Swathmore Drops Football; Oberlin Not To Follow

Athletic Department Promises Support For Football Team

Now that Swarthmore College has decided to drop football as a sport, many people at Oberlin are wondering if our team is next. Rest assured for the next few years, though, Dill Field will be the home for an Oberlin College football team.

If you think back to the days when you were an Oberlin prospie, perhaps you were lucky enough to go on a tour around campus, or maybe you are one of the tour-guides now. Either way, you'll probably remember that one of the first things the guides tell you when you approach the athletic facilities is that Oberlin was the last Ohio football team to beat Ohio State.

I know when I first heard that fact I was somewhat impressed. Ohio State is as big as you can get in football, so to beat them is quite an accomplishment. But, being a local student quickly made me remember a few things.

First, all I had heard about Oberlin before I started becoming acquainted with the school my junior year was that they had one of the worst college football teams possible. I didn't even know how great a school it is, and it's right in my backyard! That goes to show how negativity in such a big sport as football can bias a school's reputation. Second, I've heard that speech from the tour guides enough times to know that it was a few millenniums ago when Oberlin beat Ohio State.

It's evident by the fact that our tour guides use past accomplishments to describe our football team that the program has given little for the school to brag about recently. Football is one of the biggest bragging rights sports of any school, but it is surely not a high priority at a top liberal arts college. At a school such as this people may wonder what the point of even having a football team is.

In what they called "an attempt to build the long-term quality" of their athletic program, the Board of Managers at Swarthmore voted this past Saturday to dispose of their football, wrestling and women's badminton teams. They believe that this reallocation of resources will boost the level of play in their 21 remaining sports. That may be so. Maybe the school's other teams will benefit largely from being able to get more athletes, but that is really not the most important issue. What should be of greatest concern is the manner in which they went about eliminating the football team.

Perhaps no other team in recent Division III college football has made strides as large as Swarthmore. Since the mid-1990's they were a team very comparable to ours. In 1999 they won only one game, and had three consecutive winless seasons before that. However, last season they made a remarkable turn-around and finished with a record of 4-5. I can't even imagine what would happen on Oberlin's campus if we won four games next season.

Said Oberlin Head Coach Jeff Ramsey, "I think it's a tragedy to college football for a school to drop a program that had been around for over 120 years. It is a shame that within the structure of Swarthmore's campus they can't find a place for football."

In fact, Swarthmore's Board of Managers also pointed out that they only want 15 percent of the student body to be athletes. Keep in mind that Oberlin is twice as big as Swarthmore. For Swarthmore to cut back on their athletes has a much greater affect on their diversity than it would for Oberlin. Said Ramsey, "If they weren't having any success, that's another story. But that's not the case. Is it really liberal to have less than 15 percent of your incoming freshman student athletes?"

What had started as a strong commitment from the administration was beginning to be realized last year for them in a successful football program. In fact, before the start of the season Oberlin was compared to Swarthmore as being one year behind in recruiting. After all, Ramsey has only been here for two seasons as head coach, and it takes that long to even get your recruiting off to a good start.

Now that Swarthmore has ditched a program that was returning 19 of their 22 starters for the 2001 season, where does that leave Oberlin? If a liberal arts college similar to ours has taken drastic steps in order to help provide more academic and isolated athletic "excellence," what are we going to do? The answer to that question lies among the administration, athletic director and the rest of the Oberlin community.

However, in recent publications, the media has attempted to provide plenty of suggestions of what Oberlin should do. In an edition of the Cleveland Scene two weeks ago, Oberlin was posted on the cover as "The Ream Team." At one point in the article, boxed text in big letters stated: "Oberlin football hasn't been so much a program as a train wreck on turf, fielding teams that have set the gold standard in goddamn awful play." The article subtly compliments the grandeur and excellent opportunities that Oberlin provides, but holds nothing back in ripping on the football team.

Also, an issue of the New York Times Magazine in September of last year portrayed Swarthmore's victory over Oberlin as much more than a game. The game was a monumental victory for the Garnet Tide as they ended a 28-game losing streak, and ensured the continuation of an onslaught of Oberlin losses.

Fortunately for the Oberlin football team, this school realizes the opportunities that a football program can provide as well.

Said Oberlin's Athletic Director Michael Muska, "I think what they [Swarthmore] have neglected is the fact that you can have athletes who are good football players and students."

Ramsey supported that notion, saying, "Football provides a student things they can't learn in the classroom. It teaches intrinsic traits and social values to the student."

Muska also expressed a firm belief that what Swarthmore did was unethical in the sense that the students and athletes were not consulted in any way. "It is really unfair what they did to their players and students. They had an impression that the school was behind their program," he said.

So how can we be sure that Oberlin is really behind our football program? Admissions took the first step in going to battle for the team last year by helping to bring in a large number of recruits. But in light of the recent Swarthmore decision, it will take more than that to convince Oberlin's athletes that they have a secure spot in competition.

Acting President Clayton Koppes didn't waste any time in addressing the football team at their awards banquet.

Said junior tight end Bob Montag, "[Koppes] reassured us that this school is making a commitment to the football team. I feel really bad for them, though. Some people go to a school because they can play football there, and now that opportunity has been taken away from them."

Montag didn't hesitate to look at the positives for Oberlin out of the situation. "We would definitely welcome anybody from Swarthmore who wants to come here."

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, as a few of the players have already made plans to transfer to closer schools such as Johns Hopkins University and Amherst College.

As for now, one thing seems to be sure Ñ Oberlin football is not going to be dropped. Said Ramsey, "I think this is a great opportunity for the Oberlin community to appreciate the value that our football team brings to the campus. It's a strong show of solidarity for the administration to give their support to the program."

"I'm 100 percent confident in everything that Mike and Clayton have said," he continued. Ramsey is confident that Oberlin football is here to stay and has nowhere to go but up.

Oberlin will play Franklin & Marshall in their first football game next season in place of Swarthmore. However, if for some reason Swarthmore finds reason to bring back the football team, Oberlin would still play them in the season opener. Athletic Director Mike Muska hopes that is the case.

He said, "I'm really disappointed that they dropped [from the schedule] because we are making big strides as a team and I would have liked to see us kick their butts next season."