Transcript from MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrech on the "State of the MAC." Watch video
DETROIT, Michigan -- Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher spoke on several subjects in his 'State of the MAC' address during MAC Football Media Day.
Following is a transcript of his remarks.
2015 Football Media Day Address
July 30, 2015
Good morning and welcome to Ford Field as we anticipate the start of the 2015 season, marking the 69th season of Mid-American Conference football. That first season concluded with a Miami win over Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl on New Year's Day of 1948. We will gather again in Detroit on December 4th for the 19th Marathon Mid-American Conference football championship game.
I want to acknowledge a few of our special guests in attendance today:
- Michael Kelly - chief operating officer of the College Football Playoff
Representatives from our bowl partners:
- Jerry Silverstein - Go Daddy Bowl
- Doug Mosley - Boca Raton Bowl
- Johnny Williams - Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
- Danielle Brazil - Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
- Ali Rogers - Fiesta Bowl
- Toshi Dezaki - Capital One Orange Bowl
- Bruce Binkowski - San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
- Pete Derzis - senior vice president with ESPN representing the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl and the entire family of ESPN Bowls
From our TV partners -
- Kurt Dargis - Director of Programming & Acquisitions, College Football for ESPN
- Dan Weinberg, senior vice president with CBS and CBS Sports Network
- Bess Barnes - Vice President , CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network
I want to welcome the new head coaches in our league:
- Lance Leipold at the University at Buffalo; and
- John Bonemego at Central Michigan University. I trust you all join me in wishing John well as he battles cancer.
Let me also recognize Nathan Mortimer, the interim director of athletics at the University of Akron.
Also - I would like to recognize Bill Carollo who serves as our coordinator of football officiating. A couple of officiating items for your information. First - the Mid-American Conference will be moving to eight officials this season.
This move is being made upon the recommendation of our coordinator and I commend our institutions for making this investment. For several years now, I have discussed with Bill the possibility of having female officials work in the consortium.
This year we have added several female officials to our roster of officials and they will work games this season - not because they are female, but because they have worked their way up through the officiating ranks and have mastered the rules and mechanics and are prepared for this next step in their officiating careers.
The officials who come through our program have greater training and evaluation opportunities than most - I would encourage you to talk with Bill about the time and effort that goes into being a football official - during the season and off-season. For those who wish to look a little deeper, we will work to facilitate your efforts.
Finally, let me give a big thank you to our coaches and students who staffed yesterday's 5th Annual Mid-American Conference Youth Football Clinic at Ford Field. In collaboration with the Detroit Police Athletic League, we had more than 525 youth learning about football and life yesterday afternoon on the turf of Ford Field. A special thank you to the Detroit Lions for making the facility available for the clinic.
While today is about looking to the future, namely the upcoming season and all that it might hold, let me first highlight just a few things from the previous year. 17 Mid-American Conference teams earned multi-year APR's (that stands for Academic Progress Rate) putting them in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.
In terms of single year APR rates, the Mid-American Conference was 11th out of 32 conferences, and 4th among FBS conferences. I might also point out the Mid-American Conference has the highest APR in men's basketball of all conferences, and was 4th among all FBS conferences in football.
The academic achievements of the students who participate in intercollegiate athletics in this conference are impressive. For instance, last spring, every single team at Toledo had a gpa of 3.0 or better. 10 academic All Americans including Akron men's soccer student Andy Bevins who was that sport's Academic All-American of the Year.
Two students earned NCAA postgraduate scholarships: NIU men's soccer student Dustin Page and Eastern Michigan women's volleyball student
Rachel Iaquannielle. I should also add that Dustin Page, who has been a member of NIU's and the Conference's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is a member of the NCAA's national SAAC and will serve as the chair of the group this year. He will also serve on the NCAA Council.
Two weeks ago the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced its Top 25 academic honor roll for last year. The Mid-American Conference led the way with three teams in the top 25 - Bowling Green, Toledo, and NIU. Only one other FBS conference had a team make the honor role.
Finally, last spring, and most importantly, more than 700 Mid-American Conference students who participated in intercollegiate athletics earned their degrees.
If you have watched a football game in the Mid-American Conference - you know that we produce some of the most exciting football in the country. In fact, I could say that about a number of our sports. While some may view us as a modest or humble Midwest conference, we produce a disproportionate amount of greatness. Our institutions bring an "anytime anywhere" mentality.
Our students who participate in athletics and our coaches go on to achieve remarkable achievements. We make our own way. In fact - as many of you know - during the month of November, in football we have our own Gameday. We have Academic All-Americans, athletic All-Americans, students who are leaders in community service and social awareness, first round draft picks and national champions. With our growing exposure platforms anchored by ESPN, a new relationship with CBS Sports Network and other sub licensees our institutions and sports teams will have exposure like never before. As a result, it's time to tell our story. About a year ago we partnered with the branding agency 160over90 to assist in crafting our message. This firm has clients ranging from Nike, Ferrari, Under Armour, UCLA, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Mid-American Conference represents hard work, dedication, humility, and passion, highlighted by a passion for a challenge. I just love a quote by fomer NFL coaching great Marv Levy because it captures our attitude. "When its too hard for them, its just right for us!"
