Greetings from Athletics Director Tracey Ranieri


The SUNY Oneonta athletics department is set to celebrate NCAA Division III week beginning Monday, Apr. 5th and continuing through Sunday, Apr. 11th.  The annual event, which began in 2010, is a division-wide initiative to observe and celebrate the impact athletics and student athletes have on their campuses and in the surrounding community.
 
Link to full schedule
 
The athletics department will be involved in various activities that will celebrate community service, academic accomplishments while participating in the annual "Yards for Yeardley" event.  The Student Athlete Advisory Council has taken the lead to make the most of the week amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
"Playing Division III sports means so much more than just being an athlete," said Student Athlete Affairs Coordinator Sara Curran-Headley.  "Division III week is a great time to celebrate everything that makes a Division III athlete special. Even though we may be missing our sports, we have a lot of other things going on!!"
 
Curran-Headley continued, "Throughout the year we offer programming covering a wide array of topics including Academic and career mentoring, Nutrition and Mental wellness in addition to all the service we are engaged in the local community."
 
Tuesday, Apr. 6^th  – Virtual Yards for Yeardley
2021 will mark the fifth year that Oneonta is participating in "Yards for Yeardley", which is a national event supporting the One Love Foundation.  The foundation was created after the passing of Yeardley Love, a senior attending the University of Virginia and a player on its Women's Lacrosse Team. Yeardley Love was the victim of sexual assault being beaten to death by an ex-boyfriend in May 2010. One of the goals of the One Love Foundation is to honor Yeardley by bringing an end to relationship violence by educating, empowering and call upon campus communities to join the Movement for Change and end this type of senseless brutality. According to its website, The One Love Foundation is a national leader in educating young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and in galvanizing young people across the country to be Leaders of Change.
 
Oneonta's event will involve all its athletics teams, club sports groups faculty and staff in challenging each group and individual to walk or participate in some sort of physical activity that can be measured in yards.  The yards are then compiled with the hopes of surpassing last year's total of over Ten-million yards as a campus.
 
"The Yards for Yeardley event will be a virtual event again this year.  If you would like to participate in the event, record your yards from your physical activity and send your total to Sara Curran-Headley – sara.headley@oneonta.edu.
 
On average 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. Due to the isolation put on by COVID-19, healthy relationships have never been more important. "Though we may be separate, we can come together as a community to honor Yeardley Love, and help the OneLove foundation reach its goal of 1 billion yards," concluded Palmer.
 
The inaugural event was held in 2017 as a SUNYAC conference initiative to walk "10 million Yards for Yeardley".  The event was so successful with the 10 schools surpassing the mark by a wide margin that SUNY itself took notice.
 
In 2018, SUNY added to the event by making it a system-wide initiative calling it "Around the World for Yeardley".  Once again, the event was a success with the entire system surpassing its goal.
 
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and this event helps support the efforts of all movements and organizations that are continuing the fight against relationship violence.  One of the movements is "It's on Us".
 
In 2015, then SUNY Oneonta students, Brynn Sussman '15 and Todd Ferguson '15, created a short video to support the "It's On Us" movement. Their video won the National SAAC Diversity Spotlight Award and the "Video of the Year" award presented by NCAA's National SAAC.
 
The "It's on Us" Movement encourages students:

• To recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault
• To identify situations in which sexual assault may occur
• To intervene in situations in which sexual assault may occur
• To create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported

 
Our campus community has and will continue to come together each year to make sure Yeardley Love will always be remembered and her story never forgotten.  To learn more about the One Love Foundation, visit https://www.joinonelove.org/
 
To take the pledge, please visit itsonus.org
 
On Wednesday, Health Educator Rebecca Harrington will be moderating a panel discussion titled, The View from Here: Prevention and Response to Relationship Violence.  The panelists include Andrew Stammel, Affirmative Action Officer/Title IX Coordinator, Emily Phelps, Assistant Director, Gender + Sexuality Resource Center and Michael Losak, SAAC President.  The panel will be virtual on Zoom (information below)
 
Meeting ID and password
ID- 608 040 1857
Password- 6dfjYL
 
Chi Alpha Sigma Induction Celebration and Faculty Appreciation
SUNY Oneonta will be adding 44 students and one faculty/staff member to Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society.  The full announcement of those inducted will be made on Thursday, Apr. 8^th.  This year's Honorary Inductee is Mr. Scott Barton, Facilities Program Coordinator.
 
Community Service
Members of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee will be involved with a community service project with the City of Oneonta involving the Veterans Memorial Walkway located in Neahwa Park.  That event will take place on Sunday, Apr. 11^th from 10am-1pm.
 
Athletic Excellence
Oneonta has several games scheduled during the week.  All games can be watched on the athletics department Facebook page and followed live via live stats.
 
WHAT IS DIVISION III WEEK?
Division III Week was created to celebrate the impact ​Athletics ​has on a campus and in the surrounding community.  It is an opportunity to recognize ​outstanding student athletes for their academic and athletic prowess and civic commitment and to celebrate the many coaches and faculty that encourage students to be great in and out of the classroom.
 
THE THREE D'S OF DIVISION III
DISCOVER: Division III student-athletes are encouraged to pursue their interests and passions beyond the classroom and field of play…to discover themselves.
 
DEVELOP: Division III institutions provide an environment that encourages student-athletes to develop into well-rounded adults. Small class sizes, the ability to participate in more than one sport, and an emphasis on participating activities outside of the classroom are all hallmarks of the Division III experience.
 
DEDICATE: Division III institutions expect student-athletes to dedicate themselves to achieving their potential. Student-athletes must manage their busy schedules, keep up with class work and face the same challenges as the rest of the student-body.