Athletic Department's Mission, Philosophy, and Objectives
MISSION STATEMENT
The ultimate objective of Fordham University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is to integrate academic and athletic experiences successfully in the Jesuit tradition. Student-athletes are expected to benefit from the educational, professional, and cultural advantages of a university located in New York City.
Accordingly, we are committed to broad participation in intercollegiate athletics, with ample opportunity provided for meaningful and successful contributions by men and women of diverse background, culture and experiences. For all athletic pursuits, whether they are at the varsity, club, intramural, or recreational level, the Athletic Department strives to provide a rewarding experience for all its constituents. The Department conducts its activities in ways that promote sportsmanship, camaraderie, and a comprehensive commitment to academic excellence, diversity, and equitable opportunity for all students and staff.
PHILOSOPHY
Excellence in the fields of academics and athletics should be viewed as mutually beneficial. The concern of the Athletic Department for nurturing the well-being of its student-athletes, therefore, is in keeping with the University's reputation for excellence and integrity. Since the Athletic Department directs its coaches to be aware that academics is primary, it encourages them to monitor student-athletes' class attendance and to find effective means to assist them in their academic pursuits. Successfully integrating academics with athletics is the Department's ultimate objective. However, such an objective does not deter the Department from setting the highest athletic goals for itself. Such high standards enrich campus life and increase national visibility of academic programs. Thus mutually supportive programs of excellence in both academics and athletics benefit the students, faculty, administrators, and alumni of Fordham University.
OBJECTIVES
- To promote the principle of student-athlete well-being by establishing and maintaining an environment that fosters: the student-athlete educational experience; relationship between student-athlete and coach; fairness; health and safety.
- To develop and maintain mutually supportive programs of excellence in both academics and athletics in order to benefit the students, faculty, administrators, and alumni of Fordham University.
- To employ coaches and other administrative staff members who are capable of performing as professionals in an educational community where high standards of integrity and ethical behavior, as well as sportsmanship, are expected of its members.
- To recruit student-athletes who are academically prepared for University work.
- To strive for gender equity by providing equitable opportunities for both men and women by developing and sustaining programs, which help all student-athletes, achieve their maximum potential, both academically and athletically.
- To promote and value diversity among our student-athletes and athletics department.
- To offer an appropriate academic support program and tutoring services to all student-athletes.
- To attain retention rates which at a minimum reflect that of the Fordham University student body as a whole and with the ideal goal of 100% graduation rate within five years of matriculation for student-athletes completing four years of eligibility.
- To operate it's athletic programs at a high level of intercollegiate competition and to seek affiliation with institutions demonstrating a similar commitment to academic excellence, institutional integrity, and athletic competitiveness.
- To promote character development in student-athletes, including cooperation, teamwork, leadership, and loyalty.
- To train student-athletes in legitimate means of displaying good sportsmanship and the will to win, thereby contributing to the development of institutional morale, loyalty, and school spirit.
- To develop short and long-range financial plans consistent with and supportive of the overall program objectives determined by the University.
- To develop a sports medicine program with the necessary facilities and personnel to enhance the physical fitness and skill of the student-athletes, as well as to promote the recovery of those who are injured.
