Aug. 24, 2005

Charleston, SC - All coaches and administrators on Wednesday morning congregated in McAlister Field House for the school's annual Sportsmanship Meeting that was conducted by Brigadier General R. Clifton Poole, interim president of The Citadel.

While the meeting is a requirement by NCAA and Southern Conference rules, Gen. Poole opened the gathering by stating that Citadel coaches, student-athletes, administrators and game-day staffers are expected to be held in a higher standard because "we at The Citadel hold ourselves to a higher standard."

Gen. Poole continued by elaborating that intercollegiate athletics is part of the total educational process and that our coaches are "extensions of the faculty because coaches also teach values.

"Competition is also an extension of the learning process," he added.

He reiterated that visiting teams are The Citadel's guests and that "we should display the hospitality that The Citadel is known for."

In closing, Gen. Poole reminded the attentive audience that high "values are part of our institution," and that "sportsmanship is one of the primary ideals of The Citadel."

In his remarks, Director of Athletics Les Robinson relayed that Col. David McAlister, for whom McAlister Field House is named, helped set the bar for sportsmanship in the Southern Conference as the league's annual sportsmanship award is aptly named the D.S. McAlister Award.

The D.S. McAlister Award is presented annually to the Southern Conference school which is judged to have exhibited the highest degree of sportsmanship and conduct of its athletic program. The award began in 1980 and is named for McAlister, who exemplified sportsmanship and who also served as the league's secretary-treasurer for 38 years.