Beginning today and throughout the year we will roll out a messaging effort designed to highlight who we are and what we value, with all of our efforts supported by a new microsite - "Get Some MACtion.com." Our aim is to define and illuminate the elements of MACtion that include excitement on the playing field, achievement in the classroom, and engagement in the community. Please roll the video ...
It is fascinating, frustrating, and intriguing - all at the same time - to witness the considerable churn in and around intercollegiate athletics. And, there is no indication this state of dubiosity will subside anytime soon. First it was a period of time in which there was significant change among conference memberships. Next it was a another change in the NCAA's governance system and the many questions surrounding what that would entail. And now it is judicial review and rulings that will play a significant role in how intercollegiate athletics operates in the future. It brings to mind the lyrics of those great philosophers of the 60's and 70's and 80's, the Grateful Dead, when they sang, "Lately it occurs to me what a long strange trip it's been." Perhaps no other question is more prevalent than the issue of whether or not students who participate in intercollegiate athletics are in fact students first and foremost, or are they employees where the opportunity to obtain an education is simply a fringe benefit. I believe, and the member institutions of the Mid-American Conference believe it is the former and as a result of that - it is what we should be focused on. Last year the Big Ten issued a white paper that raised the issue of freshman ineligibility in football and men's basketball as a means to put more emphasis in a student-first student-athlete model. This generated a great deal of conversation and rightly so for that was the purpose of this very provocative paper. Coincidentally, this very topic happened to be the subject of my research in completing my doctoral degree. Let's be clear - there is no empirical evidence that participating in intercollegiate athletics has a negative effect on the academic achievement of student who participate in athletics. My research, and the research of others, found there was no relationship between playing as a freshman and academic achievement as measured by freshman grade point average and graduation.
The issue is not playing - its preparation - academic preparation. Are we recruiting and admitting students prepared to do the class work at the institution they attend? Based on the academic accolades I referenced earlier, I would suggest Mid-American Conference teams are doing a pretty fair job at this.
Initial eligibility rules came about in 1984 as the member institutions of the NCAA passed Proposition 48, also known as Bylaw 5-1-j. This rule mandated that for an incoming student-athlete to be eligible to practice and compete and receive financial aid the incoming freshman needed to have an accumulative minimum high school GPA of 2.0 in 11 core courses as well as a 700 on the SAT or 15 on the ACT. This was the beginning of initial eligibility standards that have continued to evolve as we have increased the high school core course requirements, gpa requirements, and implemented a sliding scale for test scores. Additionally, continuing eligibility requirements have been layered on top. The concept of holding schools and teams accountable for the educational outputs of its students via the APR is a fairly heavy and effective hammer. We can and will continue to argue about any of these pieces. The net result has been greater academic attainment and achievement by the students with higher retention rates and greater degree completion.
The rules governing time restrictions on athletics activities are well-intentioned, yet contain a myriad of loopholes and exceptions. Students participating in intercollegiate athletics are putting in a lot of time in on their sport. Sometimes it is through mandatory activities, sometimes it is voluntary, and sometimes it is somewhere in-between. In any case it all adds up. We are at a point where we need to throw out the existing rules and start over. Whether this means developing sport specific rules or something broader is probably the initial discussion point. I do not believe the public will accept no oversight of this area. We need to come up with reasonable and explainable regulations that provide a balance between the academic and athletic demands on a student. Additionally, we should look not only at in-season activity but at out-of-season activity. .
And this leads me to the issue of transfers. This is another area where we need to step back, take a deep breath, and give this matter a fresh look. I am a firm believer that there should be a year of residency if one transfers, particularly in head-count sports such as football and basketball. I also believe that if a student-athlete wants to transfer he or she should not be required to seek permission or a waiver from their current institution so they would be eligible to transfer and get financial aid elsewhere.
An issue that has bubbled up in the past several year's concerns so-called graduate transfers - students who have graduated yet have remaining eligibility and seek to transfer so they can ostensibly enter a graduate program not offered at their prio institution. This well-intentioned waiver is being exploited in ways never contemplated when this legislation was approved. However, I think it would be difficult to now impose a one-year residency requirement for graduate transfers. But I do believe there are things that should be done to give greater oversight to this area. First, graduate transfers should be accounted for within an institution's APR and the institution should be held accountable for the continuing retention and eligibility of a graduate transfer. Additionally, the institution taking a graduate transfer should be required to commit financial aid for two years, whether the student remains on the team that long or not. If the transfer is in fact for academic reasons, the institution should be required to commit the resources for two years, which is the typical length of time to obtain a graduate degree.
