Is it practical to run a Division III program like a Division 1 program? What would be the differences?
I wouldn’t want to run one the same way. Again, balance. There were a lot of times when I felt like an anomaly at Butler. Maybe that’s why we were successful, I don’t know. I had a way of understanding when it was time to back off and not ask for more. I understood that players still wanted to be students. I understood that my two hours more of practice at the end of the day wasn’t going to be a dealbreaker. I didn’t go off the deep end if someone came to me and told me they had a physics test that was critically important and they had to miss practice. It was a teaching moment, but the teaching moment came a day or two after the physics test, when I could talk to that player about time management, as opposed to demanding he be at practice.
Having said that, they still keep score in Division III, just like they keep score in Division I. I don’t think Hamilton strives to be mediocre in the classroom, and I don’t expect us to strive to be mediocre on the athletic field.
[ TAYLOR ]
What are the parallels and differences between coaching a team and leading an athletic department?
That’s a great question. In a lot of respects, they’re parallel. I find most often that analogies I am making with coaches come back to that very point. Tough decisions sometimes have to be made for the betterment of the whole group as opposed to an individual. Coaches do that all the time with their teams. Administrators have to do that with people, whether it’s with coaches or staff members or student-athletes.
