Friday, May 5, 2023

2023 - EFC Committee/Liaison Reports

REPORT

MAY 5, 2023 MEETING

PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON ATHLETICS

Submitted by Bill Hines

  1. The meeting was convened at 4:00 p.m. in the Big Ten Room, CHA by Chair Catherine Zaharis.
  2. The Minutes of the April 6, 2023 Meeting were approved.
  3. Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach, Nathan Munch, was introduced and reported to PCA on his team. The Iowa team is in a unique competitive position because the sport was dropped at Iowa for a year and then restarted after every team member and coach had moved on.. This hiatus meant that when he was named Head Coach in 2021, Coach Munch was literally starting from scratch. As a result, his team is very young and far below normal strength (12 women instead of 32). Recruiting has gone well in part because the Iowa swimming and diving facility is still the best in the Big Ten. Competitive progress is being made, but the Iowa team is still several years away from being competitive for the Big Ten title. The team spirit is very good and individual swimmers and divers are beginning to win their specialty events.
  4. HR Specialist Jennifer Modesto presented a Power Point report on Iowa Athletic hiring 2020-2022. She reminded PCA that Athletics must comply with all the regular University HR processes and rules in hiring coaches and administrators. In the period studied, 35 new employees were hired, 18 coaches and 17 administrators. The searches were in compliance with P&S hiring rules with respect to seeking out diversity candidates, both women and candidates of color.
  5. Chair Zaharis commented on her recent appearance before the U of I Faculty Senate where she reported on PCA’s work this year. Faulty Senate members were very interested in PCA activities.
  6. Subcommittee Updates. All three PCA subcommittees met during the past month.
  1. Academic Achievement: The subcommittee reviewed local, Big Ten and NCAA academic eligibility requirements.
  2. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Subcommittee reviewed a detailed evaluation document aimed at determining Iowa teams’ compliance with DEI policies.
  3. Student Athlete Well-Being: The subcommittee reviewed existing policies and practices for dealing with injuries to student athletes.
  1. ISASC: The year’s activities are winding down and leadership is turning over. One project looking forward is to help organize mentorships for incoming student athletes who are academically at risk.
  2. Assoc. Athletic Director Goetz reported on Big Ten and NCAA developments. Big Ten leaders are looking forward to meeting later this month with new Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petite. No new developments with NCAA rule changes, just lots of conversations. She also gave an update of the success of Iowa’s spring sports teams, many of which are having strong seasons.
  3. Farewell to Chair Zaharis. She has served out her term as PCA Chair and was congratulated from the floor by several PCA members for her excellent leadership and her outstanding fan support of Hawkeye sports. She was awarded a special recognition plaque.
  4. The PCA meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

Recreational Services Charter Meeting

May 1, 2023

Reported to the EFC by Chris Atchison

  1. In attendance:
    1. Charter Committee Members – Kent Becker, Evan Decker, Carson Gregory, Paul Hanley, Patrick Taylor
    2. Recreational Services Staff – Brett Cline, Michelle Harder, Jeanette Luke, Shea McMurray, Luke Mozena, Dave Patton, Caleb Recker, Shelby Reeves, Tommy Schorer, Shelley Squier, Danelle Stipes, Erin Sullivan, Mallory Valentine, Mike Valentine

  1. Welcome: Carson Gregory, Student Chair, and Michelle Harder, Senior Associate Director, Recreational Services

  1. CRWC Lockers: Shea McMurray, Assistant Director of Facility Operations

    1. We are in a spot right now that we have an opportunity to look at locker replacement.
    2. Member Locker Rooms
      1. Combination locks are in mostly good shape.
      2. Lockers themselves are not in very good shape.
      3. Currently 138 day-use lockers between both locker rooms.
    3. One thing we are looking at is replacing combination locks with digital day-use locks.
      1. These would be in place of the current day-use coin lockers.
      2. Pros
        1. Free
        2. More use à Less theft
        3. No key to track/lost keys
      3. Cons
        1. Hard to use? Learning curve for people to know how to use them.
        2. Long term use
        3. User forgets code
    4. Questions for the group
      1. Thoughts on coin locks vs. programmable locks?
        1. Paul – I like the idea of programmable over the coin as coins are not carried by many folks anymore. There is a learning curve to learn how to use the lockers. but I don’t think too many people will forget their codes.
      2. Do we have enough day-use lockers in each locker room?
        1. Paul – I think the amount is fine.
      3. Are the current day-use lockers big enough?
        1. Paul – Size can always be an issue in the winter with large coats, etc.
      4. Thoughts on the number of cubbies at CRWC?
        1. Patrick – I think the number of cubbies is fine although I admittedly don’t use the facility during high-usage times.
      5. General thoughts on personal storage at CRWC?
        1. Carson – Most students leave their things in their line of sight when working out.

    1. Other storage options
      1. Coin lockers near courts, near pool, and family locker room; these don’t get used very much at all.
      2. 187 cubbies throughout the building
    2. Questions from the group
      1. Jeanette – Has the locker situation changed with the removal of towel service?
        1. Shea – Not sure if it is directly related, but locker usage is significantly down.
      2. Carson – What is student vs staff use of lockers?
        1. Shea – most students use the cubbies and not the lockers.
      3. Jeanette – How are the cubbies holding up?
        1. Michelle – Some are okay, some we have to fix. The ones we currently have are very heavy and very expensive.
      4. Kent – Have you ever considered bring your own lock options?
        1. Shea – We’d have to discuss that as it would still present the challenge of going through at the end of the night and cutting locks for those left.
        2. Caleb – Also would potentially be some risk concern about there being lockers locked that we could not access what they are storing in there.
      5. Evan – Are there alternative materials that could be used that would hold up better to the elements?
        1. Shea – There are other alternatives that we need to look into that could hold up better.

  1. Student Leadership Committee (SLC) Proposal: Mallory Valentine, Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives
    1. Our Student Leadership Committee works on a project each year that they think would be beneficial for the department and University.
    2. This year they focused on a Recovery Room.
    3. Group did a survey of the campus; most respondents were students.
      1. Thought of ideas that they or their peers had mentioned they wanted to see at our facility, but also allowed open-ended responses.
      2. Most people indicated they would want a Recovery Room.
      3. Location identified was CRWC Wellness Suite Area.
    4. Offerings to include:
      1. Massage gun
      2. Vibrating foam roller
      3. Compression sleeves
      4. Hyperice and Hydrocollator heat treatments
      5. Cold plunge tubs
      6. Myofascial Release Tools
    5. Costs for equipment was estimated at $50,000-55,000.
    6. Additional operating costs were identified as well, like staffing and cleaning cost.
    7. As members, what are your thoughts?
      1. Some members said they would utilize and/or try it, some members said they would not.
      2. Group thinks it is definitely something that would be good to continue exploring.

  1. New Business
    1. Patrick – I want to ask if you all are aware that the student government side is re-exploring how to do presidential charter committees. It sounds like student applications will not be handled until August.

  1. Questions:
    1. None

  1. THANK YOU:
    1. Michelle would like to thank the committee for this past year. Paul Hanley and Kent Becker’s terms expire, so thank you both! Also, thank you to all the students and a special thank you to Carson for co-chairing the committee with Michelle.