship.”
Aside from the real issue, there was
the problem of lack of communication
between the coaches, captain and
players Club sports coordinator Sandy
Vaughn was involved with the
agreement.
"Last year, I approached Rick Bay
with the inquiry and agreed I would not
approach him again for soccer or any
other club sport for nationals. I have
held to my promise. I made it very clear
to some players and they were to make
the others aware."
This year's team captain, Patty DeVi
to, says she was told about the
agreement on the bus on the way to
nationals, but says everyone was sup
posed to be informed before the
agreement was made
"The coach and captain probably felt
we would agree anyway because we
fought so hard to go last year,” says
DeVito. The club held car washes and
other fund raising activities to raise the
money to go
conference.
"We've decreased somewhat in
size,” says DeVito. “But skill-wise, we
are just as good and I know we could be
competitive with the East Coast.”
The principle involved, however, is
what is important in this case, accord
ing to Ebelew
"We would like to compete the best
we can without putting pressure on the
athletic department," says Ebelew.
"The problem is that athletics and club
sports are run by two different
departments. The athletic department
doesn’t want to mix with us. We are in a
strange relation.”
Bay says he sees the potential of the
womens' club.
"I know they are good enough and
want to play in a national competition,”
says Bay. "But I can’t jeopardize the
whole program for that. I have enough
trouble keeping the 16 sports I have in
‘The way it stands, the whole athletic
department could be put on probation, ’
but'the potential benefits outweigh the
risks. ’
Other players, like Kats, didn’t find
out until this year
There have also been rumblings in
the community Many of the soccer
players and their parents have sent
letters and made phone calls, all to no
avail, according to Vaughn.
"I have requested the team not to
bother Rick Bay, but they want to find
out on their own," says Vaughn. "If I tell
them something, I’m only giving advice
— I cannot dictate Students are very
idealistic and these students are pur
suing something they believe in."
Whether the club could do as well as
last year is debatable to some. It has
lost a few players after the ruling and
the NCAA is a more competitive
line.”
The fall of the AIAW and Bay’s deci
sion not to support club sports does not
affect the other clubs.
Men’s soccer, for instance,
competes in the Oregon Intercollegiate
Soccer Association.
The ski teams can compete in either
the NCAA or the NCSA (Northwest
Collegiate Ski Association).
Neither team has confronted the
athletic department because they
prefer to compete in the NCSA over the
NCAA, according to former coach Dick
Lindsay
Story by Shannon Kelly
Photo by David Kao