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October 7, 2010

Athletics directors talk about the NJSIAA

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


There are two bills before the New Jersey state legislature – one introduced by an assemblyman with an obsession would dissolve the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), the other introduced by a senator and former acting governor would mandate an outside auditor or financial manager but leave the NJISIAA intact.
A report by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) – a group accountable to the legislature which the governor wants to place under the state comptroller – issued a report that criticized the NJSIAA. The association has done a good job of refuting most of the allegations.
As the battle continues, we offer the opinions of the professionals – the athletics directors who deal with high school sports on a daily basis.

Frank Campo, Atlantic City: Address the flaws of the NJSIAA, don’t transfer this private, voluntary organization to a state-run bureaucracy. Will the School Boards Association be able to handle the volume of daily calls on eligibility issues in a timely fashion without increasing their staff?
Parochial schools are not governed by the Department of Education. Will there be costly litigation concerning the separation of church and state when sanctions or corrective action plans are imposed?
In my tenure of twenty-five years as a Supervisor of Athletics in the State of New Jersey, I believe that the NJSIAA remains a worthwhile organization whose main mission is to support student-athletes. The legislation to dismantle will not enhance high school sports in our state.

Bill Hiltner, St, Joseph-Hammonton: It’s an unfortunate situation, one in which you would hope that high school athletes don’t get caught in the crossfire. I can’t help but think, given the current heightened urgency of the matter, that cooler heads could prevail if given a little more time. However, it would require that BOTH sides reassess their own strengths and weaknesses, take a step back for a more global perspective and make some concessions to resolve the dilemma.

Joe Piro, Nutley: Honestly, I think it was a colossal waste of time. My nephew with a secret decoder ring could have found out what that report claims about any organization. There wasn’t anyone embezzling money. There wasn’t anyone doing anything shady. They went on a couple dinners. They took some clients out. They fed some coaches at a meeting. That’s the cost of doing business day-to-day.
What’s going to happen to the non-public schools? They can’t go under a public entity because they’re not one. And if they do, you think anyone’s going to play them if they don’t have to?

Sal Zuccarello, Wildwood Catholic: The concern that I have is the fact that the NJSIAA enforces strict rules to the athletic departments in the state through its extensive and thorough NJSIAA handbook that covers every possible athletic issue that can arise. And, believe me, they arise and they occur often and throughout the state.
When a situation is brought to the attention of the NJSIAA, so much of the handbook is then open for interpretation. A member school can telephone the NJSIAA and get on the phone with a professional and learn about the interpretation of the rule from a person with tons of experience in dealing with that particular issue.
Under the proposed board of education control, inexperienced people will be handling matters of athletic concerns and I am afraid that many athletic programs will take advantage of the fact that an inexperienced governing body is now in control and recruiting-transfers-out of season practice-foreign exchange-improper fundraising, etc, will run rampant throughout the state because of the lack of control. These issues were obviously occurring or the handbook would have never formed. New Rules occur because people take advantage of the system.
There are concerns I have about seeding, the creation of tournament brackets, enrollment figures based on sport and the interpretation of power points. Basically you will have inexperienced board of education members creating wrestling brackets, dealing with hydration tests, creating soccer brackets based on who calls in the scores to the NJEA website. In swimming, the difference between coed/dual meets and their alignment.
They have not even begun to understand the major differences in North Jersey athletics and politics from South Jersey. This is a financial and accounting issue but unfortunately, it has created a far broader problem.
The kids in this state will suffer in ways we are only beginning to imagine. We will witness a form of athletic anarchy.

Steven Jenkins, Bloomfield: I certainly don’t think this should be a death sentence. Outside of New Jersey, the reputation of New Jersey high school sports and the NJSIAA is probably amongst the elite in the whole country. People outside of New Jersey would be stunned at the suggestion that it may be taken over or eliminated.

Derrick Carrington, Pleasantville: The NJSIAA needs the support of the DOE/School Boards Administration and not a takeover. The opinion or ideas of one individual should not derail the organization which has offered a lot to student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

Mike Gatley, Hammonton: It would seem as if, many moons ago (perhaps long before the current regime entered the NJSIAA) that two sides got puffy-chested and each was willing to not have the fore-sight to see that their differences could, and ultimately would, blow up and become the issue it is today. You always get more flies with sugar than with vinegar.
It would seem that adult professionals on both sides of the issue could sit down and put a corrective-action plan together, that would not only satisfy the economic concerns but also bolster the integrity of what we and the NJSIAA do for our athletes.
It would seem that the one word – a word that has been lost in this entire debacle – is communication.
I have always supported and enjoyed the relationships developed with all the directors at the NJSIAA. Aces they are. I hope we continue to work together.
Sorry, both sides assume the responsibility in this situation.
The dissolution of the NJSIAA will change the landscape of athletics in the state forever.
Truly disappointed if it has come to that.

Michael Buggey, South Plainfield: What seems to be overlooked in the legislation initiated by Assemblyman Burzichelli is that it is not only an attack against the NJSIAA, but also upon the thousands of New Jersey students who rely on the organization to provide one of the top interscholastic programs in the country. The NJSIAA regulates, organizes, and monitors all aspects of athletic safety and participation. They are in the forefront nationally on such vital safety issues as concussion education and protocol, steroid testing, weight loss management for wrestlers, infectious disease policies and pre-participation physicals for medical clearance for each athlete. These efforts, and many others, provide our students with a level of safety and protection they would otherwise be without.
The NJSIAA also does a remarkable job in providing a fair playing field for all member schools. They monitor and regulate student academic eligibility, transfer policies, participation and age restrictions, player ejections and rule infractions, league and conference alignment, as well as promoting diversity and equal access to competition within conferences. They do so with an even handed approach that is fair to all and uniformly applied. The NJSIAA is also at the forefront nationally with sportsmanship initiatives and the promotion of fair play, which helps us provide a safe and positive environment when hosting and managing events at the local level.
The NJSIAA Championships give our athletes, parents, and communities opportunities to compete at venues and experience events that are unique and provide life long memories. I have seen the wonderful positive effect that these opportunities have had on our athletes, fans, and community. To steal a line from a commercial, ".....the experience is priceless."
It seems to me, hiring an accountant and providing more transparency to the organization are easy fixes and are a far cry from dismantling an organization that does so much good. A number of the issues detailed in the SCI report are misleading, at best. Some of the detailed expenses that many might assume were from taxpayer money were in fact from corporate sponsorship and attendee ticket purchases for scholar-athlete and Hall of Fame recognition programs. Ticket prices for championships are in no way unreasonable given the venues and the quality of the NJSIAA sponsored events. In my 20 years as Athletic Director I have never received a single complaint from our fans when we've been fortunate enough to reach that level of play. In fact, Steve Timko initiated a policy several years ago that guaranteed that families of participants who could not afford tickets would receive free admission to championship events. This seems to be omitted from all political discussion surrounding the ticket price issue.
Last, but certainly not least, the attacks on the character of Steve Timko and the NJSIAA staff, represent politics at its absolute worst. His lifelong dedication and commitment to education and New Jersey's student athletes, are, in my opinion, beyond reproach. Mr. Timko's integrity and fairness should actually serve as a model that leaders of other organizations could very well emulate.

You can read the entire SCI report at state.nj.us/sci. The NJSIAA response statement is available at njsiaa.org.

Happy reading.


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