Empire 8's Mitrano Named Chairman of Sports Ethics Fellows Committee
January 31, 2005
ROCHESTER, NY - Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano
has been named the chairman of the 2005 Sports Ethics
Fellows Committee. In addition to his role as chair,
Mitrano will take part in a National Sportsmanship Day
function on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Mitrano
has also been selected to present on sportsmanship programming
and policies at the annual Association of College Administration
Professionals (ACAP) in San Antonio, Texas on February
28th.
"Chuck Mitrano is a national leader in the area
of sportsmanship," said Dan Doyle, executive director
and founder of the Institute of International Sport
(IIS). "We are very grateful that Chuck has agreed
to chair the 2005 Sports Ethics Fellows Search Committee."
On an annual basis IIS, founder of National Sportsmanship
Day, selects a group of Sports Ethics Fellows (SEF).
These leaders have demonstrated a significant commitment
and contribution to ethics and sportsmanship in the
field of athletics. Mitrano was selected as a Sports
Ethics Fellow last year and joins a list of past honorees
that includes Lance Armstrong, Mia Hamm, Grant Hill,
Carl Lewis, Donna Lopiano, and Dick Schapp.
This February, the committee will select 12-14 honorees
from NCAA Division III institutions in what the SEF
Committee has deemed "A Celebration of Division
III." Nominees are coaches, faculty members or
administrators who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment
to sportsmanship and sports ethics in their career.
Mitrano will also participate in a program on March
1st, National Sportsmanship Day, on Capitol Hill which
will include a congressional delegation and other industry
leaders.
Mitrano has also been tabbed by the NCAA to speak at
the annual ACAP Convention on February 28th. Mitrano
will present on sportsmanship initiatives and policies
that can help college administrators improve sporting
behavior at their respective institution.
Mitrano recently announced Empire 8's latest sportsmanship
initiative that includes a sportsmanship slogan, "Competing
with Honor and Integrity," Sportsperson of the
Week program, and annual Empire 8 Sportsmanship Member
of Distinction award.
This initiative is just the latest in a long-line of
progressive sportsmanship initiatives introduced by
Empire 8 over the past few years. The most widely noted
program is its conduct foul initiative that tracks fouls
or infractions that are deemed to be unsporting or unethical
by a sport's playing rules. Mitrano created the program
in the Empire 8 conference in 2002 and was expanded
in January 2003. Last fall Mitrano implemented the program
across all of Division III. The NCAA, in conjunction
with Mitrano, is now piloting the program in Division's
I and II. The Empire 8 Commissioner is also currently
conducting research with Michael Gibbons, Empire 8 Faculty
Athletic Representative Chair and Chair of St. John
Fisher's Sports Studies Department. The project aims
to identify desirable components of game management
and crowd control policies in Division III in an effort
to create a set of best practices for the division.
Empire 8 members are Alfred University, Elmira College,
Hartwick College, Ithaca College, Nazareth College,
Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John Fisher College
and Utica College. Norwich University (VT) and Springfield
College (MA) are affiliate members in the sport of football.