A recently-implemented Ivy League rule that requires at least 49 days of rest for varsity athletes during the off-season is drawing resistance from many athletes and coaches at Dartmouth.
The rule states that athletes cannot be required to participate in any practices, competitions or training sessions for at least seven weeks during the off-season. These seven weeks can come during anytime throughout the year and can be split up into different rest periods, but each break must be at least seven days long.
Dartmouth Athletic Director Josie Harper said that she "supports the rule philosophically, but not practically." Harper said that while the spirit of the rule is good, she is not sure "that the system was broken in the first place."
According to Harper, many colleges, and specifically those in the Ivy League, started to take a closer look at their athletic practices after publication of the book "The Game of Life," which was co-written by former Princeton University President William Bowen.
In the book, Bowen claimed that "intercollegiate programs ... are moving steadily in the direction of greater intensification, increased tension with core educational values, and more substantial calls on the tangible and intangibile resources of their host institutions."
This call to lessen the intensity of collegiate athletics hit home with some members of the Ivy League, and the result is this new mandated off-season rest period, according to Harper.
In an email to The Dartmouth, Jeff Orleans, the executive director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, wrote, "This action was prompted by a sense that the extended required and 'supervised' athletic activities that NCAA rules now permit increasingly intrude on students' 'open' time. This same concern has prompted the NCAA Board of Directors, and many other conferences, to consider ways to reduce activity nationally."
Orleans continued, "The rule was passed to try to provide more time during the academic year when students don't feel that they have athletic obligations, and thus feel more able to pursue non-athletic activities."
Despite initial support since the policy was implemented, it has met intense resistance from coaches and athletes alike.
Harper said that many coaches pride themselves on being teachers as well as coaches and while they are upset about losing training time, what really bothers many of them is the loss of face time, especially with their freshman players.
Squash coach John Power said that he thought the new rule would have less of an effect on some of the more individual sports, like squash, but that he was concerned that it might have a negative effect on some of the more team oriented sports.
Most coaches, however, declined to comment, stating that they "didn't want to get caught in the middle" of this controversial subject.
A few explained what kind of effect they thought the rule would have on their programs. Many felt that it would not make a difference to their teams this season, but that it would hurt the recruiting process in coming years. Some coaches expressed concern that non-Ivy Division I programs will point out this rule to recruits who are considering Ivy League schools.
Despite the opposition, the Council of Ivy League Presidents stands by their decision. Orleans wrote, "The Council acted by consensus, after extensive discussion, as it tries to do in any important area, and as with any other change in the rules, it expects to hear and consider comments as the rules are implemented."
Harper said that she feels that this year's freshmen are getting the short end of the stick. Many of them turned down scholarships and other offers from big, Division I schools for Dartmouth's balance of athletics and academics, a balance that has now been tampered with, she said.
According to Harper, many students are at Dartmouth because they love to play sports but are also committed to academics. Now they may be unhappy because the Ivy League is further restricting their opportunity to play.
Harper added, "It is not at all bad to have a passion for a second endeavor, whether it be sports, art, music or whatever. Athletes are just more heavily regulated because they are more visible to the community."
Freshman lacrosse player Devon Wills seconded this notion. "This really stinks," he said. "No one puts restrictions on any activities except sports. If we needed days off, our coaches would give them to us."
While many feel that this measure is just further handicapping Division I Ivy League teams, Harper said that the optimal solution would be for other Division I leagues to implement similar regulations.
