By Jeff McCann
Let me tell you a story about Dr. Milt Richards. He was hired on November 1st as SFU’s new senior director of athletics. His first day working at SFU was a long one. He showed up from the airport, spent half the day figuring out his visa and the other half getting his bearings in the office. There was also a gala dinner in Surrey that evening, which he was invited to attend. I was fortunate enough to be seated at the same table.
It didn’t take long for his enthusiasm and excitement to get us into a long conversation about the SFU campus community and student body. It was during our first conversation he said something I didn’t expect.
“How do I get in touch with the clubs? How do I talk to students?” he asked me. I was surprised. This guy has been on the job for all of 10 hours and he refused to talk about anything but his focus on students as part of athletics. I began to tell him about some of the barriers to student involvement: gym hours, admission fees to games, and awareness. His response? “No problem, lets take care of that”.
Within his first month on the job he eliminated fees for games.
Richards has committed to increase gym hours, and work on anything else in his portfolio that will benefit students. SFU students are all he is interested in, and all he wants to do is talk to students and hear how we think athletics can be improved. Many administrators spend their days talking about students, but never actually talking to students.
His dedication to student engagement at SFU is not restricted to athletics either. He is a strong partner in the BuildSFU project, and is relentless in his pursuit to increase campus involvement.
SFU Athletics has a rich tradition, with many highs and lows. We have put more Canadians into the CFL than any other Canadian school, we have the best men’s soccer team in Division II, and our women’s basketball team showed its CIS championship posture by upsetting Alaska two weeks ago. We are the only Canadian school in the NCAA, but likely the NCAA school with the lowest student involvement.
The athletic program encompasses so much more than the varsity teams. The department includes some of the longest-standing and most established recreational teams in the province and an intramural program that rivals any. Recently, SFU went through a facilities upgrade, and with Richards at the helm our facilities are now more accessible than ever.
Don’t be misled: supporting your school and teams can be rewarding in and of itself, even if you don’t have a passion for sports. For example, when the University of Michigan plays a home football game they have over 110,000 fans in attendance. They don’t have 110,000 fans because that many people love football, they have 110,000 because that many people love their school. Taking pride in your school and involving yourself with Clan activities makes your piece of paper more valuable at the end of your four years.
So my dear apathetic students, it’s time for us to get off our butts and go get involved. Go to a game and be proud of your school, win some free swag and make some noise. Join intramurals, keep your new year’s resolution and get in the gym, and, if you have any excuses about why you can’t (hours, price) well, too bad. Richards is taking care of that for us. Why? Because this guy has it figured out.
