The gap between athletes and non-athletes has yet to be bridged, but the groundwork is finished and construction is underway. The Student Athlete Advisory Counsel (SAAC), with a representative from each of the 16 varsity sports teams, has some ideas to help athletes and non-athletes come together and form a more unified student body. At the upcoming theater production of Euerybodye, athletes will be selling tickets and ushering the audience to their seats. In addition, the ultimate frisbee and men’s baseball teams are organizing a friendly exhibition match.

According to Robert Malekoff, Assistant Professor of Sports Studies, orientation for fall athletes is the first wedge between athletes and the rest of the student body. They arrive a week early for team bonding and preseason practice. With their teammates and fellow athletes, they attend IT&S computer training sessions and foreign language tests.

During preseason, they have two practices per day and spend most of their time together as a team. Being part of a team is a healthy and valuable experience in college; however, student athletes, due to preseason and early orientation, tend to identify with athletes before other students.

While athletes are on the field and attending NCAA meetings, other students participate in AVANTI. They are on campus for one day before they’re split up into small groups. Some go rafting, some go hiking, some learn how to film movies, but no one gets to meet all the first-years. Next year may be different.

There is a possibility that AVANTI will not be held for first-years next fall. Instead of dividing students into small groups, the school will keep the entire class together. Sports practices and meetings will be held at times when nothing else is happening to ensure that athletes attend the same functions as other students.

During this new orientation, the school will rent a bowling alley or a night club and provide transportation. A shuttle will bring students to downtown Greensboro so that they can walk around and see what there is to do in the city.

During the year, the same shuttle will bring students downtown to attend bars and clubs, have dinner at a restaurant, or see the city. Shuttles will also take students to the campuses of UNCG and NC A&T.

There is no quick fix to the challenge of integrating the two niches, but as the ‘hottest school in the nation’ for social awareness, Guilford has the potential to bridge the gap.

“In five years, I hope there are no articles in the paper about it,” said Randy Doss, Vice President for Enrollment and Campus Life.

There’s more to the solution than thinking up creative ways to bring students together, however. To truly eradicate the problem, the causes must be identified and addressed.

Robert Malekoff is a member of the coordination committee for the College Sports Project (CSP), a program designed to integrate athletics into other dimensions of college life. The CSP consists of senior administrators, presidents, athletic directors, and coaches from more than 135 colleges and universities nationwide. The two key components of the project are representativeness and integration.

The representativeness piece of the project provides data to the schools about how well their athletes are performing academically compared to how they were expected to perform. Athletes’ high school records and course selection, as well as their standardized test scores, predict their possible future in college. Under these parameters, an Andrew Mellon Foundation study affirms that athletes tend to under-achieve academically.

The CSP identifies athletic commitments and the impact of pre-college athletics as possible factors. The recruiting process is also significant, according to Malekoff. Often, recruits receive a description of the school different from what they actually experience.

The CSP’s focus on integration identifies causes of the gap between athletes and non-athletes, then devises solutions for successful integration. Malekoff and his CSP colleagues emphasize that the situation is a two-way street.

“It begins when administration sets up different tours for athletes and non-athletes,” said sophomore Madeleine Pope. “They [athletes] come here for different reasons because the school advertises differently to them.”

The increasing pressure on Division III coaches to win is identified as another significant factor.

“Given these pressures, coaches are understandably anxious to spend the necessary time preparing their teams to be able to compete successfully,” said Malekoff. “There are times when the desire for competitive success can conflict with other college goals.”

If sports program solutions involve sacrifice or adjustment, they are hard to accomplish. Schools want to bridge the gap between athletes and non-athletes, while remaining competitive in sports.

Malekoff gave an example where, if one school decided their teams will practice only three times per week to give athletes more time to participate in other social niches, every other school must adopt this practice or the one school will be at a disadvantage in competition. Finding solutions that don’t compromise a school’s athletic program is a daunting task.

“We [the CSP] are engaged in trying to offer students an appropriate level of balance. This is quite a challenge, and sometimes it’s like trying to drink coffee with a fork,” said Malekoff.

Malekoff will give a presentation on the College Sports Project on Nov. 30, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. in the Founders Gallery.