Whitworth Has Priorities Straight

Sat., March 16, 1996

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

On Tuesday, we saw what collegiate sports should be and what they too often are - a tale of two Inland Northwest colleges.

In Nampa, Idaho, the Whitworth College men’s basketball team didn’t lose until overtime of the NAIA Division II national title game. The Pirates landed in the finals without sacrificing academics. Or relying on a truckload of scholarships. Or cheating.

In Moscow, Kermit Davis was offered the University of Idaho men’s basketball coaching job. UI officials were tired of losing to in-state rivals - though the emphasis on scholastics under their latest coach, Joe Cravens, improved. So, they turned to Davis, a coach best known for a 50-12 record at UI (1988-90) and recruiting violations that landed Texas A&M on NCAA probation.

Whitworth wouldn’t touch Davis, even if it could afford to do so.

Amidst the hoopla of the title game against Albertson College Tuesday, Whitworth President Bill Robinson defined what college sports should be about: “The great thing about being at a college like Whitworth is that athletics are something we have fun with but, boy, we don’t live and die by it. It’s been a great run and it’ll make for great memories, but it’s very important for us to keep it in balance. Tomorrow at 11 o’clock these kids will all be taking tests again, whether we win or lose.”

Whitworth wants to win as badly as UI, Washington State or any other college, but it doesn’t compromise integrity.

Incredibly, Whitworth fields more intercollegiate teams than UI and Washington State - eight men’s and seven women’s - and a whopping 22 percent of its student body competes.

Unlike UI, however, local kids comprise the core of most Whitworth athletic teams. The leading scorer on the basketball team was from Almira, Wash. Two of the Pirates’ national champion women’s swimmers hail from Kent, Wash.

The student athletes - and we emphasize the word “student” - are such a part of Whitworth that President Robinson closed the school Tuesday. Hundreds of students took planes, cars and trains to see their friends play in southern Idaho.

The Pirate basketball players set a high standard this year. But other Whitworth teams have achieved much, too. Recently, at the national swim finals, the men’s team placed second, the women’s fourth. The women’s basketball team has gone to the national tournament in the past.

Obviously, the Whitworth basketball program isn’t in the same league as Idaho’s. It’s in a league of its own.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board

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