The “Egghead Eight”
Varsity collegiate sports are stereotyped as time consuming, academic depreciating powerhouses. Students seem to have no room to care about both the field and the classroom. The University Athletic Association (UAA) was created to defy this stereotype and put academic success above athletic success for eight universities with varsity collegiate sports, including Emory University. The UAA was founded on the belief that performance in the classroom outweighs any performance on the field. For me this field is the soccer field and this classroom is Emory University. My team, the Emory Women’s Soccer team, holds academics above athletics and is successful on both fronts.
The UAA believes “that the provision of a high-quality college athletic experience is worth the commitment required of an institution” (University Athletic Association). Unlike Division I schools, growing athletics in a NCAA Division III School is not to make money; it is for the benefit of the community. Division III schools cannot give scholarships and have much less funding than higher divisions. That means that the student-athletes come to the school for the school, not only for the team. The universities fund the teams because that funding not only benefits the students-athletes, but also the community of the school. The athletic teams provide many universities with a reason to cheer and be proud of their institution (University Athletic Association).
Varsity collegiate sports are stereotyped as time consuming, academic depreciating powerhouses. Students seem to have no room to care about both the field and the classroom. The University Athletic Association (UAA) was created to defy this stereotype and put academic success above athletic success for eight universities with varsity collegiate sports, including Emory University. The UAA was founded on the belief that performance in the classroom outweighs any performance on the field. For me this field is the soccer field and this classroom is Emory University. My team, the Emory Women’s Soccer team, holds academics above athletics and is successful on both fronts.
The UAA believes “that the provision of a high-quality college athletic experience is worth the commitment required of an institution” (University Athletic Association). Unlike Division I schools, growing athletics in a NCAA Division III School is not to make money; it is for the benefit of the community. Division III schools cannot give scholarships and have much less funding than higher divisions. That means that the student-athletes come to the school for the school, not only for the team. The universities fund the teams because that funding not only benefits the students-athletes, but also the community of the school. The athletic teams provide many universities with a reason to cheer and be proud of their institution (University Athletic Association).
Like every team, the UAA has goals for its continued success. The participation and enthusiasm for academic success, men’s and women’s sports, and athletic excellence are crucial to the UAA. But above all else, the target central to the creation and sustainability of
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"It's a great day to be an eagle!" - Caitlin Clark, Senior Defender
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the league is the belief that educational success and achievement comes before athletic success. On the homepage for the UAA, you would expect to see a list of UAA teams that have made it to the playoffs and how many top ten finishes the UAA teams have had. This information can be found, but the first statistics given are how many Academic All-Americans and Postgraduate scholars come from participants in the UAA. Many have mocked and called the teams in the UAA the “Egghead Eight,” but this is a point of pride for all the teams and institutions in the UAA. The name “Eggheads” has only been cherished by the “Egghead Eight,” never hated because the universities in the league are some of the top universities in the nation with athletes who reflect those academic successes (University Athletic Association).
Emory Athletics joined the UAA in 1986 when it was first created (“Archive”). Prior to joining the UAA, Emory did not participate in intercollegiate athletics. President Candler thought that intercollegiate sports should be banned due to the cost, the gambling and the distraction from academics (Emory History | People & Leaders). This may have been true during the presidency of Warren Candler, but when the UAA was created, Emory had no reason not to join. The UAA embodied the values and practices of the school and would only foster school spirit. Emory jumped in and the joined the UAA as the original part of the “Nerdy Nine.” The UAA was originally called the “Nerdy Nine” because there were nine teams in the league. Johns Hopkins University is no longer part of the UAA so the league needed a new name, the “Egghead Eight” (University Athletic Association).
When I was first told that I was part of the “Egghead Eight,” I did not understand what that meant or how that should make me feel. My coach started our first team meeting on August 17th by calling all of the freshmen eggheads. I was surprised and taken aback by this introduction. I was expecting to be told how hard practice would be and how I had to come out ready to play everyday. This lecture did come but only after the lecture about academics. The Women’s Soccer coach came into the team meeting and wanted to make one point over all others, that school came before soccer everyday and all season. I always held this to be true in my own life but had never talked about the classroom with a coach. The coach went on about how the Women’s Soccer Team had the highest team GPA last year and that no matter what is going on in soccer the team needs to keep up on schoolwork. The coach obviously cared more about this area than soccer. This was new for me. I had found my right team and fellow eggheads.
Emory Athletics joined the UAA in 1986 when it was first created (“Archive”). Prior to joining the UAA, Emory did not participate in intercollegiate athletics. President Candler thought that intercollegiate sports should be banned due to the cost, the gambling and the distraction from academics (Emory History | People & Leaders). This may have been true during the presidency of Warren Candler, but when the UAA was created, Emory had no reason not to join. The UAA embodied the values and practices of the school and would only foster school spirit. Emory jumped in and the joined the UAA as the original part of the “Nerdy Nine.” The UAA was originally called the “Nerdy Nine” because there were nine teams in the league. Johns Hopkins University is no longer part of the UAA so the league needed a new name, the “Egghead Eight” (University Athletic Association).
