[Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Staten Island Advance.]

What do the basketball court, soccer pitch, swimming pool and classroom have in common? They all prepare students to be more successful in life.

According to Dr. Timothy Lynch, president of CUNY – College of Staten Island (CSI), the skills young athletes acquire while training for their sports become valuable attributes in both their academic pursuits and their career development.

“There are intangible benefits to being a student athlete,” Dr. Lynch explained. “Athletes learn time management, accountability and a collective responsibility while participating in sports. They also learn that there are obligations that come with being part of a team.  You have to show up … be on time … and commit to a program of personal improvement through physical training. These skills can’t necessarily be measured by traditional metrics, but they can be leveraged in the job market … and translate into sustained success.”

Dr. Lynch noted that the proficiencies developed in the course of athletic training are in great demand in the corporate world. While the overwhelming majority of young athletes will never play their sport professionally, the character and self-discipline they learn by being part of a team complements their academic work and better enables them to realize their career goals.

In addition to providing the personal enrichments students gain through sports, athletic programs serve as a bridge between CSI and the Staten Island community. CSI is one of only two institutions of higher learning on the Island. The college provides sporting competitions, which are well-attended by both community residents and alumni. In addition, CSI hosts sports camps and clinics that are open to students ages 6 to 16.    

The camps are conducted in concert with some third-party organizations as well as the coaching staff of the sports programs at CSI. The college coaches actively evaluate  student-athletes and recruit them to the school.

CSI is a Division II school that is part of the East Coast Conference (ECC). As an ECC member, CSI competes with colleges located in communities from Buffalo, N.Y. to Washington, D.C.. Among the sports offered at CSI are basketball, soccer, softball, baseball, track and field, cross-country and swimming and diving. Most sports programs offer both men’s and women’s teams. Dr. Lynch added that one of the more exciting new club-level sports programs at CSI is women’s flag football.

Athletics is only one aspect of CSI that draws people from the community to the campus. CSI occupies 204 acres in a park-like setting making it the largest campus in New York City. In addition to sporting events, Staten Island residents and alumni visit the campus for cultural and civic events.

“Good things come from having people visit our campus,” Dr. Lynch remarked. “We have a revitalized center for the arts, theater performances, concerts and dance recitals. These events strengthen our connection to the community.”

While sports are an important part of campus life, academic excellence remains at the core of the CSI’s mission. Dr. Lynch cited the presence of award winning, nationally recognized faculty and access to innovative, technologically advanced spaces. He noted that most people don’t know that CSI has an astrophysical observatory and is in the midst of a nearly $3 million upgrade to its STEM Labs. More importantly, the campus boasts Pulitzer Prize winning faculty and a dozen professors  in the  school’s  division of science and technology are ranked in the top 2 percent in their field worldwide. The quality of education offered at CSI, is borne out in the success of her graduates.  As one example, President Lynch boasted that students in the CSI nursing program routinely outperform highly touted programs at New York University and Columbia University on the pass rates for the national examinations.

The combination of athletics, academics, culture, workforce education and a thriving campus life makes CSI one of the nation’s educational values with tuition rates as low as $7,500 per year. CSI is part of CUNY (City University of New York).

To learn more about CSI visit csi.cuny.edu.

By Stan Lamond