Community Perspective
Successes found in every corner of UAF athletics
Published Sunday, May 18, 2008
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Stumble It!As a University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty member for 35 years and faculty athletics representative for nearly five years, I have had the privilege of getting to know the men and women in the UAF athletic department — the student athletes, staff and coaches.
I have come to realize the long-term importance of intercollegiate athletics — not only in providing an opportunity for excellent students to pursue their goals — but also in creating an important bond between the university and the community and contributing to student life overall.
The recent resignation of two head coaches has led some to speculate that there is upheaval in the department, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Of the university’s 10 sports, seven will start 2008-09 with the same coach they had for the start of 2005-06, and the department’s administrative team has remained consistent over the past few years as well.
This continuity has created a partnership with the Fairbanks community that is vital to the department. Local media and conference offices know that Jamie Schanback will provide timely press releases and statistics, local guidance counselors and parents know that Pamm Hubbard will be there to answer questions, local businesses know that Patrick Lee will try to accommodate their needs, and local charities know that Denise Irish will provide tickets for worthy causes.
Overseeing these efforts is athletic director Forrest Karr, who deserves recognition for his work in improving the department and increasing internal and external support for athletics.
Also deserving recognition is Chancellor Steve Jones, who, along with his wife Judy, received a standing ovation at this year’s all-sports banquet. The Joneses have supported the athletic program in every way possible and, with their personal touch, have made everyone associated with the program proud to be a Nanook. The banquet itself was a great moment for the department — a coming together of all the athletic teams and staff. In fact, morale within UAF athletics has never been higher.
No organization is immune to challenges — or to criticism — but under current leadership, the athletics department has achieved the stability our student-athletes, coaches and community deserve. Although change is inevitable, the department and the university strive to make changes that are, first and foremost, in the best interest of the student-athletes.
The following are some recent achievements of the department and student-athletes:
• The number of student scholarships has increased from 51 in 2004–2005 to 63 in 2007–2008
• Title IX compliance has improved more than at any time in the program’s history, and the department’s progress was recently featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education
• The rifle team out-shot the United States Military Academy in claiming the 2008 NCAA championship, the program’s third consecutive national title
• Marius Korthauer gave the men’s ski program its first individual national title, winning the 20K classic event at the 2008 NCAA Skiing Championships
• Tyler Eckford earned first team All-American and first team All-CCHA honors, both of which were program firsts
• Dan Jordan claimed the NCAA Rifle Coach of the Year award
• Hockey defeated a No. 1-ranked team for the fourth time in the last three years
• Men’s cross-country recorded the program’s best-ever conference finish
• Men’s basketball defeated Division I Oregon State at the BP Top of the World Classic
• Pamm Hubbard was one of eight people selected nationally for the NCAA Division II Strategic Alliance Matching Grant
• Women’s volleyball placed a conference-best seven athletes on the GNAC All-Academic team
• Women’s swimming won its first dual meet since the program was revived in 2005
Finally, the most important measure of the department’s success is this: The cumulative grade point average of our 119 student athletes in 2006–2007 was an all-time high 3.17, higher than the GPA of our overall student body. That’s an element of success at UAF that we measure just as importantly as we do our number of wins.
John Fox is a forestry professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the faculty athletics representative.
Community Discussion
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This is so very nice Mr. Fox, but we still want UAF athletics to WIN! Other schools are winning, with just as much, if not more, in academics!
A lot of happy horse &*%$.
The program costs a ton 'o cash and we have lost a bunch of players and coaches in the last few years. Plus there have been several events involving criminal charges and unexplained abrupt departures.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
how many of the scholarship athletes are even Alaskans? The athletic department costs a ton of money and it primarily benifits outsiders. If this was a private college, no big deal, but for the state of alaska to be footing the bill for hundreds of students that are not from alaska and likely wont stay after their free school is up, is kind of outrageous. No wonder why I just payed almost a grand for one correspondence class, yeah, I know, you think they'd be cheaper since there is no classroom to heat and use electricity, but no, they rip you off real good up on the hill.
Not only why do we have a forestry professor....but what IS a forestry professor....
Is that a real degree? Wow - - -
Must be why he has the time to be the faculty athletics representative also.
Money well spent.
Great points Rooftop!
UAF is increasingly isolating itself from the community. Heck just try to visit the bookstore, there are hardly any parking spots and the sweatshirts are $75!
Affordable distance education would be a great opportunity to reach out, but the University is pricing it out of everyone's range. Even a cheap course is $600. Plus $150 for books. It's a huge rip off.
Maybe we should send some of that scholarship cash down to the Bower's Building so the courses would be more affordable?
Forrest Karr...time to move on.
I think UAF might consider doing what Birmingham Southern University did a few years ago. The new athletic director looked into his program and realized that his school gave out more than 100 full ride athletic scholarships and 1 full ride academic scholarship.
