Athletic Philosophy

Western New England Athletics conducts a highly competitive broad-based NCAA Division III sports program for men and women. This program is an integral part of the Institution’s mission and is committed to equity, fair play, and the ideals of sports participation.

The focus of this athletic program is on student-athletes and their overall development in these three areas: Academics, Athletics, and Leadership. The successes enjoyed in this program are directly related to the commitment put forth by all members of our athletic family including student-athletes, coaches, trainers, administration, and staff. This commitment is referred to by our family as “The Western New England Way.”

It is our view that athletics are co-curricular not extracurricular. Athletics aid student-athletes in the development of self and in the attainment of goals by thrusting them into the competitive situation. They will not only gain an education intellectually, but will also be educated in the emotional/social domain and in the physical domain. In other words, student-athletes will be educating their entire beings.

Success in athletics, as in society, depends upon intelligence, preparation, and dedication. The athletic situation teaches student-athletes how to succeed by looking inward at themselves. If they like what they see, great! If not, they have the power to change what they do not like. Our coaches are very important mentors and role models in facilitating this process.

Our student-athletes are treated as adults and they are held responsible as such unless they are not ready to assume this role. Members of our family will be here to help guide student-athletes and give advice but, ultimately, they must and will be able to fly on their own. Therefore, we will always hold ourselves to the highest standards of behavior, for to do anything short of that would only serve to hurt our family and our commitment to comprehensive excellence. It is assumed that all student-athletes will accept nothing less than the best from themselves, from their coaches, and from their teammates. It is our goal to have our family’s program be the ideal for all other intercollegiate athletic programs to model.

Once a Golden Bear always a Golden Bear!