This Thursday, September 28, the Empire 8 will be hold a conference wide meeting at Utica College where all athletic directors, senior woman administrators, athletic trainers, coaches and coordinators of officials will come together. The event will be highlighted by a keynote from Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s Chief Medical Officer.
“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Hainline present to the group,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “Under his leadership, the NCAA Sport Science Institute has been engaging in very important research and initiatives related to the health and safety of our student-athletes. It’s going to be an incredibly informative and beneficial session.”
Dr. Hainline, a leading sports medicine advocate with more than two decades experience in the field, will present on a variety of topics including the purpose of the NCAA Sport Science Institute; Concussions; Independent Medical Care; Sleep and Injury Rates; Sexual Violence Prevention; Mental Health; and the NCAA’s Interassociation Task Forces.
In addition, the coaches of each conference sport will come together to discuss its policies, officiating, key NCAA rules, NCAA and conference tournament structure and trends in their sport. The conference athletic trainers will also meet to discuss protocol for treatment of student-athletes at conference events as well as other topics related to student-athlete well-being.
“This is a great opportunity to get all of our stakeholders together for an intense day of business, to honor some of our outstanding coaches, and engage in valuable professional development,” said Mitrano. “The event encourages a collaborative environment which enhances the culture of the conference.”
The day will be capped off with an educational session on Division III’s ‘Gameday the Right Way’ program, a partnership between the NCAA and the Disney Institute.
In June 2017, Dr. Kim Fierke, Director of Athletics at Hartwick College and H. Skip Lord, Executive Director of Athletics at Houghton College, traveled to Orlando, FL to take part in the program aimed at improving the game environment at college athletic events. Fierke and Lord will share their experience and train the E8 attendees.
“The Empire 8 has distinguished itself as the premiere conference in the country as it relates to sportsmanship education,” stated Mitrano. “Sportsmanship is truly the primary core value of our conference. Division III has creatively looked at ways to forge a positive game environment with ‘DIII Gameday the Right Way’ and we are excited to teach our staff in support of this great initiative.”