Dec. 16, 2011
Center Valley, Pa. - The Patriot League Council of Presidents met December 12 and 13 on the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. for one of their two annual meetings.
They met in a joint session with the athletic directors, and participated in a presentation on the current state of the League's member institution's concussion management plans, as well as such related topics as policies on returning to play and the cognitive impact on student-athletes returning to their academic studies. The League will continue to study the topic and present any additional findings or recommendations to the Presidents in June.
Bucknell president Dr. John Bravman, the League's representative on the NCAA Presidents' Advisory Group, reported on the presidents' retreat this past fall, along with the developments from the NCAA Working Groups and the reform movement within the NCAA.
The presidents and athletic directors also engaged in a general discussion on the recent changes with conference affiliations and how the Patriot League could strengthen its membership in the future.
During the general business session of the meetings, the presidents reviewed the annual admission reports and Graduation Success Rates (GSR) following a report from the League Policy Committee meeting. All eight Patriot League schools scored above 85 percent in graduation success rates, putting the entire League at or near the top of the NCAA charts. Holy Cross, Bucknell and Lafayette joined American and Colgate in the top 10 nationally in GSR, giving the Patriot League as many schools in the top 10 as any other conference in the country.
Holy Cross Athletic Director Richard Regan, the chair of the League's Committee on Athletic Administration (CAA), informed the Presidents on several topics related to men's basketball, including additional post-season tournament bids and improving strength of schedule through enhanced non-League scheduling, as well as discussions related to multi-media opportunities.
The Patriot League Council of Presidents voted unanimously against the implementation of the NCAA legislation to provide a "cost-of-attendance" stipend for miscellaneous expenses to its student-athletes and asked the League's athletic directors to continue to monitor the situation. At this time, the NCAA has suspended this legislation until the NCAA Board of Directors convenes in January.