The NESCAC presidents’ recent decision to add Hamilton as a full-time member, while well intentioned, is not in the best interests of either Hamilton or the existing NESCAC institutions. In addition to questions about the effects on athletics, this integration has significant academic and financial repercussions that appear to have not been carefully considered before the decision was made.

First, we question whether the financial effects of this move were fully considered. Other than Williams, every NESCAC school typically does an overnight trip to Hamilton, and the addition of seven Hamilton sports teams will nearly double the number of overnight trips these schools are required to make each academic year. Between transportation, lodging and meal money, these additional trips will generate substantial additional costs for the NESCAC institutions, Hamilton included. It is wholly irresponsible of the NESCAC presidents to willingly add such a financial strain during this time of shrinking endowments and across-the-board budget cuts.

In addition, we feel the academic effects of this move were not thoroughly investigated. With some schools having over a nine-hour bus ride to and from Clinton, N.Y., there is no question that this move will prove detrimental to student-athletes’ academics. Also, teams that typically play on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon—such as baseball, softball, and basketball—are sometimes forced to depart campus in the morning to arrive with sufficient time to warm up before the game. While this is not an issue with schools located close together, Hamilton, the only NESCAC school outside of New England, does not have this luxury. The likely increase in missed classes by student-athletes flies in the face of the NESCAC’s stated commitment to academic integrity.

As a solution to these issues, we urge the NESCAC to adopt a model similar to that used by volleyball, the only sport with 11 teams and a full conference schedule. Typically, one school will host two or three others, allowing teams to reduce their required travel. Having Hamilton and Colby take a four-hour bus ride to, say, Amherst is logistically easier and less disruptive than having one team make a ten-hour trip to the other’s campus. In this way, the NESCAC can effectively accommodate Hamilton without losing its status as a playing conference.

The addition of Hamilton will further strengthen the NESCAC’s top-tier athletics, and we, in addition to the rest of the conference, look forward to welcoming the Continentals. But we also feel that considerations other than competitiveness on the playing field should have been taken into account before the decision was made.