Fall Seasons Kick-Off Letter to Campus

“Anything less than a nationally competitive athletics program
is inconsistent with the excellence and distinction for which
Bates College is otherwise renowned.”
Kevin McHugh, Director of Athletics


Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends,

I generally begin these seasonal letters by borrowing lines from a famous person or a poem or a song - anything other than a quote of my own. However, given this past year’s undertaking, I thought it made sense to start the new fall term with these words. Over the past twelve months, the Athletic Department undertook a review of its intercollegiate sports programs (as well as the physical education, club sport, and intramural programs) to determine whether or not each is consistent with the stated mission of the department. Revised in 2008, the Mission Statement now says:

The Department of Athletics and Physical Education promotes the mission of Bates College by providing appropriate gender-equitable athletic opportunities that enhance the overall
liberal arts undergraduate experience. The members of the Athletics Department are professional educators who are committed to the intellectual, physical and personal development
of all students. Consistent with Bates College’s national reputation, the Department offers programs that strive for excellence and seek distinction within the New England Small
College Athletic Conference and at the national level. The Athletics Department and its programs play a critical role in building community among students, faculty, staff, and alumni
as well as the Lewiston-Auburn community.

The review concluded that every one of the intercollegiate sports programs does, in fact, enhance the overall liberal arts undergraduate experience and does help prepare the participants for life after college. Similarly, it found that all thirty one sport programs contribute significantly to the intellectual, physical and personal development of the student-athlete participants and that each is meeting expectations when it comes to building community.

However, while all of our intercollegiate sports most certainly are striving for and seeking excellence, only some of them are actually achieving this ideal of distinction within the New England Small College Athletic Conference and at the national level. For Bates Athletics to be truly supportive of the College mission and of the students who come to this campus expecting to excel in all that they do, our programs, and most especially the highly visible intercollegiate sports, must be competitive with the best programs in the country.

The first line of the College Mission Statement proclaims, “Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, nationally recognized for the qualities of the educational experience it provides.” Furthermore, the College’s website asks, “Why Bates?” The site answers, “Nationally recognized academic program.” The website goes on to note, “Rated among the best liberal arts colleges in the nation, Bates curriculum and faculty challenge students to develop powers of critical assessment, analysis, expression, aesthetic sensibility, and independent thought.”

We in Athletics are immensely proud of our role as educators. The lessons that we teach to the fifty percent or more of the Bates student body who participate in a sport comprise among others: leadership, teamwork, accountability, mental toughness, self-discipline, critical thinking, time management and adaptability. Enhancing the superb classroom experience noted above, this co-curricular learning helps to develop outstanding young women and men who are well-equipped for life after Bates.

As with almost any endeavor, these athletics lessons gain the most purchase when the students experience success in the pursuit of their passion. Winning consistently against our NESCAC peers equates to national competitiveness. Competitive excellence at the national level, undergirded by the “whole person” education afforded through participation in Bates sports, best defines what a truly successful Bobcats intercollegiate athletics program should be. Anything less falls short of fully supporting our students and fails to appropriately complement the national-caliber Bates academic experience.

Now, lest I paint too negative a picture, I do want to point out that Bates closed out the year in outstanding fashion with Men’s Tennis players Ben Stein and Amrit Rupasinghe winning Bates’ first-ever NCAA Doubles title and Stein finishing as the National Runner-up in Singles; Women’s Rowing garnering a 2nd place finish at the NCAA Championships (the highest ever finish by any Bates team); and the Men’s Rowing team capping off its best season in the program’s history by competing in the Henley Regatta in England, the sport’s most prestigious event! Those successes came on the heels of Bates doing a tremendous job hosting this year’s NCAA Skiing National Championships that brought the top Division I as well as Division III teams and individuals to the area from throughout the country! With overall increases in wins across all sports last year as well as more total NESCAC victories, higher NCAA finishes in Women’s Rowing, Men’s & Women’s Alpine and Nordic Skiing, Women’s Swimming, Women’s Indoor Track, and Women’s Outdoor Track; Softball’s first-ever appearance in the NESCAC Championships tournament; and a 57th place finish in NACDA Director's Cup standings (out of 420 schools in DIII), the trajectory of success for Bates Athletics now points toward national excellence and distinction – the next step is to get there.

Your support of the efforts of our student-athletes as well as your attendance at their events are key to them reaching their full potential, academically and athletically, and to Bates Athletics achieving at the level it should. The passion and zeal - *Amore Ac Studio* - of the young men and women who comprise our thirty one sports teams is bolstered by the knowledge that the campus community values their efforts to excel in the classroom as well as in their sport. I ask that you try to attend as many of the contests as possible that are detailed in the attached schedule of events. For the contests that you can’t make, please check the updates and details on our website: http://www.bates.edu/sports.xml.

Thank you, have a great semester, and Go Bobcats!

Kevin McHugh
Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education