By JESSICA LEE
Have you told the coaches?
This is the question on every BYU coach's mind regarding President Merrill J. Bateman's statement to the media about wanting all BYU sports to be in the top 20 in the nation.
'I don't know what he means, in terms of resources to be made available and in terms of a coach,' said women's head track coach Craig Poole. 'What's the incentive outside of pride?'
None of the coaches have heard about President Bateman's goal first hand. All of the information has come to them through the media.
There have been no attempts by President Bateman to invite the coaches into his office and tell them of his expectations.
There has been no communication of what resources will be made available to the coaches, Poole said.
'I would like to sit in his office and have him tell me what he wants me to do,' Poole said.
Other coaches are content with the secondhand information.
'I don't need a personal memo explaining everything he expects me to do. BYU is too large to do that,' said Stan Crump, head coach of the women's swimming team. 'I feel very strongly that he's done the right thing and done it well.'
At an annual dinner for the Cougar Club, President Bateman told the audience that all BYU sports should be in the top 20 in the nation.
'There has been a misunderstanding,' President Bateman said. 'I said it would be nice, with the size of the church and membership, and that the resources are there to be in the top 20.'
But some coaches feel that they could use more resources.
Some coaches feel BYU cannot provide enough scholarships for athletes to come to BYU.
'Kids shop around,' said men's head track coach Willard Hirschi. 'They initially want to come to BYU, but when they can't get a good offer, they go with other schools.'
'We have lost at least four kids to Stanford, because (Stanford) gave them a full-ride and we couldn't give them anything but books,' Hirschi said.
One other option for students wanting financial aid is to apply for academic scholarships.
But those are hard to get.
Last year, the average incoming freshmen who qualified for full tuition scholarships had a 3.9 grade point average and a 30.9 on the ACT, said Duane Bartle in the scholarships office.
The only other option for students is to receive a government Pell grant.
And it can difficult for a student that goes to BYU to receive the grants, because of the good financial situation from which many of them come. But the government doesn't take the number children supported in a family, children serving missions or tithing payment into consideration, Hirschi said.
'Until BYU can come up with more funds, we are behind an eight ball,' Hirschi said. 'To be consistently in the top 20, there's got to be a way to provide funds for scholarships.'
Recruiting good athletes takes money and a lot of it. Students will go to the school who gives them the most money.
'There's not much we can do about it. We are very limited in scholarships we can offer to athletes,' said Hirschi.
'There are two main reasons why we don't get some of the recruitments we want. One is the nature and uniqueness of BYU,' said Stan Crump. 'The other is the lack of facilities.'
BYU is remedying that problem by building a new swimming and diving facility.
The plans have passed the president and have been sent on to the BYU Board of Trustees. In two to 10 years the project will be started.
When schools get the sought after players and rise in the national rankings, coaches at many colleges and universities are monetarily compensated, in terms of salary bonuses and more scholarships for prospective recruitments.
Some coaches at BYU are worried that their efforts will go unnoticed and be forgotten by the administration.
The coaches who are successful are compensated, in terms of salary or other things, President Bateman said.
'They know that. They've been on board,' President Bateman said. 'The main thing is that we keep our standards intact.'
But some coaches feel that money isn't their main motivation for wanting to be in the top 20.
'I don't have to have monetary motivation to do well,' said Crump. 'That's where we're shooting for.'
In fact, BYU usually does not give out merit pay. Merit pay is the extra money given to the coach for excelling in his or her sport.
But there are other reasons for President Bateman's goal for the sports programs.
'Sports opens the door for the church,' President Bateman said.
If all of the BYU sports are in the top 20 in the nation, people who don't know a lot about the church might get interested.
It gives us exposure, President Bateman said.