Often overlooked due to the glaring construction taking place across campus and the dramatic policy changes towards phones, a quieter change has sprung up this year: sports awards are being conducted differently going forward. Namely, one ceremony has become many.
Historically, ceremonies were for the collective athlete body, and coaches had only a few minutes they could devote for each award. For this year’s fall and winter ceremony, and potentially the spring as well, the program will meet in individual groups where the coaches can dedicate more time to the celebration.
“In previous years,” said Head of Athletics Logan Condon, “We recognized the varsity athletes in a classic awards assembly. The coaches come up, speak, and award their two award recipients. Historically we have just done varsity award winners. It will now all be separated. Each sport will have its own date and space.”
In addition to smaller gatherings replacing the larger, inter-sport assembly, junior varsity (JV) athletes are being highlighted in addition to just varsity.
The change was in part due to the previous limitations on how long each coach had to speak.
Condon said, “This [change] allows our programs as a whole to really go in depth about as many athletes as they feel necessary and really talk as a group, including the JV teams within that program with the varsity team. Coaches can give different awards, recognize the seniors more in depth and just have a bigger celebration for the end of the season.”
Condon continued, “Coaches are really excited about it because it enables them to have more than five minutes. It allows you to dive deeper in really celebrating a whole season of work.”
Juan Cobos, the assistant athletics director, said, “It not only gives the ceremony a more intimate feel but it gives coaches a chance to go more in depth as they highlight award recipients. It also opens the door for the presentation of program-specific awards, thus acknowledging the contributions of even more student-athletes. Beyond that, it encourages greater attendance numbers, as evidenced by our fall awards this past week.”
While the fall and winter sports seasons will be affected by the new ceremony structure, the spring season’s plan has yet to be decided. Generally speaking, the spring season awards ceremonies have witnessed a higher attendance and is celebrated more thoroughly. Because of that, Condon has looked to peer schools to see what they have been doing.
He said, “A lot [of schools] have actually transitioned into this type of event where they still have a giant awards ceremony at the end of the year, which is for the major awards, but still allows each program to have more time with one another. It’s more intimate, and from what I’ve heard from other schools, their families have really enjoyed it.”
