UM’s Hoff puts athletics in perspective> President seeking balance for total college experience

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ORONO – University of Maine President Peter Hoff understands the value of athletics and other extracurricular activities as part of the total educational experience.

Hoff was a two-year captain on his Wisconsin high school golf team, which helped foster a life-long passion for the sport. He also played schoolboy football.

The 52-year-old Hoff reaped benefits from his study of music, making an appearance as a french horn player with the University of Wisconsin marching band at the 1963 Rose Bowl football game.

“I really feel that many of the things that I’ve participated in outside the classroom were just as important in shaping me as the classes I took,” said Hoff, who took time out last week to give his views on athletics at UMaine.

While Hoff concedes athletics provides a certain level of diversity to complement the academic mission of the University of Maine, he is quick to point out the rightful role of athletics in the overall scheme of things.

“I think balance is the key word,” Hoff said.

“While academics absolutely comes first, I think a good athletic program, along with intramural programs and other extracurricular activities, are all part of the mix that makes for a complete college experience for the students who come here and also makes us attractive as an institution when students are thinking about where they want to go to college.”

As UMaine’s 17th president, Hoff faces considerable challenges, most notably trying to boost the institution’s enrollment. He oversees an athletic department that is trying to polish an image tarnished by the discovery in 1994 of numerous NCAA rules violations, many of them in the hockey prof numerous NCAA rules violations, many of them in the hockey program.

Sanctions, including the remaining three years of a four-year probation imposed last summer by the NCAA Committee on Infractions and scholarship reductions in football and hockey, are still being felt at UMaine.

But Hoff believes UMaine, which has overhauled its NCAA compliance system, has proved it has straightened out those problems within the athletic department.

He bases that opinion on the informal feedback UMaine officials received after a routine NCAA certification visit last spring. The independent committee’s report is not expected for two or three months, but Hoff is confident the results will be positive.

“We were asked to prepare a self-study and talk in great detail about our athletics, the finances, the organization, the administration, the participation; all of the details about the athletic program,” Hoff said, pointing out each NCAA institution undergoes the same scrutiny every several years regardless of its compliance history.

“When all of that comes in, I think it will mark a new turning point that really, literally, does put some of the difficulties of the past behind us,” Hoff said.

There are other challenges Director of Athletics Suzanne Tyler and her department face under Hoff’s leadership. His support will be crucial in maintaining funding for the university’s 18 athletic programs including women’s ice hockey, the newest varsity sport.

Then, there is UMaine’s continuing struggle to achieve gender equity compliance under Title IX.

Earlier this summer, the National Women’s Law Center filed a federal complaint against UMaine and 24 other schools for discriminating in awarding athletic scholarship money for women. While Hoff has had limited dealings with athletics, including in his most recent job as a senior advisor to the chancellor of the California State University system, he is a veteran of the gender equity struggle.

In California, Hoff was responsible for monitoring the handling of a Title IX agreement between the Cal State system and the National Organization for Women.

“The NOW had brought suit against several institutions in the Cal State system alleging discrimination on a gender equity basis,” Hoff explained. “Rather than go to court, a number of our universities banded together and agreed in a legally binding document with the plaintiffs, NOW, that we would add certain sports and provide certain opportunities for women as an organized plan to bring about gender equity in California.”

Hoff doesn’t fear such a scenario at UMaine, where he said Title IX compliance is being addressed through the “Realizing the Dream” plan drafted in 1995.

“The plan’s in place and at last count we’re actually ahead of where we thought we’d be at this point,” Hoff said. “I think we’re very pleased with our progress toward full compliance with Title IX and the genuine commitment to gender equity.”

Hoff believes UMaine can, and should, continue to finance its present lineup of varsity sports and remain competitive in NCAA Division I. He said UMaine will try to keep pace with other land-grant flagship universities and the Black Bears’ conference opponents.

“I think there are good reasons for sustaining all the sports we’ve got,” Hoff said. “I don’t see any major new directions in terms of either adding or reducing the number of sports offered at this particular moment.”

While the elimination of football, or the downgrading of the program to non-scholarship status, could save UMaine more than $1 million per year and balance gender equity scales, Hoff is committed to maintaining the sport.

“I find it difficult to imagine a UMaine without some kind of football presence,” Hoff said. “I think football fits at Maine. It’s got a strong tradition and has had a lot of support for it over the years.”

Aside from funding issues, gender equity, and the aftermath of the NCAA investigation, there is the recent instability of the athletic department staff. In the past 18 months, 20 coaches, administrators and other athletic department staff members have left UMaine either for more lucrative jobs or because of differences with the administration.

Hoff believes the turnover is more a reflection of the university’s limited finances than an indictment of Tyler and her administration.

“We expect all our deans and directors to maintain open lines of communication in their departments,” Hoff said. “Only one or two people who were quoted in the [NEWS] article mentioned problems of [communication between administrators and staff members], whereas most of them mentioned a problem that in some ways I take equally seriously.

“[That is], most of the people who left, left because they were offered better jobs at higher pay,” Hoff said.

Regardless, Hoff promised routine scrutiny of departmental procedures and employees.

“All deans and directors and vice presidents, people in positions of responsibility, are held to a very, very high standard and their performance is reviewed,” he said.

Hoff said one way of slowing the defections is to seek out potential employees who have a vested interest in UMaine.

“We’re working to build a cadre of people who are at Maine not only because they’re well-compensated and well-respected and treated well, but who are here because they really have some strong tie to the institution and for the quality of life and other similar reasons really enjoy being here,” Hoff said.

Hoff used as an example women’s basketball coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie, who grew up in Brunswick but has made Orono her home for the last four years.

“Every year there’s some story about her being wooed by a top institution and, at least so far, we’ve been fortunate that she has seen reasons to turn down some of those very lucrative and attractive offers because she likes being here,” Hoff said. “We’d like to hope that we can build an entire staff with that kind of loyalty.”

Hoff hopes he will be spending minimal time on athletics, which accounts for less than four percent of the total Orono campus budget.

“We’ve got a lot of strong people across the university and we expect everybody who has specific responsibilities to be able to manage their particular side of the operation without undue intervention by the president,” Hoff said.

In the meantime, Hoff doesn’t expect his golf handicap to be coming down much any time soon.

“The only think I’m willing to say to the press on that is that I’m playing like a president these days, playing like somebody who is thinking about a lot of important issues and not always about his golf swing,” Hoff said.

wooed by a top institution and, at least so far, we’ve been fortunate that she has seen reasons to turn down some of those very lucrative and attractive offers because she likes being here,” Hoff said. “We’d like to hope that we can build an entire staff with that kind of loyalty.”

Hoff hopes he will be spending minimal time on athletics, which accounts for less than four percent of the total Orono campus budget.

“We’ve got a lot of strong people across the university and we expect everybody who has specific responsibilities to be able to manage their particular side of the operation without undue intervention by the president,” Hoff said.

In the meantime, Hoff doesn’t expect his golf handicap to be comimuch any time soon.

“The only think I’m willing to say to the press on that is that I’m playing like a president these days, playing like somebody who is thinking about a lot of important issues and not always about his golf swing,” Hoff said.