Lord Speaks at Final Four
(Houghton,
N.Y.)—H. “Skip” Lord, athletics director at Houghton College,
made a presentation on Monday at the Women’s Basketball Coaches
Association meeting held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s
Final Four in Tampa Bay, Fla.
Lord’s presentation, entitled “blowing the Whistle on
Character Education,” is part of a series that examines the role
of officiating in sports and its impact on fan behavior, crowd
control, sportsmanship and the future of sport in society.
“It's obviously a bit intimidating to be sharing with
folks who have forgotten more about basketball than I'll ever
know,” said Lord, of the experience, “At the same time, it was
amazing how engaged they were and how attentive they were to
what was presented.”
This was not the first time that Lord has addressed this
topic. He made the presentation at the NCAA Final Four in Boston
in 2006. He also spoke to Geno Auriema, head coach at the
University of Connecticut and Vivian Stringer, Rutgers’ head
coach, among others, at the Big East women’s basketball coaches’
annual meeting.
Lord has also given the presentation to the athletics
directors and head coaches of all sports from the American
Mideast Conference and to the basketball coaches and officials
from Erie County, Pa.
The presentation focuses on using sports as an
educational tool and comments on the roles that each of the
participants—players, coaches, fans, officials and
administrators—must play, concentrating on the responsibilities
each has.
Lord
has made the presentation a regular part of the training he does
of instructors as part of the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) “Champions of Character”
program. Houghton College has deep roots in the NAIA, where its
teams use their commitment to excellence, both on the
field-of-play and in the classroom, as a platform to change the
culture of sport and to change our culture through sport.
