The Rampage October 2019

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The Rampage

Sports

••• However, being successful does not come overnight, Walker admits. At Winston-Salem State, she acknowledges that success didn’t come right away, but in the latter part of her tenure there Winston- Salem State won about 30 conference championships. “It takes time to build and change a culture,” Walker said. “The culture comes with recruiting, funding, and a brand.” Walker’s third pillar is community engagement. “Athletics is the front porch of every college,” she said. “That is why I push so hard on our brand. It is who we are, how we show, how we present ourselves that makes us attractive.” That is why she wants BC athletes to look and present themselves in a certain way. She wants others to take notice of what BC athletes do, and she wants to make sure that student-athletes garner respect from the community. That’s why she has BC athletes engaged in community service opportunities, such as working in elementary schools and feeding the hungry. By presenting our brand in a positive way, she said, we will be able to secure essential funding, improve facilities, and make Bluefield College a better program all around. “What this does is translate into ticket sales (and) support for our athletic programs,” Walker said. “It translates into Ram (Booster) Club members and into our institution as a whole.” Related to building that BC brand are new guidelines for dress for student-athletes,

which Walker acknowledges have been a bit misunderstood. Adidas is the Athletic Department’s sponsor, and as such they have invested in the BC sports programs so that they might see the Adidas brand promoted. That means that during Bluefield College competitions or games, practices, and community events that BC athletes should where Adidas apparel. “When walking around campus or going out with friends, wear what you want to wear,” Walker said. “I think (the dress code) was misconstrued.” Infrastructure is the last pillar in Walker’s formula to create a successful program. She wants to make sure we have the right people in the right positions, the right coaches, and the right policies and procedures to protect the college. She has spent most of her time over the last three months working with the administration, making sure that we have all the right pieces in place to achieve success. She wants to ensure that the athletics program is headed in the right direction because that will benefit the entire school. Beyond instituting her four pillars, Walker’s immediate goals for the Athletic Department are to address the athletic infrastructure and begin branding the athletic program. She also wants to ensure Title IX compliance and send the message to all sports programs that there will be no tolerance for anything less than excellence. She also hopes to address issues with athletic expenditures. “I tend to feel that there was spending that has not been managed throughout the past,” Walker said. “I want to pull that in to

have a better understanding of what we are doing with that money.” Walker said she knows that the road to success will include road blocks along the way, but she is willing to do whatever it takes to overcome those obstacles. Among those, she admits, are limited financial resources and current frustrations students have expressed about facilities, housing, campus safety, and food services. She said she hopes the administration can prioritize the issues and address some of the problems right away. “Hopefully, we as the administration listened,” Walker said about the frustrations shared by students during a recent open forum. “There are some things that we can be flexible on. I know I can be a little more lenient on personal issues, like the hat situation. I am a southern girl so wearing hats inside was looked at as disrespectful.” She did say, however, that she will stand by her rule against doo-rags because of the stereotypes associated with that headwear, and she will stand by having a professional day of dress, because she feels it will prepare student-athletes for a future outside of sports. “I know I am doing this for the best interest of the student-athletes,” she said. “I just hope that they trust what I am doing because I just want the best for them.” All in all, Walker might be new to Bluefield College, but she is ready to make a difference and to make it a better place for student-athletes to enjoy.

by Jakobi Montgomery Graphic Communication • 2021 Walker Clarifies Expectations for Stud

Longtime athletics administrator Tonia Walker came to Bluefield College this summer to serve as BC’s new athletics director (AD), and with her Walker brought a set of high expectations for student-athletes that she hopes will enhance the brand of athletics at BC. “Athletics are the front porch of any college,” said Walker. “At a college you hear more about athletics than academics in many cases.” And since student-athletes are often in the limelight, Walker said it’s very important that they present themselves in the best way possible. In fact, she shared certain expectations with players related to dress and

athletic apparel. Those expectations, she admits, may have been a bit “misconstrued.” Regarding athletic apparel, Walker shared with athletes her desire for them to wear only Adidas brand gear. When she said this, athletes thought she meant they had to wear Adidas everywhere when in reality she meant that they should wear Adidas products while at games, practices, or in the spotlight for media interviews. The reason behind the commitment to Adidas products, Walker said, is the fact that the company invested in Bluefield College Athletics so it’s and important that their logo and their brand be

promoted by BC student-athletes. Wearing other competing brands, she added, would violate the agreement the college has with Adidas. Regarding dress, Walker has established a weekly Professional Dress Day for athletes — a decision some student- athletes have expressed frustration about. And while some students have shared that they think they are being asked to dress up for no reason and are being told what they can wear, Walker says that is not the case at all, and Professional Dress Day is far more than that. “Professional Dress Day exceeds Wednesday, and it kills the stereotype of