Athletic Philosophy

The intercollegiate athletic program at Wartburg College seeks to integrate the objectives and lessons of athletic participation and competition with the academic and social life of the College. The program should reflect the mission of Wartburg, the philosophy of NCAA Division III, and the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC).

An effective intercollegiate program should contribute significantly to the development of the participant by supporting sportsmanship and furnishing opportunities for growth, self-realization, and fulfillment of individual and team potential. It should also cultivate an environment that fosters academic success, leadership, discipline, and a sense of ethical conduct. Finally, the college strives to promote the health and welfare of all student athletes and provide equal emphasis to men's and women's sports in terms of facilities, funding, and the quality of the overall experience.

Policy on Social Networking Sites

The Department of Athletics understands the popularity and usefulness of social networking sites and supports their use by student athletes provided:

• No offensive or inappropriate pictures are posted.
• No offensive or inappropriate comments are posted.
• Photos and/or comments posted on these sites do not depict team-related or college-identifiable activities (including wearing/using team uniforms or gear inappropriately).

Student athletes must remember that they are representatives of Wartburg College and are in the public eye more so than other students. Please keep the following in mind as you participate on social networking websites:

• Before participating in any online community, understand that anything posted online is available to anyone in the world. Any text or photo placed online becomes the property of the site(s) and is completely out of your control the moment it is placed online – even if you limit access to your site.
• You should not post any information, photos or other items online that could embarrass you, your family, your team, the Department of Athletics or Wartburg College. This includes information that may be posted by others on your page.
• Never post your address, phone number(s), birth date or other personal information. You could be a target of predators.
• Coaches and Department of Athletics administrators can and do monitor these websites regularly.
• Student athletes could face discipline and even dismissal for violations of this policy.

These websites are also regularly monitored by potential employers, internship supervisors, graduate programs and scholarship committees as a way of screening applicants. Student athletes should be very careful when using online social networking and think about not only your image today among your college peers but who you might want to be in the future.