sports
Challenges made to axing of nationals travel
(cont. from page 1)
Reportedly, the major
motivation for the decision,
made by a 5-3 vote, was
economic. Generally poor
economic conditions in the
state combind with a state-wide
rash of bond-levy failures have
combined to endanger not only
nationals participation by
Oregon’s community colleges,
but threaten the very existence
of athletics in the schools.
“I don’t know for sure, but
my guess is that this is probably
because of the economy,” said
Chuck Hudson, Athletic Direc-
Board member who serves on
the Athletic Advisory Commit­
tee, expressed serious doubt
that money is the real issue.
“That’s one thing that
bothers me,” Wright said. “This
is not a monetary issue. If
money is an issue, then that’s
something we need to address.
“As far as I can determine,
some of the colleges couldn’t
afford nationals travel and they
didn’t want anyone else to
have the chance to go,” he
said.
“It bothers me the way
they (the OCCA Presidents)
went about voting on this,”
Wr^h^^continued^^Sorne^of
“That’s one thing that bothers me, this is not a
monetary issue”--Larry Wright, Athletic Ad*
visory Committee.
tor at the College. “A lot of the
community colleges are having
trouble passing levies.”
Eldon Schafer, president
of Lane Community College
recently told the Eugene
Register-Guard, “Most of the
presidents strongly support the
opportunities for community
college students to compete at
the national level.
“But we were caught in a
cross-fire. There is the tighten­
ing budget situation and we
were trying to dig more out of
our communities when we
already are going for more sup­
port,” Schafer said.
- The cost of sending Col­
lege athletes to nationals this
year, according to Roberts,
totaled more than $13,000.
The men’s cross country team,
one woman cross country run­
ner, two wrestlers, 11 men
tracksters, two women
tracksters, and the women’s
tennis team plus coaches for
each sport accounted for the
cost.
“The problem is that we
don’t know who or how many
people will be going to na­
tionals,” Roberts said. “If we
run into a few teams we could
be in real trouble financially.” .
Larry Wright, a College
the schools who voted don’t
even have athletic programs.
We need to look at who should
be voting and who shouldn’t.
The schools with no athletic
programs shouldn’t be voting
on this.”
Wright also said that the
decision on whether a school
sends athletes to nationals
should be left to individual
school districts.
“If we as a board decide
we don’t want to send kids to
nations, that’s great,” he said.
“But someone else has told us
that, and that’s not right.
“I believe that a group of
presidents getting together to
make decisions like this is step­
ping outside their respon­
sibilities,” he added.
Board members Ralph
Groener and Roger Rook,
along with Wright make up the
Athletic Advisory Committee.
Groener, who was unavailable
for comment, was pointed to as
a key figure in the investigation
of the legality of the presidents’
decision.
“Ralph isn’t sure of the
legality of this,” Wright stated.
“He doesn’t think it’s in the
jurisdiction of the college
presidents to cut any
programs.”
Les Tipton, president of
the Clackamas Community
College Education Association
and spokesman for the College
faculty and coaching staff on
the nationals travel issue, also
pointed to the issue as political,
and not financial.
“It could be justified asu
financial,” Tipton said, “but
that’s a political justification. It’s
not realistic.
“All of us realize the pre­
sent economic situation, but
should that eliminate certain
programs? No, it shouldn’t,” he
stated. “It might curtail or alter
them, but riot eliminate them.
“It’s political. Presidents
playing ‘if you do this, then I’ll
do that’ games. Blue Mountain
voted against nationals with the
stipulation that they could go in
rodeo, the only sport they
compete at nations in.
“When there are tight
times like now, we need to
keep it from being a ‘pet pro­
ject’ time where you eliminate
programs you don’t like.
“I feel that the athletic pro­
gram -is a whipping boy,” he
continued. “Athletics is always
the first thing cut when the
economy is down. This could
happen to any program. They
could just as easily cut out na­
tionals for music, speech,
forensics, or whatever they
choose,” he said.
Tipton also said that a
declaration will probably be
made soon that suggests that
colleges make their own deci­
sion on the issue of nationals.
Roberts was optimistic that
the ending of nationals travel
and the league merger would
have some advantages for the
College’s total athletic pro­
gram, but expressed some con­
cern for two certain sports.
T think in wrestling it
would have an impact,”
Roberts said, “possibly it could
hurt track. I think it would be
hard on wrestling particularly.”
Clackamas wrestling
Coach Norm Bemey said, “I
feel now that wrestling would
Staff photo by Duffy Coffman
survive possibly one year,
maybe into the next year. After
that, wrestling in the state
would be eliminated.
“Wrestling is an individual
sport,” he explained. “Whether
a kid makes it to nationals or
not, he’d like to have that goal.
In individual sports a coach
goes out and works hard with
LES TIPTON
feeling is that if there’s anything
we can do that will ..save na­
tionals, then let’s do it. I just
don’t feel that enough proper
research has been done on
this.
“I’ll go along with
wnatever they decide,” he con­
tinued, “as long as they
research it thoroughly and go
“I’ll go along with whatever they decide as long
as they research it thoroughly and go along with
what the people want”—Norm Berney, College
wrestling coach
an individual to get him to his along with what the people
best. This would cut that per­ want.”
son off at a certain level.
Clackamas President John
“They don’t do that in any Hakanson, according to
other program,” Berney said. Roberts, voted in favor of na­
“If a person excels in an tionals. Hakanson was
academic or any other pro­ unavailable for comment.
gram, he gets national recogni­
“Clackamas voted against
tion. In individual sports,, my dropping national travel,”
own personal feeling from past Roberts told the Register-
experience is that you can’t Guard. “It was our feeling that
it should be a local decision,
operate on a one state basis.
“I’m not challenging and that the athletes should be
anyone,” he said. “I don’t have able to go on to the next pin­
a sour grapes attitude, but my nacle.”
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