I hope I’m not the only member of the Rensselaer community who finds the following statement disturbing: “We need to be more flexible in admitting some student-athletes who may not be quite at the top academically but who are wonderful hockey players.” These were the words of Dennis Powers ’63 , the outgoing president of the Rensselaer Alumni Association, in an article run in the Albany Times Union Tuesday. Powers continued a rant about the failure of the RPI men’s hockey program by saying he was not suggesting a “double-standard” for hockey players, but rather the Institute should “bend” its academic standards for one or two athletes, who would help curb the Engineers’ athletic decline.
I’ll be the first to admit I was less than pleased with the performance of the 2004-2005 Rensselaer men’s hockey team. I had season tickets and watched, sometimes painfully, as the Engineers struggled through the ECACHL schedule. Needless to say, I want to see the team improve as much as anyone. However, I also have tremendous respect for our current student-athletes for the amount of time and effort they give in order to maintain successful grades. The men’s hockey team had a GPA of 3.44 and had 25 of 28 players make the dean’s list last semester, and perform on the ice.
That being said, I am personally offended and appalled as a Rensselaer student and a friend of several of the men’s hockey players to read Powers’ comments Tuesday afternoon. Head Coach Dan Fridgen has done a solid job of trying to maintain the delicate balance between finding players that can meet the rigorous academic requirements of RPI and play college hockey at the highest level. Since when did winning a few hockey games become more important than upholding the academic integrity and reputation of the Institute?
There are undoubtedly questions circling after the worst three-year span in RPI history. Fridgen, who in the last year of his contract, realizes his job is in jeopardy and the school and its players are tired of losing. That’s why RPI is allocating more money for recruiting for the hockey program, and the players are working harder than ever this off season in a combined effort to return Rensselaer to its glorious hockey days. Fridgen is a good coach who deserves the chance to right his wrongs, whatever they may be, and he and his players should be commended for their successes off or on the ice. Attacking the accomplishments of the hockey team off the ice is just unnecessary and fails to benefit or achieve any objective.
It scares me to think that the focus of the RPI alumni has shifted from academics to athletics. Has the focus shifted from the Institute’s highly regarded academic reputation to the status of its hockey program? The Engineers are a vital part of this school’s culture, and we all want them to succeed on the ice, but we must also encourage and foster success off it. I’m a diehard RPI sports fanatic. I want to see victories, but I still remember why I, and everyone else, come to RPI. Powers has apparently forgotten.
