Athletics and Enrollment at Gordon

“Recruiting is one of our best investments within athletics and for the overall health of the institution,” said Gordon Athletic Director Jon Tymann. 

Studies done by the National Collegiate Athletic Association have shown that the success and growth of a small college’s athletic program will greatly affect the enrollment of the institution.  An NCAA research study appeared in the Chronicle for Higher Education proving, “The cohort of student athletes provides for full-time enrollment, an increase in cultural diversity and a greater yield in goal-oriented students, which translates into higher retention, transfer and graduation rates,” reported by the Strategic Enrollment Management Team, “These initiatives also play a significant role in outreach strategies and image building for the institution and its constituents.”

According to Gordon’s Admissions Information Technology Coordinator Jerica Lucero, of the 28,705-student inquiry pool for 2012, 5,252 were marked as being interested in one or more sports programs, not including REC-IM.  21% of the current students at Gordon are varsity athletes not including those who are involved in athletic training, production and attending events.  If sports are such a crucial component for attracting perspective students to Gordon, why does Gordon Admissions supply zero funding for athletic recruitment?  Instead, the expenditures used for recruiting athletes are taken from the already limited sports budget, cutting into the growth and advancement of the established teams and athletic facilities. 

How does this affect enrollment?  Ten years ago, Gordon enrolled over 1,600 students.  Endicott enrolled a similar amount the in 2001-2002.  However, while Gordon enrolled a little over 1,500 students for the 2012-2013 year, Endicott boasts over 2,400 students enrolled. Why has Endicott’s admissions almost doubled, while Gordon’s number has decreased?  Many attribute it to the addition of their football program in 2002.  While this was a great expense for the college, it has been worth the investment.  Ever since this addition, the enrollment has steadily increased at Endicott. 

“I have to make hard choices as to how to best ‘invest’ our budget for greatest success,” said Tymann. “Recruiting is one of our best investments within athletics and for the overall health of the institution.”

This is not just a problem that Gordon faces, but most small Christian colleges do not put enough stock into their athletic program. According to the athletic director of Westmont College, Dave Odell, athletics raises about $750,000 worth of scholarship funds each year, separate from the school’s general budget.  However, he also added, “We do not have a budget for recruiting.  Our coaches often use fundraised money or pay out of their own pockets.”

The success of their athletic program has earned them national and global exposure.  In fact, Westmont’s Tugce Canitez ‘13, member of the women’s basketball team, played in the 2012 London Olympics for Turkey’s women’s basketball team. This exposure may be attributed to the great effort put into their recruiting process. 

“We recruit 70 new athletes, which is about a quarter of our incoming class each year,” said Odell.  “And we don’t get a budget!”

He laments this budgeting choice because he believes that the athletics’ budget is too limited.  If the program puts a sufficient amount of the funds into the recruitment of player to make this successful, there will be no funds left to build on the current teams and athletic facilities. 

So what does Endicott’s athletic program have that other small colleges need? The “Gull Club.”  The Gull Club is made up of “Parents of athletes, athletic alumni, faculty, staff, corporations, and friends… making a contribution.” According to the college’s athletic website, “Investment in our student-athletes and coaches through annual giving allows them to compete at the highest level in Division III athletics… The combined support of the College and the Gull Club will have a significant impact on all of our student-athletes.” 

If funds will not be supplied by admissions at Gordon, maybe it’s time to turn to alumni, parents and donors.  But wait, such a thing does exist.  Though many are not even aware of it.  The Highlander Club was established for Gordon’s Athletics for just this purpose in 2003.  So what does the Gull Club have that the Highlander Club needs?  Supporters, recognition and events. 

“Right now Highlander Club is on the backburner,” said Highlander Club Assistant Mechelle Brown. The focus has been on student involvement, mainly revamping the PIT.  However, students are not the ones who are able to provide the funds for athletes and their teams. 

Perhaps students need to be more involved in raising this awareness and taking part in the club.  If we as students want to see change and improvement in our programs, why don’t we take initiative to see that change happen?