By Jared Shafran, News Staff
On Monday Northeastern athletics saw recognition on two major television networks. In the afternoon, athletics director Peter Roby was a guest on ESPN’s Outside The Lines (OTL), and a few hours later, during CBS’ NCAA championship broadcast, the network flashed back to remind fans and alumni of an unfortunate Husky loss to Virginia Commonwealth in the 1984 tournament.
Although the latter wasn’t exactly a defining moment in Northeastern history, it was still good exposure in front of billions of viewers and it identified our program with legendary coach Jim Calhoun.
The segment on OTL from earlier in the day was not only good exposure for our program, but it showed me that Peter Roby is a man who gets it – and although I don’t always agree with all of his decisions, he has the right things in mind for our program. The topic being discussed was Ralph Nader’s proposal to abolish athletic scholarships.
Roby was chosen to represent an AD’s point of view on the topic, and he wasn’t shy about his opinions. But it’s interesting to me that ESPN picked Roby, a director of a program like Northeastern, which doesn’t see the same success as a program in a major football or basketball conference. His opinion is probably not the same as a director of a bigger sports school.
To me, Roby is one of those few who sees the opportunity that student athletes get with their scholarship.
“We can’t talk about paying athletes because they don’t make anything when in reality they’re getting a free education that, if they use it appropriately, could set them up for the rest of their life,” Roby said on the program. “For the 1 percent of athletes that make it to the pros in any of these sports, there’s 99 percent of those that go on that need to benefit from their education to have a productive life as a member of our society. That’s a heck of a thing for them to get access to when they go to school and play an athletic sport and get an education.”
That statement shows me that Roby gets it.
In my almost four full years at this school, I cannot think of one instance in which a Northeastern athlete’s conduct was in question. Not many of our athletes make it to the professional ranks, but the ones who do represent us in admirable ways. Carlos Pena, now playing for the Chicago Cubs, is an upstanding citizen who has a clean track record. The same thing can be said for former Husky, current Dallas Maverick Jose Juan Barea.
Our athletes who don’t play after college use their degrees just like the rest of the student body. Some sports like volleyball or track and field are even able to offer their athletes a chance to do a co-op during the summer months, making sure their players are prepared for life after Northeastern.
Roby recognizes that the majority of his focus needs to be on all of his athletes – making sure those that won’t play professionally still succeed, while at the same time making sure the ones who make it big bring positive recognition back to our program.
