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Date: 3/20/2015
SPRINGFIELD. – Western New England University (WNE) student-athletes had the opportunity to meet one of the top officials in college athletics when Dan Dutcher, the NCAA vice president for Division III, was the featured speaker at the school’s “For the Love of the Games” program series on March 11.
The event was presented by the university’s Center for International Sport Business (CISB) and sponsored by the Western New England Alumni Association.
Dutcher was the 20th speaker in the popular series and a diverse audience of Western New England University students and athletics officials from conferences (including the Commonwealth Coast) and institutions as far away as Providence, R.I., came to Sleith Hall to hear Dutcher speak about issues confronting intercollegiate athletics and the role that Division III plays in providing participation opportunities for student-athletes.
As Western New England Associate Dean of the College of Business and CISB Director Curt Hamakawa casually noted, “when the NCAA is on campus, that usually isn't a good thing.”
But this occasion was different, with Dutcher being warmly welcomed by the University community, and he in turn having only positive things to say about Western New England, its athletics program, and its student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
Hamakawa and Dutcher are good friends, having known one another since they worked together at the NCAA in the late 1980s.
Hamakawa invited Dutcher to campus and had a full day of activities planned for his former colleague.
Earlier in the day Dutcher attended a luncheon with WNE President Anthony Caprio, Board of Trustees and senior staff members, faculty and athletics department officials. Dutcher then had an informal meeting with student-athletes and coaches at the Downes Athletic Hall of Fame.
“It’s rare for an NCAA executive of Dan Dutcher's stature to visit a member institution outside of an official business function, so the Western New England community was especially honored by his presence,” said Hamakawa.
In response to students' questions about things that he considers important in preparing for their careers upon graduation, Dutcher said that “number one, you must be a good writer,” because he is very unforgiving about careless writing.
Dutcher also told students “that you can never know too many people," in terms of building one's personal network of contacts, and he concluded by reminding students of the popular refrain "that if you find a job that you love, you will never work a day in your life,” which he said was true in his case.