[V_Halyard]

This is a fast moving story with some of the heat supplied via GGP
https://www.globalgolfpost.com/more/dartmouth-golf-elimination-a-sad-and-shocking-story-2-2/

Dartmouth College (My alma mater) instigated a S#itshow when it unceremoniously cancelled a number of sports including golf. Golf was led by the 2019 Ivy Coach of the Year, Alex Kirk PGA. They also slid a closure of the golf course under the rug. Some of that has been reversed as of today as the college emailed us alumni that it has announced a reinstatement of the cancelled sports after a legal ass-whipping.  (Fueled undoubtedly by the legal PR buzz picked up by GGP) I actually received the GGP email from a number of non-gofer friends. It must have come up on their threads.

This is evolving. Assume there will some rolling heads. There is no mention of the golf course in the email but the local members of the Hanover CC are financially well armed and I would bet a deal is in the works. The letter mentions a faulty study commissioned and driven by a particularly unpopular AD, also named in the President's letter.  This gives an indication that the AD's present location is under the bus. Also the "Friends of Dartmouth Golf" joined with the other "Friends of" and delivered a true hammering of both the inaccurate data as well as the disrespectful process. They played a bit of a stupid race card that "White Country Club Sports were under attack" but that didn't bother me as much as the lack of "any diligence" let alone "due diligence" by the athletic department and the college president. His phone has likely been melting.

Prominent 6, 7 and 8 figure donors disavowed support of the college.  The GGP article was well researched and informed and accurately articulated the situation that devoted into both alumni and financial fury.  My particular evangelism for saving this course was the number of folks of all cultures I knew that learned how to play golf in college and the potential of a well architected golf course and experience. Coach Kirk was the Head Pro as well as the Coach and ran a tight ship under constant attack and short resources. The Hanover Country Club serves not only the college but the town and all of the student and youth golf in the adjacent community which has both rich and poor.
I won't bore with the entire correspondence but here is the salient paragraph from The Dartmouth College President. Let this be a lesson to others fighting this battle.  Watch this one.

"In light of this discovery, Dartmouth will immediately reinstate all five teams. Furthermore, in order to ensure that we are complying with the law and living up to our institutional values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have commissioned the following reviews:

[Joel_Stewart]

Vaughn, good to hear.  One of my friends is one of those 6 or 7 figure donors and I'm sure he's not happy. 


I'm not following on what you said was a legal ass whopping.  Is it illegal for any school to discontinue a sport or club?


Also, you cut off the end with what they have commissioned for the review.


Thanks.

[Daryl David]

I'm not following on what you said was a legal ass whopping.  Is it illegal for any school to discontinue a sport or club?

It can be. The article explains how the school is being sued for title IX violations. The elimination of the women’s sports puts the school out of compliance with gender equity rules.

[V_Halyard]

Vaughn, good to hear.  One of my friends is one of those 6 or 7 figure donors and I'm sure he's not happy. 


I'm not following on what you said was a legal ass whopping.  Is it illegal for any school to discontinue a sport or club?


Also, you cut off the end with what they have commissioned for the review.


Thanks.

In addition schoolmates severing a previously enthusiastic relationships, there was some fairly heated communication from not only the alumnae, but the community as well, which also includes a number of "residents of Influence."  Here is the rest of the text, which I will add has been distributed in open communication and has already been shared in public domain.
_____


Dear Dartmouth alumni,

Last July, we announced the elimination of five varsity athletic teams: women's and men's swimming and diving; women's and men's golf; and men's lightweight rowing. We made this difficult decision as one component of a broad institutional response to increasing financial pressure resulting from our looming structural deficit, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the desire for more flexibility in undergraduate admissions.

To determine which teams would be eliminated, Director of Athletics Harry Sheehy and his team established a series of factors and considerations to be used in their assessment. We have recently learned that elements of the data that Athletics used to confirm continued Title IX compliance may not have been complete.

In light of this discovery, Dartmouth will immediately reinstate all five teams. Furthermore, in order to ensure that we are complying with the law and living up to our institutional values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have commissioned the following reviews:

- Holland & Knight, a national law firm with expertise in Title IX compliance, will conduct a gender-equity review of varsity athletics. It will request and consider input from student-athletes and alumni, including those from the reinstated teams, as part of the review.
- The Ivy League will conduct an NCAA compliance review of varsity athletics
- PricewaterhouseCoopers, Dartmouth’s auditors, will conduct a process-and-control review of Dartmouth Athletics.

This comprehensive set of reviews will strengthen our practices and governance structures and ensure that Dartmouth Athletics is fully compliant with all Title IX, NCAA, and Ivy League policies.  The findings and recommendations will be delivered to the Board of Trustees Committee on Audit and Oversight and me. At the conclusion of the reviews, we will publish an action plan and take any steps necessary to ensure compliance with Title IX and to address institutional goals, priorities, and challenges.

This has been a difficult year on numerous fronts. We know that many in our community have been disappointed by the decisions we have made within Athletics and across the institution. The news that the data used to confirm Title IX compliance in connection with the team eliminations may not have been complete only adds to that disappointment.

We sincerely apologize that this process has been, and continues to be, so painful to our current and former student-athletes and all who support them. Through the actions above, we will make sure that any future decisions will be based on accurate data. Our sincere hope is that these reviews and team reinstatements will create an opportunity for us to come together as a community as we navigate the challenging times ahead.

Sincerely,
Philip J. Hanlon ’77
President

[Tim Martin]

Vaughn-Great news about saving the golf course and the programs. I’m going to get up there and play when it reopens. Hopefully this spurs Brown to come back.

[Mike Sweeney]

Thanks for posting this. It is only January, but that is a very inspiring post for 2021.


I can't believe what they have done at Yale, to their people. I hope this leads to additional good deeds.

[Joel_Stewart]

Vaughn-Great news about saving the golf course and the programs.

The letter doesn't say anything about saving the golf course. 


I'm told other local courses have offered their courses and the teams have a practice facility.

[Tim Martin]

Vaughn-Great news about saving the golf course and the programs.

The letter doesn't say anything about saving the golf course. 


I'm told other local courses have offered their courses and the teams have a practice facility.

Joel-I think if you read between the lines in Vaughn’s posts there is a good chance the golf course will be saved. I agree that the letter doesn’t mention saving the course.

[David_Tepper]

This implies the course may not be saved:

https://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2021/1/29/dartmouth-reinstates-golf-programs-after-pressure-campaign-hanover-cc-still-set-for-closure

[Tim Martin]

This implies the course may not be saved:

https://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2021/1/29/dartmouth-reinstates-golf-programs-after-pressure-campaign-hanover-cc-still-set-for-closure

David-I stand corrected. Wishful thinking has me hoping the course can remain open.

[Brad Tufts]

Great news on the golf teams coming back!


I see where the golf course is not guaranteed to come back, let's hope this is in the works too.  I would think that some of these donors that support the golf team could assist the course endures as well.


The course may be a bit tougher issue, as I think the school has had its eyes on some of the land for development for decades.  It's a tough property for development, with a prominent ravine running down the middle, and lots of elevation change, but the area adjacent to campus is wide open and gently sloping.


HCC would be a great loss for the town and NH golf history, even if Dartmouth doesn't think so.


I have a long history of playing at Hanover, having played the old course as a teenager attending Nike Golf camp, the new course in college, and many times while my wife was attending Tuck.  It's a wild and very fun layout with so much history that fits the DC ethos.

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