Bethany College engages in intercollegiate athletics primarily to enhance the education of those who participate.  A logical corollary of the above statement is that educational enhancement produced by participation in intercollegiate athletics ought to be available to as many students as possible.  To assure that this is the case, Bethany College seeks to:

• Provide equity of access to intercollegiate athletics for women and men in an amateur athletic setting;
• Assure student access to a wide variety of intercollegiate sports;
• Provide an athletics environment that places emphasis on the safety and well being of the student-athlete;
•  Provide, within the limits of budget and student interest, junior varsity as well as varsity competition;
•  Provide facilities and equipment appropriate to the needs and the levels of competition of the intercollegiate teams.

Important factors in encouraging student participation in intercollegiate athletics include coaching excellence and reasonable scheduling.  In these areas, Bethany College seeks to:

• Provide all intercollegiate teams with coaches who;

1. Know and can teach the sport they coach; Will deal honestly and equitably with prospective students, and with members of their teams;
2. Are aware of and responsive to the classroom needs of their athletes;
3. Provide equitable levels of competition for all intercollegiate teams;
   Emphasize the importance of regular-season competition within the PAC, and with other regional colleges of similar philosophy and ability.

Bethany College acknowledges its responsibility to support, within the budgets, its intercollegiate athletes when they have opportunities for post-season competition in NCAA Division III, ECAC, or PAC games or tournaments.

As an NCAA Division III institution, Bethany College maintains a particular relationship between the College and intercollegiate athletics.  That relationship assures that:

• Intercollegiate athletes are integrated into normal campus life, as all students are, in terms of housing access, course selection, and the like;

• The Athletics Department is an integral part of Bethany College, and of its overall educational mission, “Recognition [in] the Bethany College community [of] the unity of all participants, both athletes and supporters … combining academics with athletics as an essential educational experience."

• All those who are affected by intercollegiate athletics promote and are exposed to the highest standards of sporting behavior and ethical conduct. Bethany College, as well as the Presidents' Athletic Conference and NCAA, promote good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators. The Bethany Athletic Department encourages that officials, student-athletes, coaches and team representatives are supported in a positive manner.