When I was first told that I was part of the “Egghead Eight,” I did not understand what that meant or how that should make me feel. My coach started our first team meeting on August 17th by calling all of the freshmen eggheads. I was surprised and taken aback by this introduction. I was expecting to be told how hard practice would be and how I had to come out ready to play everyday. This lecture did come but only after the lecture about academics. The Women’s Soccer coach came into the team meeting and wanted to make one point over all others, that school came before soccer everyday and all season. I always held this to be true in my own life but had never talked about the classroom with a coach. The coach went on about how the Women’s Soccer Team had the highest team GPA last year and that no matter what is going on in soccer the team needs to keep up on schoolwork. The coach obviously cared more about this area than soccer. This was new for me. I had found my right team and fellow eggheads.
"Work hard for your team and for the school on your jersey." - Sue Patberg, Head Coach
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Time came to play the other eggheads. I had heard that the UAA games were harder than all of the other games we had played. I was nervous and excited to see the competition knowing that one of the team goals was to be UAA champions. When time came for the playoff tournament we knew
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all we needed to do was to have the best record out of the eight teams. The team started off strong beating all the UAA teams until our time came to play our rival, Washington University in St. Louis (Wash-U). The game against Wash-U was the last home game of the season, also known as senior game. The underclassmen stayed up late the night before decorating posters and the field for the game the next day. This game was different not only because we were playing our rival but also because it was a game we were playing for our seniors.
Wash-U came out stronger than us and went up early 1-0. After the goal, we started to play our game and outplayed Wash-U for the last 75 minutes of the game. This was not good enough. Wash-U was able to keep us from scoring, and we were never able to come back from being down 1-0. The loss was devastating for the team but especially for the seniors. This loss put us in the number two spot for the UAA. We were not champions but runners up. This did not end our season; we went on to play in the NCAA playoffs and lost in the round of 16. We finished among the top 16 Division III teams in the nation. Not our best season but a season we will always be proud of (“Archive”).
With the end of every season comes the team meeting. I knew what was important to this team and knew that the meeting would include points of pride throughout the season, but I also knew we would talk about school. We were reminded that even though the season was over, one thing would remain through the year—school. We were told that throughout our lives success in the classroom/workplace would be forever while success on the field would be momentary. Even though we did not have the season we all wanted, we are all looking forward and concentrating on being the “eggheads” we love and are so proud to be for the rest of our lives, or until next season.
Work Cited
“Archive.” - Emory. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.emoryathletics.com/sports/wsoc/archive>.
This site holds the statistics about Emory Women's Soccer team starting in 1986 and continuing until the present year. The website has the yearly standings, game records, honors and many other statistics about the players and team from year to year. It was helpful to find information about when the team started and results from the games this season.
Emory History | People & Leaders. N.p., 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://emoryhistory.emory.edu/people/index.html>.
This website provides information about the Presidents, teams, and traditions at Emory University. It is useful to find historical information about the beginning of the school to the present changes. I used the site to find information about the start of intercollegiate sports at Emory University and the reason these sports did not start until 1986.
University Athletic Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.uaa.rochester.edu>.
This is the official website of the University Athletic Association (UAA). The website contains a history of the UAA as well as the goals and hopes of the UAA. It also has statistics about the teams in the league and players who have won awards or honors. I used this site to find information about the UAA's history and the goals that make the UAA different from other intercollegiate leagues.
Wash-U came out stronger than us and went up early 1-0. After the goal, we started to play our game and outplayed Wash-U for the last 75 minutes of the game. This was not good enough. Wash-U was able to keep us from scoring, and we were never able to come back from being down 1-0. The loss was devastating for the team but especially for the seniors. This loss put us in the number two spot for the UAA. We were not champions but runners up. This did not end our season; we went on to play in the NCAA playoffs and lost in the round of 16. We finished among the top 16 Division III teams in the nation. Not our best season but a season we will always be proud of (“Archive”).
With the end of every season comes the team meeting. I knew what was important to this team and knew that the meeting would include points of pride throughout the season, but I also knew we would talk about school. We were reminded that even though the season was over, one thing would remain through the year—school. We were told that throughout our lives success in the classroom/workplace would be forever while success on the field would be momentary. Even though we did not have the season we all wanted, we are all looking forward and concentrating on being the “eggheads” we love and are so proud to be for the rest of our lives, or until next season.
Work Cited
“Archive.” - Emory. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.emoryathletics.com/sports/wsoc/archive>.
This site holds the statistics about Emory Women's Soccer team starting in 1986 and continuing until the present year. The website has the yearly standings, game records, honors and many other statistics about the players and team from year to year. It was helpful to find information about when the team started and results from the games this season.
Emory History | People & Leaders. N.p., 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://emoryhistory.emory.edu/people/index.html>.
This website provides information about the Presidents, teams, and traditions at Emory University. It is useful to find historical information about the beginning of the school to the present changes. I used the site to find information about the start of intercollegiate sports at Emory University and the reason these sports did not start until 1986.
University Athletic Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.uaa.rochester.edu>.
This is the official website of the University Athletic Association (UAA). The website contains a history of the UAA as well as the goals and hopes of the UAA. It also has statistics about the teams in the league and players who have won awards or honors. I used this site to find information about the UAA's history and the goals that make the UAA different from other intercollegiate leagues.