By Leilana McKindra

What is sportsmanship?

The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct took a close look at that question during its November meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee noted that the term is not only stretched, overused and worn out, it’s also ambiguous. However, pinning down a common definition is critical to the committee’s goal of creating and sustaining a long-lasting commitment to sportsmanship across the NCAA.

“It’s probably more important to the committee than the general public, but we need to have a focus. Having a definition of how we interpret sportsmanship is one way to find where we should be focusing,” said Dan Mara, commissioner of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and chair of the committee.

In seeking a working definition, the committee focused on the concept of respect for the game, opponents, fans, officials, teammates and coaches. “We feel that if respect exists for all those constituencies, then sportsmanship will follow.”

Division II has begun using “game environment” in addressing related issues, believing that it applies more broadly than “sportsmanship,” which may be perceived to relate primarily to players and coaches.

The committee believes that the Association is behind organizations such as the NAIA, NJCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations in establishing a national sportsmanship program. While individual institutions and conferences are addressing the issue, Mara said the NCAA has yet to make the progress it is seeking. Consequently, next year, the committee is planning to launch an extensive three-year promotional initiative on sportsmanship with a goal of sparking a change in the intercollegiate athletics culture.

Working closely with national office staff to develop the campaign, the committee will spend the first part of 2008 surveying a range of stakeholders about their perceptions. Appropriate messages will be developed based on the survey feedback in time to launch the initiative at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year.

“Our vision is to put a face on sportsmanship, an identifiable tag that comes to signify that the NCAA is talking about sportsmanship and that it’s important,” Mara said. “We know how important sportsmanship was to the birth of the NCAA, but somewhere along the line it’s gotten a little lost in the shuffle and we want to get it back to the forefront.”