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A graduate of Urbana University, where she was a star softball player, Becky joined the Oglethorpe community in May 2012. She spent the past 15 years systematically working her way up the ranks in the athletic department at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH, where she most recently was the assistant athletics director.
Taking the Stormy Petrels to the Top of Their GAME By Debbie Aiken ’12
Two things are clear about Becky Hall, Oglethorpe’s new athletic director: she is passionate about taking the Stormy Petrels to the next level, and she has a penchant for acronyms.
Becky brings a hands-on, no-nonsense approach to her role, and she doesn’t bother with fancy titles. “Some people call me Coach Hall or Director Hall, but I’m really fine with just Becky,” she said. Becky can be found at almost every athletic game, “usually announcing or selling admission—I’m not above getting dirty.” She’s also jumped right into making some changes in the athletic department, aiming for some lofty goals. “Oglethorpe is a great academic school,” said Becky. “It pushes students outside of their comfort zone and makes them think more globally. That is what I want our athletic department to do—to push our student athletes out of their comfort zone and up to the next level.” To do this, Becky wants coaches “to shoot for the stars. Within the next six or seven years,” she said,” I want our teams to finish in the top three in the Southern Athletic Association.” Her plan for accomplishing this starts with one of her trusty acronyms. “CODE,” Becky explained, “stands for communication, organization, documentation and evaluation.” She is adamant about having frequent communication with the 14 coaches she supervises—via email, text message or face-to-face—however she can reach them. Becky wants to know what all the coaches have planned for their teams, so that all teams can share their ideas and resources. “In the past each team has done its own thing,” she said, and she wants to change that. Organization comes into play with some changes Becky has made to the functionality of the athletic department to ensure everyone is working together toward the same goals. “We are running a little differently,” she said, “and it’s not just what I’m doing; it’s what we are all doing.” One of the first things Becky organized was the creation of athletic study tables, where four hours of studying each week is mandatory for students struggling academically. No electronic devices are allowed during study time, including laptops or cell phones.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE JOINS THE STORMY PETRELS LINE-UP Oglethorpe women’s lacrosse played its inaugural game on February 20 against LaGrange. The historic night also marked the first official NCAA event on the new Oglethorpe track and field.
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“A few students have accused me of not living in this century,” Becky admitted, but she wants her students to be focused on improving their ability to “read, retain and reproduce” the material they are learning in class. An unexpected benefit of these study hours is that even non-athlete students are using the time to study. “It’s actually been quite rewarding for both student athletes and the general student body because it’s quiet in the dorms and it’s a good time to get some studying done,” she commented. Documentation is important for tracking progress and determining which strategies and tactics work and which don’t, to maximize effectiveness in meeting goals. Yet perhaps most intriguing is CODE’s last component. Not only will all coaches receive employee evaluations this year, but “student athletes are evaluating their head coaches, something that’s never been
done before. That way we can see if we are providing the service and experiences that benefit students most,” Becky said. At the same time, she doesn’t take the coaches’ dedication for granted. “It’s a thankless, 24/7 job,” Becky said. “I try to start every coaches meeting by thanking them for their hard work.” Another acronym pops up when Becky explains the types of experiences she wants to provide to student athletes. She calls it her GAME plan— global, academic, mentoring and engagement. “Well, actually it’s ‘GAMES’, because I added an ‘S,’ for sportsmanship,” she said with a smile. It starts with the global experiences that Becky hopes the athletes will have. “Our teams are either going out of the country to compete, or they are going to different parts of the country that they may have never been to before,” she remarked. Academic success is another important component essential for student athletes’ overall success. “We want athletes to outperform the general student population in the classroom,” Becky said. She supports this goal by providing opportunities for current students and alumni to mentor freshman athletes to help them become acclimated to the often rigorous schedule student athletes must keep. Becky also wants to include a component of community service engagement in her athletes’ experiences. She explained that “it’s about getting all of our teams to rally behind a couple of big service events as well as projects that they each do on their own throughout the year.” A new Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) helps to plan many events throughout the year that are fun and make a difference in the community. SAAC organized sports clinics for school-aged girls on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and will collaborate with the Special Olympics to host an event next year. The SAAC also organizes “black-outs” at home games to encourage attendees to support the Petrels by wearing black. Many student athletes are looking forward to the first annual athletic awards ceremony, which will bring together all of OU’s sports teams to recognize the outstanding achievements of students. Becky is full of enthusiasm for all of the projects under way in the athletics department. “There is a lot of possibility here for us to go above and beyond and to be better and actually be great, and that is what I would like to see happen in my time here,” she said. She said that her own mentor gave her good advice: “If you can leave something better than you found it—that is a sign of success. So that’s my mantra. If the athletic department is better 10 years from now, then I will consider my time here a success.” (left) Becky Hall, holds the National Championship trophy won by the 2012 Oglethorpe’s Men’s Golf team. Pictured with Matt Rebitch ’12 and Jordan Hall ‘12.
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