<p>Thank your college administration rather than the NCAA. That is a relatively light fine. What was happening was a complete lack of management oversight.</p>
<p>Actually, what seems to have happened (in my interpretation) is that a new Athletic Director was hired, and he decided to upgrade his position. He was the driving force behind this investigation, report, and sanctions deal. I would bet that he got more face time with Caltech’s president during the past year than his predecessor had during his entire tenure. Maybe the last two or three ADs combined.</p>
<p>Caltech athletes understand physics, sure. It’s good to know that the Caltech Athletic Director has a firm understanding of leverage and the physics of bureaucracy, too.</p>
<p>Well, I for one have always felt that Caltech degrees were undervalued because they they didn’t compete in NCAA Division I. Perhaps this is the first step toward changing that! Kudos, Mr./Dr.Prof. AD!</p>
<p>It’s just payback for Caltech’s recent domination of college basketball (26-year streak that began in the mid-1980s and finally ended on Feb. 22, 2011).</p>
<p>Ok, RR, how do I make a charitable donation for new gloves, etc?</p>
<p>Instead of alumni fund, I could direct towards the athletic dept.</p>
<p>I’m actually not sure if you can direct funds to the athletic department. I remember having a conversation with the head of fundraising for graduate alumni (I forget what that actual title is at the moment), and he told me he was pushing for the model where you can’t donate to a specific cause because the schools knows where it could use the money better than the person donating does. My interactions with that guy are one of the main reasons I donate to my undergrad school and not here, actually.</p>
<p>(Gotta say, the new gloves are fantastic, though. All of the people on my team that have never caught a ball before are a lot less afraid of losing an eye!)</p>
<p>RR, I’ll just send with a note. I am happy you got new gloves.</p>
<p>^In lieu of money, the best way of getting Caltech kids athletic equipment is to fly over the campus in a plane and drop athletic equipment from the sky like the U.N. parachutes in food crates in 3rd world countries.</p>
<p>Thanks for the donation bookworm! :)</p>
<p>From SlitheyTove’s #8 link, in reference to CalTech kids interviewed about the NCAA catastrophe:</p>
<p>“some said they were barely aware the school had sports teams”</p>
<p>I guffawed.</p>
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<p>Are there rules that preclude athletes to purchase their INDIVIDUAL equipment? Aren’t gloves like shoes for soccer players? </p>
<p>Call me naive, but I do not think that many schools cover soccer shoes for their intramural playing students, or softball gloves.</p>
<p>I totally missed that was intramurals before. Intramural sports participants should be outfitted by themselves. They’re not representing the college.</p>
<p>^ if its part of student life and it encourages physical activity and physical fitness it should be supported by the college. Interhouse athletics are a huge part of their house system that encourage friendly competition between the houses. I see nothing wrong with the college purchasing new gloves for softball or a set of frisbies for a game of Ultimate or a new basketball hoop every so often.</p>
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<p>just like only the students in art history should have their money go to supporting the art history department, right?</p>
<p>^ Is that the best comparison you can make? Intramurals are NOT part of college graduation requirements. Colleges fund NCAA sports programs. At the next level down some colleges fund club sports programs while others do not. Intramurals are below that. If a college chooses to fund intramurals, they can do that with their money. But in my mind you need to buy your own intramural gear.</p>
<p>Not all NCAA division 1 teams get everything paid for by the college. I’m surprised intramural sports would expect to, to be honest.</p>
<p>^ I don’t think RR said they expected the school to purchase them anything he said it was nice they got new gloves. I also think that anyone complaining has two matters of recourse; don’t send your kids to Caltech and don’t donate them any money (I guess a third is to complain about a place you have never been to and know little about). They are a private institution that has the option of spending their endowment how they want. (I am personally going to send a donation with a note that I would like it to go towards interhouse/intramural athletics.) </p>
<p>Perhaps more schools need to support intramural athletics, god knows we are not exactly skinny as a nation.</p>
<p>Considering how many kids are clamoring to get in I think they will survive this ‘scandal’.</p>
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<p>that’s fine, but colleges fund lots of things that aren’t part of the graduation requirement… and if you only want students to pay for what they use, that is fine as well, but then it should apply to academics also. That’s all I’m saying.</p>
<p>I actually like the idea that schools shouldn’t fund IM sports, yet they should build million-dollar stadiums, climbing walls, and other extravagant amenities for athletics otherwise.</p>
<p>As a note, the equipment used for IM sports are, I believe, also used for the athletic classes offered by the school. Physical education classes are a requirement for graduation, so if you want to only spend money on graduation requirements, then you do have that.</p>