“As the saying goes, ‘It’s a great day for hockey.’ It also is a great day for Rensselaer athletics.”
These were the words President Shirley Ann Jackson used to describe her jubilant mood after Amendment 65-1 was passed by a 296-106 (17 abstentions) vote at the NCAA Division-III Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
As of 2 pm Monday, President Jackson, Athletic Director Ken Ralph, and the entire Rensselaer community could finally breathe a little easier after the amendment to Proposal 65 was passed.
Amendment 65-1 permits RPI, along with seven other D-III schools—Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Colorado College, John Hopkins, Hartwick, SUNY at Oneonta, and Rutgers University-Newark—to continue to offer athletic scholarships to its D-I athletes.
“This is the culmination of five months of hard work by Dr. Jackson, our entire athletics department, the administration, our alumni, and countless other supporters who stood with us and helped tell our story,” said Ralph. “The NCAA membership heard us loud and clear, and affirmed our belief in Rensselaer’s athletics programs.”
NCAA proposal 65, which prevents any future D-III school from “playing up” to D-I easily passed by a vote of 304-89 after the adjunct of Amendment 65-1.
The passage of Proposals 65 and 65-1 ultimately secures RPI’s historic hockey tradition and the other seven school’s programs from future endangerment. The eight schools are now considered grandfathered in their particular D-I sports, which will allow these schools’ superb teams to continue to “play up” without the possibility of further interference from the NCAA.
“Today we saw perhaps the most important reaffirmation of the Rensselaer men’s hockey team in its 100-year history,” President Jackson said following the vote. “This is an affirmation of a main tenet of the NCAA philosophy: to protect and support the autonomy of each member institution.”
With the proposal now behind them, the men’s hockey team, currently in third place in the ECAC, and Head Coach Dan Fridgen will no longer have to battle with the constant distractions and uncertainty of wondering about the future of their team.
“Our men’s hockey team can now move forward to continue recruiting the high-level student athletes that Rensselaer attracts,” President Jackson said.
“Today’s vote is an affirmation of the strong scholar-athlete program here at Rensselaer,” said Eddie Knowles, vice president of student life.
Knowles went on to add that 20 of the 27 members of the Rensselaer men’s hockey team made the dean’s list last semester.
From a larger perspective, the acceptance of Amendment 65-1 not only saved RPI and the seven other schools, but also may have saved or at least preserved the status quo in the ECAC.
Four of the seven schools—Rensselaer, Colorado College, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson—have storied and established programs in D-I hockey with the Engineers, Saints, and Golden Knights being valuable members in the ECAC.
“I am extremely pleased that Proposal 65-1 was adopted by the NCAA membership,” ECAC Commissioner Phil Buttafuoco said. “This legislation will allow ECAC hockey schools, as well as the other multidivisional programs that award aid based on athletic ability, to continue the long traditions associated with their respective programs with the ability to provide athletic aid to those worthy student-athletes.”
Buttafuoco went on to praise all those involved who helped fight the proposal, especially President Jackson, who presented the issue on the floor at the NCAA Convention.
