Empire 8's Mitrano Honored at St. John Fisher
April 26, 2005
ROCHESTER, NY - Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano
was recently honored as St. John Fisher College's Sport
Studies Department Sport Manager of the Year. Mitrano
also provided the keynote address at the department's
annual awards banquet.
The annual award recognizes persons who demonstrate
leadership and ethical decision-making in a segment
of the sport industry. "We are extremely proud
to honor Chuck Mitrano with this award," said Michael
Gibbons, chairperson of the St. John Fisher Sport Studies
Department. "He is changing the culture of intercollegiate
athletics by implementing sportsmanship programs that
are, regrettably, not at the center of our sport culture.
Chuck is passionate about the importance of this issue,
and he has used intelligent and creative approaches
to effect change by appealing to stakeholders (student-athletes,
coaches, referees, administrators) and getting them
to buy into his sportsmanship initiatives."
Mitrano has been a national advocate for positive sporting
behavior and ethical conduct. He has established innovative
educational programming and policy within Empire 8 and
across Division III. Under his leadership Empire 8 has
set the national standard for sportsmanship education
and policy. He created the Conduct Foul Program which
tracks fouls or infractions that are deemed to be unsporting
or unethical by a sport's playing rules. Mitrano brought
the program to Division III in 2003 and the initiative
received national acclaim and has been featured in USA
Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Referee Magazine,
Athletics Administration Magazine and The NCAA News.
He has worked closely with the NCAA to bring the program
to Division I and II institutions and conferences and
has been contacted to consult to individual institutions
and conferences. Empire 8's most recent sportsmanship
program is its weekly Sportsperson of the Week and the
creation of a conference motto, "Competing with
Honor and Integrity." He has worked closely with
the NCAA to bring the program to Division I and II institutions
and conferences and has been contacted to consult to
individual institutions and conferences.
In 2004 Mitrano was named a Sports Ethics Fellow by
the Institute for International Sport joining the likes
of Lance Armstrong, Donna Lopiano, Joe Paterno, Mia
Hamm and Dick Schaap. In 2005 the IIS appointed Mitrano
chair of its selection committee. Most recently Mitrano
played a key role in the development of a Division III
specific Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Committee
which was created by the Division III Commissioner's
Association. Mitrano was appointed chair of this newly
created committee. In addition, Mitrano has spoken at
the annual conventions of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic
Conference, Association of College Administrative Professionals
and will be presenting at the National Association of
College Director's of Athletics convention in June.
The Empire 8 consists of Alfred University, Elmira College, Hartwick College, Ithaca College, Nazareth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John Fisher College and Utica College. For more information on the conference visit www.Empire8.com.