The Old College Try

Sports fans seeking those old college traditions of sportsmanship, citizenship and integrity need look no further than right here in Westlake.

Those values may be slipping away at some of America's larger institutions of learning, but not in the North Coast Athletic Conference, which offers no athletic scholarships, but provides a competitive playing field for hundreds of student-athletes.

The NCAC is headquartered in a small, unobtrusive office on Crocker Road, where Keri Alexander Luchowski spearheads the league's progress as acting executive director. For the past two years, she has been one of the few women in America to preside over a collegiate conference.

"Athletics are just a small part of what we do," she said. "We take great pride in academics first, while at the same time giving any men or women the opportunity to compete in a variety of sports."

There's competition in 23 sports, 11 for men. The 12 women's sports are the most offered by any NCAA Division III conference.

"There's equality across the board," Luchowski said. "No sport is more important than another. Women's golf is on a par with football. Though we don't offer scholarships, there is financial aid available to all students, regardless of whether or not they are athletes. Our goal is to see these students go out into the world and be successful."

All nine current members have prestigious Phi Beta Kappa society chapters. Only 276 of the more than 3,000 four-year colleges in America have that lofty status.

The NCAC will be adding to that total when DePauw University joins later this year, restoring the league to 10 teams. Earlham College dropped out a year ago, citing increased travel costs. Luchowski played an instrumental role in getting DePauw to join this coming fall.

After 10 years as assistant director, she was named acting director in July 2009, following the death of Dennis Collins of a heart attack. Collins was the NCAC's director from its first season in 1984 and the league flourished under his leadership for 25 years.

"Dennis is a legend," Luchowski said. "I'm not sure I have enough time to talk about him. He built the conference from the ground up and was most concerned with integrity. He was a master at building relationships. He cared about people, about students, about athletes. He had a good business plan, but it was based upon his people skills.

"He made sure to stay true to his vision and my goal has been to stay on the same path. He built a framework that has been hugely successful."

One year ago, 52 NCAC teams went to postseason play in various sports. Entering play last fall, conference schools had won 61 national championships -- and did so without a hint of scandal.

"Frankly, we don't have to worry about things that the Big Ten Conference for example has to be concerned about," Luchowski said. "For us, athletics are equal to any other extracurricular activity, like being in the school choir. There's no special treatment."

Luchowski, a swimmer in high school at Notre Dame Academy east of Cleveland and a soccer player at Wheeling Jesuit College, said she's had numerous thrills during her 12 years with the NCAC.

"One of my first big events was Ohio Wesleyan winning the women's soccer championship in 2001," she said. "They hosted the match and defeated Amherst (Mass.), 1-0. It was exciting.

"This past March, when Denison ended Kenyon's championship run in swimming, that was as exciting as any competition can get. Kenyon had won 31 consecutive Division III national titles, by far the longest run of any school in any sport. To have a school from the same conference beat them out and to do it the way they did is absolutely amazing."

Denison won the meet by one point over the Lords.

Afterwards, the team wasn't on the cover of "Sports Illustrated," invited to the White House or guests on any late night talk shows. But their accomplishments were just as memorable, maybe even more so given their dedication to academics over practice sessions, than any rule-bending big schools seeking national title glory in a football bowl game or March Madness basketball.

"There's something to be said about that," Luchowski said. "It makes every day rewarding to be a part of it."

NORTH COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SCHOOLS

Allegheny College

Denison University

DePauw University (Fall of 2011)

Hiram College

Kenyon College

Oberlin College

Ohio Wesleyan University

Wabash College

Wittenberg University

The College of Wooster