He went to the administration with a radical plan. Downgrade all athletics including Division 1 men's and women's basketball, track and soccer teams to Division III, ending scholarship athletics at the school. Some revenue was lost but the saved money was funneled back into academics.
The result is a few years later the school managed to expand it's sports program by bringing back football and today there are more athletes on campus than in the scholarship days AND there is a thriving academic scholarship program.
Just a thought.
Something smells fishy up on the hill in the athletics’ department! Maybe we need a fishery biologist to take over and through out some of the rotten fish. The previous athletic director was a joke. Yes Mr. Fox there are some good things, the Rifle program! I’m not impressed with the new Basketball coach. Better do; a better job for the women. Why is Anchorage getting a new sports complex when UAF the oldest campus is still in the patty center????? Oh and changeing the name was just plain stupid!
the cumulative GPA is only because students involved in athletics are given special circumstances. Guaranteed any other student who missed that many days of school would probably fall below a C. I cant believe I am paying an additional $97 fee for student athletics this fall. What a waste of money! I dont mind the SRC fee because I use it but why should I have to pay a fee for the sorry basketball team that never wins!
You can thank Patrick Lee for the name change
Part of his flash and awe style :/
what name change are y'all talking about?
"UAF2009 5/22/2008, 11:11 a.m. Suggest removal the cumulative GPA is only because students involved in athletics are given special circumstances. Guaranteed any other student who missed that many days of school would probably fall below a C. I cant believe I am paying an additional $97 fee for student athletics this fall. What a waste of money! I dont mind the SRC fee because I use it but why should I have to pay a fee for the sorry basketball team that never wins!"
If you’re going to gripe about spending money start with where the biggest piece of the budget goes and it ain't the BB team! It is the one that’s played on ice!
They are called the ALASKA NANOOKS now, not UAF NANOOKS sigh it is so much better......................
oh, THAT name...I agree hkywtchr...it is the most idiotic idea yet. UAF Nanooks was just great. It seems like all of a sudden they have become the "team for Alaska" instead of the team for Fairbanks. It's almost as if they are ashamed of their affiliation with this city.
mit
"the sorry basketball team" was just a general statement.
I dont think any UAF sports team is worth $97 out of my pocket!
I really wish I could agree with Mr. Fox's assessment of the UAF Athletic department. However, I believe the entire athletic department administration needs to go. I think we have good coaches and athletes, with poor leadership.
Wow!! Tough winter? I do agree with Mr. Fox's assessment of the athletic department. Overall, I think they do a great job and I know many people who feel the same way and support their Nanooks. There is always room for improvement in any department. Forrest Karr and his staff have always been approachable and easy to deal with. There obviously have been issues over the past few years that have been difficult but I feel were handled very professionally. Hiring Dallas Ferguson as the new hockey coach is a step in the right direction. Our student athletes have done a tremendous job representing our university in the classroom and on the playing field. Get out and support our Alaska Nanook teams.
I have to disagree with you Slapshot.
I don't think the problems have been handled "very professionally". UAF is a publicly funded institution. There should be much more transparency.
It is time for an outside review of the last 48 months of monkey business at the Athletics Department.
Isn't Professor Fox's letter awfully self-serving and biased? As an alum, I'm not impressed with most of the UAF athletic program, though there are exceptions. Entirely too much time and energy is squaundered on "collegiate athletics" -- invest in academics, please!
Forrest is a guy in over his head. You want a respected sports program...you need a leader.
The Athletics Department is, by far, the least productive entity in the UAF system. Students who have no interest in sports are forced to financially contribute through a $8 per credit hour (to a maximum of $96 per semester) fee. In return the students receive "free" admission to all home athletic competitions, which they would not go to in the first place because they couldn't care less. The bottom line is that the Athletics Department needs someone with less muscle and more brain, preferably someone who has at least some basic business acumen to lead the department out of their "we bum around for money and shoot some hoops" existence into a productive and respected entity on campus.
I attended UAF in the early 90s. Back then, the SRC was just being built (voted on by the ASUAF students) and the user fee for the patty was 25 dollars. We were told during the election that the Athletic Department WOULD NEVER use the SRC facility to conduct practices. If the student athletes wished to go on their own, then of course they could, but no official practices were to be held. The plan was that the student athletes would continue to utilize the weight room and facilities already established at the Patty Center.
So, we students, went along with the 200 percent user fee hike to help pay for the SRC because it was going to be a facility "for the students". No less than a month went by when the thing was opened, then the hockey team, basketball team and running team completely usurped the rest of the student body and were hosting "unofficial" student gatherings. Now, time has passed and no one remembers the promise the Athletic Department made. Gone are the weight room facilities in the Patty, gone too is $96 from the pockets of the kids attending currently, ... and gone are my sympathies for a terrible athletic department and programs.
Can the sports boy's and girl's spell the word CAT.........
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