Union College President Roger Hull spoke out on Monday, Jan. 12, against an NCAA measure that allows eight Division III colleges and universities to continue to offer athletic scholarships in a Division I sport.

Ultimately, the NCAA members voted to permit such scholarships, at their convention in Nashville, Tenn.

Hull, who said he "wrestled with the decision until the last possible moment," voted against the measure.

"I have great respect for those presidents and their institutions, but ultimately I had to do what I thought was right," he said. "For me, the vote came down to a question of conscience over collegiality.

"I am philosophically opposed to treating a group of men or women differently from any other athlete or non-athlete on a campus like ours," he said.

Hull said he had earlier told one of the presidents of the eight institutions that he would abstain and not speak against the proposal unless someone said the amendment was needed in order to be competitive. At a luncheon of presidents at the conference yesterday, two presidents referred to the need for scholarships to be competitive.

"We may not win as many games as some of the institutions in our conference, but we are competitive every time we get on the ice," Hull said. "I am proud of the way that our hockey players represent this institution and I am proud of the fact that some of them have been among our best students.

"I have always said to the people with whom I work that no matter what stance we take in a job like this, we will be criticized and that we should therefore always do what we believe in.

"For me, doing what I believe in means saying that athletic scholarships do not belong on a campus like ours."

Union does not offer any athletic scholarships, despite playing in Division I leagues in men's and women's ice hockey. The College's other 23 sports are at the Division III level. Union is the only Division III institution playing hockey at Division I without athletic scholarships.