Davis champions Linfield athletics
By Rusty Rae
McMinnville News-Register
Dec 28, 2018
If you’re a fan of Linfield athletics and worried
newly-seated Linfield College President Miles Davis might eliminate sports
programs, relax. Davis not only understands the importance of athletics in the
complete education of a student, but hopes more students would join the
competition.
“I wish more students who don’t compete understand that they
would have a better experience at Linfield if they did,” said Davis, not quite
six months into his first year as president.
“Students who are in better physical shape tend to have
better mental conditioning because the cardiovascular system allows the blood
to flow over the brain better in order to process information in a different
way,” Davis added. “Not only that, but the opportunity for the team experience
– developing leadership skills, camaraderie, hard work – are all part of the
athletic experience at Linfield helping fully develop students.”
Davis views athletics as one of the keys for improving
enrollment at the institution. At this time, he doesn’t believe there will be
significant changes to athletics to balance the budget.
“We have to invest in programs that grow and generate funds
and contain those that are draining resources. Students come here because they
want to be part of an athletic team. If you cut off things that help generate
revenue you impact your ability to balance budgets in the future. Quite
frankly, there was a budget cut that was taken for athletics last year – and
I’ll stop there.”
Davis appreciates the history of athletic excellence at
Linfield. He notes that last fall, he dropped in (in disguise) on the Wildcat
playoff football game against Hardin-Simmons, where he had a chance to witness
the ‘Cats demolish the Cowboys.
“It’s a great story and a great tradition – particularly
when you look at football. But I also had a chance to talk with an athlete from
the basketball team who had received a scholarship (for grad school). What
Linfield offers isn’t a sports school nor is it a school for brainy kids – it’s
a school for kids who want a quality education – who are going to do great
things – and who, by the way, want to play athletics. That’s a powerful
combination.”
While Davis notes many schools use their athletic programs
as straight recruiting tools. “Linfield does both – we offer a quality
education which in turn produces quality athletes,” he said.
In terms of recruiting athletes to Linfield, Davis is
unabashed in his opinion that many athletes who pursue a DI or DII career would
have a much greater college experience playing at a DIII school like Linfield
rather than riding the bench at the upper-level schools.
He’s actually met with potential student-athletes and their
parents (at the request of coaches) to describe the Linfield advantage –
quality education and tradition of athletic excellence. He adds, “It’s a hard
sell. I went through this with my daughter. At the institution I was at before,
they had a great program in a major she wanted, and the soccer coach wanted
her.
“She would have had a much more positive experience coming
to a DIII school, even if her dad was there as a dean, than going to a Division
One school and dealing with a coach who treated her in a way I don’t
appreciate,” he said.
His personal experience with the recruiting process allows
him insight he hopes will assist Wildcat coaches in attracting top-tier
athletes who can flourish at a school like Linfield.
Davis, who is the founding director of the Institute for
Entrepreneurship at his former institution, Shenandoah University, will add the
entrepreneurial spirit to the task, though he notes, “We can inform them – both
the student athlete and the parents – what it is like to be a part of the DIII
experience. But it has to be something that the kid wants – and, quite frankly,
it’s not just athletics, we have to offer the programs that are relevant to
that person.”
A part of that education, according to Davis, is to let the
student-athlete and their parents know that DI programs often recruit kids for
their intelligence, knowing they will likely never see a great deal of playing
time, but will raise the team’s grade point average.
High in importance, notes Davis, involves selling the school
to the parents, as well.
“You have to convince people of the quality of the
education. Why don’t players, who would clearly be better off, come to DIII
schools? There needs to be a different conversation with the parents. The
parents are saying my son got a scholarship to this particular institution –
and that gives them bragging rights – even though the cost would have been less
if they just came here in the first place,” he said.
Furthermore, Davis believes athletes attending Linfield must
be students, too.
“(Students) have to come here understanding they’re going to
have to study. The reality is that the kid can be an exceptionally good athlete,
but may not be a good fit for Linfield. They’re students here, so they have to
integrate into the community – it’s very important for them to find the right
fit,” he explained.
Linfield athletes represent far more than simply players on
the field to Davis. “These men and women are great representatives of Linfield
in the community. For example, the basketball team takes part in the Bounty of
the County,” he said.
Davis, however, did find himself embroiled in an athletic
controversy. The athletic department was taken to task by nine members of the
volleyball team who quit over what they termed being bullied by head coach Josh
Davis. The former players have subsequently filed a Title IX suit against the
college.
Growing up on the south side of Philadelphia, the president
noted Coach Davis’ methods were the standard in his day, while adding there are
always some rough waters in a coaching change. However, he also made it clear,
“Student-athletes must feel they are in a safe environment and that’s why we
are going through a complete review by the HR team.”
Davis’ athletic career was cut short by an injury, but the
Linfield president resembles one of the ‘Cats’ running backs in waiting. His
frame is rock-solid, and he notes, “One of the things I learned, particularly
after being in traction, you have to take care of yourself. You can’t take care
of other people if you don’t take care of yourself. Consequently, I get up at
5:45 am and work out.
“I have two simple goals in life: One is forever to see and
touch my toes – the measure of my overall health and wellness. I also have a
number of genetic markers in my family that predispose me to several diseases I
can control through proper exercise and diet – so I try to stay fit,” he said.
Davis realizes Linfield must update its program. Of the
current facilities, Davis noted, “They’re adequate – but adequate is not where
we need to be. They need to be better. I’d like to make them better and all we
need is money. Anyone reading this article and has a couple of million they
want to share. . .
“At one time, the facilities at Linfield were state of the
art. But the science of training – now you can go old-school training – anyone
who has seen any of the Rocky movies or the new Creed II knows you can go
old-school training. But when you are trying to recruit for those programs –
yes, we have an adequate football stadium – there is no box to host donors. And
this is Oregon – and even though it is a beautiful day today, it has been known
to rain on occasion. There are things that need to be done to upgrade the
facilities to make us more appealing. I would say it is an investment that
needs to be made – it’s just how do we get the money to make that investment,”
he said.
Davis appears to agree with Linfield athletic director Garry
Killgore’s vision to develop an athletic facility – a stadium-exercise-science
center – that students and athletes alike can use. It’s simply a matter of time
for Davis to find funds and partnerships to make his vision a reality.
Support for athletics at Linfield takes many forms, but one
way Davis chooses to support ‘Cat competitions is simply by being at the games.
He’s a regular at many venues, including Linfield basketball games, where
you’ll not only see him, but also his family cheering the Wildcats. It’s also
been an opportunity for Davis to become acquaintance with members of the
greater Linfield community, both young and old. “It’s one of the most important
things that I do in support of teams,” he said.
A change in the reporting protocol also establishes a
stronger level of communication between the administration and coaching staff.
Today, under Davis’ leadership, all coaches have a dotted-line relationship
with the president, something they didn’t have in the past which Davis hopes
will strengthen all programs.
Like all true Wildcats, he takes great pride in the
achievement of the football team, but he also says, “The football tradition
should be the tradition across all the fields of play.”
That is Davis’ ultimate vision for Linfield athletics.
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