All of these issues, initial and continuing eligibility, retention and graduation, transfers, time demands - these are all inter-related. The time has come for us - as a Conference and as an Association - to take a comprehensive look at the current collegiate experience and consider a new paradigm. For instance, in certain sports, especially in football and basketball, it takes more than four years to graduate and that includes attending summer school. Perhaps, we should consider a new model that reduces the minimum academic load during the regular academic year, especially in light of the concerns over balancing academic and athletic time demands. Students could pick up additional hours in the summer - but perhaps only during one term. During the additional summer term the student should have the opportunity to do something else - be it an internship, a job, or simply have some free time for them self. As part of this I would take a long look at moving toward five years of eligibility with no waivers except for injury.
Is this a perfect solution? Probably not - there isn't one. But the time has come to develop a new paradigm, one that is not constrained by past models or regulations and one that is based on the 21st century student who participates in intercollegiate athletics. Former business and automotive great Lee Iacocca, when faced with challenges and an uncertain future said, "So what do we do? Anything! Something! So long as we just don't sit there. If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we've satisfied all uncertainties, it may be too late."
Coming out of our spring meetings I appointed a working group that includes administrators, faculty athletics representatives, and students participating intercollegiate athletics to ponder this matter I expect our working group to develop concepts for review by our various governance groups and ultimately, passing along concepts for consideration by the NCAA's governance groups.
An area of pride among our membership and this Conference is in the area of student-athlete wellbeing. Among the issues we have been focused on is mental health. There has been great attention paid to the health of students participating in athletics - most prominently of late on the subject of concussion prevention and management. However, there has been scant attention paid to the issue of mental health. Let me share just a few statistics: one in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are dealing with some form of mental illness. One third of students entering college are coming in with a prior diagnosed mental health condition. 85% of certified athletics trainers believe anxiety disorders are an issue with student who participate in athletics on their campus. Two years ago, at the urging of our Faculty Athletics Representatives and Student Athlete Advisory Committee I appointed a Mental Health Task Force that spent more than 18 months exploring this issue - researching and reviewing the mental health concerns of our students and examining the support resources available. This past spring this Task Force brought forth a series of recommendations that were endorsed by the Mid-American Conference Joint Council. Included in this were a series of best practices and minimum standards for addressing the mental health needs of our students participating in athletics that will be implemented by our institutions. There is a strong focus on education and awareness - for students, coaches and administrators to better understand mental health issues. We must and we will remove the stigma associated with this topic, as well as provide safe havens for students to seek and receive assistance and appropriate treatment. We need to emphasize to all, that it is ok to not be ok. Later this academic year, the Student Athlete Advisory Committees at each Mid-American Conference member institution will hold their second annual Mental Health Awareness Week. During the inaugural event last spring, Central Michigan University's SAAC was highlighted on Buzzfeed for its awareness initiative. Additionally, upon the recommendation of our task force the Conference is creating a Student-Athlete Well Being Committee to focus on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of the students who participate in athletics and our Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is creating a Mental Health Committee. And, I am pleased to announce that on February 16, 2016 - we will collaborate with the NCAA to host the Mid-American Conference and NCAA Sport Sciences Institute Mental Health Summit, to be held in Cleveland. This first of a kind event will focus on the very import topic of the mental health of our students. The Mid-American Conference is committed to the physical and mental wellbeing of its students who participate in intercollegiate athletics and will continue to work to better the student's experiences in every way.
Another area in which the Conference is focused is in the area of diversity in hiring. If one reviews the national statistics for the past decade, it is evident that the number of ethnic minorities hired for head coaching positions in football and basketball has remained proportionally low, and relatively flat. The number of women being hired into head coaching positions is decreasing. The time has come for not only our Conference, but for this association to do more than simply acknowledge these numbers. The time has come to study and find out why this is occurring and take steps to alter these trends... Earlier this summer I appointed a task force to consider this issue. I do not know what the conclusions of the task force will be - but I do know that we will work hard to examine this issue and seek answers to improving the diversity of our coaches and administrators. This is an area where we believe we need to "Take MACtion" and lead a national effort. We can do more.
There is a lot on our plate, but in so many ways it is an incredibly exciting time to be involved in intercollegiate athletics and higher education. The English novelist Margaret Drabble said, "When nothing is sure, everything is possible." Our membership is seeking to use this dynamic time as an opportunity to make positive changes for the betterment of our institutions and more importantly for the betterment of the students. Former Miami University director of athletics Dick Shrider has a wonderful quote that truly captures what we are about - "Four years in college are very important, but the next forty are the ones we are more concerned with." Our coaches, our faculty, our administrators are about preparing young men and women for the rest of their lives - through the classroom, on the playing field, in the dorm, in the locker room. It's what we do and who we are.
And now, its time to go play some football ... The expectations of our membership and this Conference have not changed. We expect to win non-conference games, we expect to win bowl games and we expect to challenge for the College Football Host Bowl slot.
I'll be glad to entertain a few questions.