Facilities, academics building UC

By Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail Sports Editor
Friday July 13, 2007

Dr. Ed Welch sees a lot, and not just because he stands 6 feet 6 and has good eyeglasses.

University presidents are asked to have a lot of profiles, and one of those is or should be a real grasp for athletics on their campuses. At the University of Charleston, Welch certainly has that for the NCAA Division II program.

Golden Eagle athletics has been a significant part of Welch's vision for improving UC. So, when the West Virginia Conference's two all-sports trophies Commissioner's Cup and Presidents' Cup went to the South Ruffner campus for 2006-07, the awards made a significant statement.

"I'm delighted, thrilled that the play of our student-athletes and effort of our coaches are getting great results," Welch said from behind the long desk in his Riggleman Hall office this week. "What (the WVC honors say) is extremely positive. It's shows we're making progress, too.

"The drive is not, 'We've got to win those Cups,' although I'm very competitive. What's more important is the kind of experience our athletes get, and how sports here fit into the total picture.

"The broader view is that UC athletics are extraordinarily healthy (seven first- or second-place regular-season finishes in 15 WVC sports). We went for a couple of years without winning championships. It seems to me you ought to win your share, and we weren't. That's just part of the change here."

Welch just began his 19th year at UC. Although the university has been involved in construction or significant renovation of facilities with more on the way the on-field success brings another angle to an athletic program that was an underpinning for UC's image renovation.

"If you go back five years, athletics was crucial to us because student-athlete recruitment helped enrollment in general," Welch said. "It wasn't a matter of giving free rides. We were getting students to come here who had to pay, too.

"It wasn't just in athletics, but we strengthened ourselves through academics and facilities, and we changed our image. Now, we are in a different situation. We're attractive to student-athletes, and athletics is no longer the principal driver of enrollment. There are nuances of difference in where we are now and what we were trying to do then."

UC has about 1,100 undergraduate students, and its athletic budget is about $4 million annually ($2.3 million for financial aid; $1.7 million for operations). The university has spent big bucks on facilities for football and baseball, with softball and a basketball/volleyball arena on the horizon.

Welch says attitude is as important as any building or stadium, an opinion that was reinforced during his recent trip to the NCAA Division II presidents' meeting in San Diego.

"My take-away from that is that Division II is finally starting to realize what it is and who it is," Welch said. "That's very helpful, the attitude that Division I champions the balance between athletics. It's not only about athletics.

"Secondly, it champions community engagement. We want the community to support our schools and programs, but the universities have a responsibility, too, to engage, and work with and support their communities. That's been kind of out of whack in the past.

"Third, for me, is something the NCAA didn't get into, but I feel strongly about. Division II champions the balance between individual performance and institutional success."

Welch lauded UC Athletic Director Tom Nozica, his assistants and the Golden Eagle coaches "for their willingness to accept change, to see and accept their evolving roles. We have asked them to turn some things upside down from the way they've been done in the past.

"That's been important as we've moved forward."

UC is about to get a quality softball facility it needed (see box, "Presidential points ..."), and Welch said a proposed athletic arena at the former Watt Powell Park site is "on the fast track" with new UC development vice president Denver Allen chasing funding.

University insiders say the revised plan (a change in architects) is a lot like the $22 million DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College in Holland, Mich., an impressive 102,000-square foot facility that seats 3,400 for basketball.

Welch isn't willing to discuss the plans until UC receives more commitments and pledges from potential donors. But he wants a building with a "wow factor."

The UC president said that, in the area of community/campus synergy, "one thing we're looking at is whether we can expand the Governor's Cup (sailing regatta) into a community event. Can we come together and make it a magnet event for more than 15-20 colleges here competing? Can we draw families here for something like that, if we put something else to it?

"We've had some discussion on that. The Governor (Joe Manchin) and the Mayor (Danny Jones) have some interest in seeing that happen. We've talked some with the Convention and Visitors Bureau. We think we can take that somewhere."

About eight years after he pushed a concept for a private-school conference involving schools in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, Welch said the West Virginia Conference is UC's home and figures to remain so.

He would be happy if more Mountain State athletes, particularly those from the Kanawha Valley, continued their education on the MacCorkle Avenue campus, too but understands the reality that many see the Division I bright lights and will walk on at West Virginia or Marshall before accepting a WVC school's grant-in-aid offer.

Football Coach Tony DeMeo has made the most regional recruiting inroads for UC, thanks in part to football's sheer numbers, and in part to making Kanawha Valley high school contacts that had been dormant for WVC schools for too long.

"There's a split reality there," Welch said. "Some student-athletes who would like to play here really aren't Division II-capable. And there are those who are good Division II-level players who will only think about Division I, so being able to get them is tough."

As Welch spoke, he could see out an office window, with the State Capitol reflected in the Kanawha River.

"Seven of 15 in first or second place," the UC chief said. "They say a rising tide will raise all boats."