"ETHICS AND SPORTSMANSHIP Timing Perfect for Seminar at URI"

Mike Szostak
Providence Journal
June 21, 1989

SOUTH KINGSTOWN --- The timing was purely coincidental, but perfect. Two days after Barry Switzer announced his resignation as football coach at the University of Oklahoma, the Institute for International Sport begins a seminar series on ethics and sportsmanship.

"That certainly will help us," Dan Doyle, executive director, said yesterday.

Switzer resigned Monday, six months after the NCAA placed Oklahoma's football program on probation for three years. Oklahoma players and coaches were allegedly involved in several off-field incidents that further damaged the school's image.

David Swank, Oklahoma's interim president, is one of the panelists who will discuss solutions to the problem of cheating in college athletics.

The Institute for International Sport (IIS) is an independent organization based at the University of Rhode Island and devoted to promoting international and intercultural relationships through sport. Since last September IIS has assembled an impressive group of academicians, athletes, coaches and administrators for this 3 1/2 -day program.

"There's no way we can say we will cure the ills of the world, but I think we can make a small contribution. That's all we're trying to do," said Doyle. "I think it's a good thing to try. We'll see what happens."

The series will start today at 1 o'clock with a presentation on "Sports Ethics in Perspective" by Earle Zeigler of the University of Western Ontario and Drew Hyland of Trinity College in Hartford. At 3 o'clock J.A. Mangan of Jordanhill College of Education in Scotland and Arlene Gorton of Brown will talk about "Fair Play: A Historical Perspective."

Sessions tomorrow will include:

* "Coaching Ethics," featuring Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Boston College football coach Jack Bicknell, Davidson football coach Vic Gatto and Salve Regina director of athletics Lynn Sheedy.

* "Winning is the Name of the Game . . . or Is It?" Among the panelists will be Holy Cross basketball coach George Blaney and URI football coach Bob Griffin.

* "How to Stop Cheating in College Athletics," featuring, among others, Kay Yow, women's basketball coach at North Carolina State and coach of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team; Willye White, five-time Olympian; Joe Paterno, Penn State's football coach; Billy Packer, CBS commentator; Ellie Lemaire, associate director of athletics at URI; Bob Cousy, president of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and Swank. Paterno and Swank will offer closing remarks.

Richard Lapchick of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society will speak during lunch about ethics in college sports.

White, Paterno and Cousy will be honored at a dinner tomorrow night. Edward D. Eddy, president of URI, and Packer will receive special awards.

Friday's session will include:

* Youth Sport: A Training Ground for Life?" with Satch Sanders, director of player programs for the NBA, and Murray Costello, president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.

* "The Recruitment of Blue Chip Athletes" with Bob Hurley, basketball coach at St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City, N.J., and Richard O'Connor, a former high-school basketball All-America.

* "Competitive Sport and Journalistic Ethics: Do the Media Put Too Much Emphasis on Performance in Sports?" with Leigh Montville of the Boston Globe, Craig Neff of Sports Illustrated and Bill Reynolds of the Providence Journal-Bulletin.

Richard Schultz, executive director of the NCAA, will talk at lunch about the state of ethics in intercollegiate athletics. Richard Kazmaier, chairman of the President's Council of Physical Fitness and Sport, will speak on ethics and competitive athletics at 4 p.m.

Saturday's program will feature:

* "Playing with Injuries: Knowing When to Say No" with Dr. Gerard J. Lawrence, team physician at the University of Connecticut.

* "Performance Enhancing Drugs: Should There Be a Choice?" with W. Miller Brown, professor of philosophy at Trinity College, one of the speakers for the affirmative and Ron Mix, former pro football player and a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, one of the speakers for the negative.

During lunch Saturday, Russell E. Hogg, chairman of the IIS board of directors and former chief executive officer of MasterCard International, will speak on succeeding within an ethical framework.

The seminar series is open to anyone who has pre-registered or pays the $135 on-site registration fee. Attendees will include high school and college coaches and administrators, Doyle said, and 100 high school and college scholar-athletes from the Northeast, who are being sponsored by Digital.