Baldwin: ‘We keep moving in the right direction’

It’s pretty common to witness flashes of drama whenever the MIAA’s Board of Directors convenes at 33 Forge Parkway. Sometimes, there’s even conflict with fierce debate.

Then there are other days where you have streamlined meetings akin to the one that occurred Wednesday. During the course of a 90-minute session, the organization took a series of steps to ensure that there are no sudden hurdles for business in the near future, be it financially or logistically.

Some might refer to it as window dressing, but MIAA executive director Bob Baldwin viewed the policy changes necessary.

“I think these are always productive,” Baldwin said. “We keep moving in the right direction. Incremental change, one little step at a time. I think that happened again today.”

The MIAC recently voted to adjust its constitution to focus its efforts on the eligibility of the Peer Board, and to become an advisory to MIAA’s Board of Directors. Baldwin and his staff suggested a policy, one in which members would have final say on any rule changes, and have direct access to the necessary resources whenever they have important questions.

The main goal in his words? To codify a “backbone in writing,” and to recommend to the Board of Directors and to the Assembly (when applicable) systems and processes that provide clear roles and responsibilities that lead to consistent implementation. The board ultimately voted to discuss his vision further in a meeting on Feb. 16.

“I just see clarity for the membership,” said Baldwin. “When an incident occurs, they need to know which entity to go with, and where they speak with them. This provides the membership more clarity, where we go with appeals, where we go with regulatory issues. It kind of defines the institution that they can go with, kind of clarifies some things that might have been unclear in the past.”

After deliberating for months on end as to when a lacrosse cutoff date should be held, the board officially settled on May 29 for schools to submit their tournament resumes. Originally, the sport’s tournament management committee voted to set it on May 26, then May 31. However, due to the physical nature of the sport and potential scheduling issues, some officials deemed it imperative that a switch be made for the benefit of participating student athletes. The TMC later voted to move the date back. However, approval was still needed from the Board of Directors. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.

“Originally, the Lacrosse Committee had voted to move it to the 31st,” said MIAA board president and Mt. Greylock athletic director Lindsey von Holtz. “We learned that the Lacrosse Committee didn’t have full say at this point. It was past the time that we had say. So through that process, another month had passed because you had to wait until the board meeting.

“Dan O’Brien and I, who are the current chairs of lacrosse, worked with members of the TMC, and decided that the 29th made more sense, because it was consistent with baseball and softball. It wouldn’t be too drastic of a change this close to the season.”

There were also worries about the 43rd rule change that the MIAA had implemented, where five designated officials would be assigned to football games in the fall. While the MIAC had made it known that there may be monetary concerns with adding referees, the board decided Wednesday to stick to its original plan.