1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

From basketball player to university president, Seamus Carey reflects on role of DIII college athletics

Seamus Carey
Seamus Carey

Transylvania University President Seamus Carey knows what it’s like first-hand to be a student athlete. A member of the basketball team at Vassar College, Carey relates to the students at Transy who participate on one of the school’s 27 intercollegiate athletic teams.

“The academic component of a college experience is the priority, and I think at the Division III level athletes know that. They are passionate about the sport—they work really hard at it, but they do that as students first,” Carey told TransySports.com in an interview for #D3Week, an NCAA initiative to highlight student athletes competing at the Division III level.

“One of the striking things I think I’ve taken away from watching our athletes play is how much fun and joy they have. I think it’s a credit to the coaches, because of the environment they’ve created, to see student athletes being able to express themselves in such a positive way,” Carey said.

“Our student athletes are outstanding students and, for me, I’m most proud of that,” Carey explained. “Our student athletes go on to do amazing things when they get out of here in large part because of the lessons they’ve learned in athletics, but most importantly also because of what they’ve learned in the classroom.”

Watch the full interview below.