AD's Fall Letter

"The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.”
--Edward Gibbon

Dear Bates Community & Friends,

With the search for a permanent president underway, a new Dean of Faculty in place, and the Admissions Dean of three decades recently retired - just to name a few of the more momentous developments - the “winds of change” are certainly gusting at Bates. But co-opting Gibbon’s quote from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, being able to navigate the winds and waves of change affords a terrific opportunity to ride the crest and achieve further excellence.

Collaborating with the campus community during this year of transformation, we look to build on last year’s successful initiatives including: an Athletics-led Bates Allies Rally celebrating our differences with a specific focus on LGBTQ issues (we still have Allies wristbands left and it is never too late to sign the Allies pledge); the establishment of a “Getting It Done” peer mentoring program; Scholar-Athlete awards to 149 of our student-athletes; an inaugural leadership training program for all captains/team leaders; the completion of the Garcelon Field Project; new scoreboards for the Baseball and Softball fields (fund-raised); and continued improvement in our fitness facilities with new weight room and cardio equipment.

On the competitive front in FY11, Bates teams had National finishes in Women’s Rowing, Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s & Women’s Alpine & Nordic Skiing, Women’s & Men’s Squash, and Men’s Outdoor Track; increased the total number of NESCAC wins across all sports; had Women’s Soccer come within a game of the NESCAC Championships; tallied 20+ wins in Baseball for the 2nd consecutive season; and Bates’ NACDA Director's Cup finish put the Bobcats in the top 15% of the 450+ schools competing in Division III.

Despite how stormy FY12 may get, what will not change is that Athletics will continue to define able navigation as providing opportunities that enhance the College’s liberal arts experience; that intellectually, physically and personally develop the sports participants; and that build community within the campus as well as with those in the L/A area. Furthermore, successful navigation means holding to the highest expectation for who we are, for how we conduct our programs, and how we conduct ourselves. These expectations are outlined in the Participant Policies on the Athletics website that every varsity athlete agrees in writing to uphold.

With 800+ student-athletes competing in 31 varsity sports and another 200+ involved in 13 club sport programs, the support that you provide by recognizing their efforts and attending their events whenever possible, is invaluable. It affirms that the community appreciates the dedication required to shine in a sport while at the same time working to excel in the classroom. The sport schedules along with updated results and other details can be found at: http://bates.edu/sports-schedule.xml. Additionally, many home athletic events will feature free, live, video webcasts and that schedule is at: http://www.firstteambroadcasting.com/organizations/bates-college/.

So please, join us this year and together we will ably navigate those “winds of change”! Thank you and best wishes,

Kevin McHugh
Director of Athletics