Eastern College Sports Merge Governing Bodies

Harvard women's varsity teams will have more regional championship tournaments and better officiating next year as a result of a recent merger between two athletic associations, officials said this week.

After nearly a year of discussion, the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)--which governs men's sports--last week agreed to consolidate, effective October 5. Both men's and women's sports will then be governed by the ECAC, under a management that will include former EAIAW officials.

In addition to sponsoring regional championships in eight more women's sports than the EAIAW currently provides for, the ECAC should bring a more streamlined structure for athletic administration, officials said.

Better Officiating

For example, under the EAIAW, each school is now responsible for acquiring officials for its home games. On the other hand, the ECAC assigns officials for all of its member schools' home contests.

As a result of the merger the ECAC will thus remove an administrative burden while providing better and more consistent officialing for women's sports, officials said.

The EAIAW really couldn't provide the same level of officials, so the merger seemed particularly attractive in that regard," said Harvard Athletic Director John P. Reardon '60. Reardon participated in the merger discussions.

Talks

The merger discussions started shortly after the national bodies governing college athletics joined nearly two years ago. Talks between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) were acrimonious and AIAW administrators filed an antitrust suit against the NCAA.

The ECAC and EAIAW reached a more amicable agreement. "There was an atmosphere of trust and faith from the start," EAIAW president-elect Jane Betts said. "Ours was a very carefully orchestrated consolidation." Betts added, calling the national merger "a blatant, monopolistic takeover."

Representation

Part of the negotiations between the EAIAW and the ECAC concerned women's representation on the resultant body's governing council. A minimum of four administrators on the 15-member board will be women, and both Betts and the EAIAW's current president will get seats. ECAC members said it has not yet been determined which of the male administrators will lose their seats.

Under the terms of the merger, the ECAC established a new structure of steering committees for post-season tournaments to facilitate the transition.

Harvard women's swimming Coach Vicki Hays, who chaired the EAIAW swimming committee, said that the steering committee would improve tournament administration. She added that though the merger of governing bodies would cause few changes for her program, the consolidation is a good idea.

"A single structure is better, because it will eliminate a duplication of effort for coordinating various events," Hays explained.

Most Harvard athletes contacted said they knew little of the changes made, and few knew that the merger was going to occur.