The one other inductee that clearly deserves recognition from a basketball perspective is Dr. Chernak. I suspect that any academic who has a responsibility to oversee or serve as a liaison between a university and its athletic programs likely falls into one of three buckets. The first bucket is what I'll call "the win at all costs" administrator. These folks recognize what competitive sports, particularly revenue-generating sports, does for a school, financially and otherwise. They don't worry so much about bending (or in some cases, breaking) rules as they are wondering how they'll put a positive spin on things after the fact. The boosters love them and many a professor can't stand them. The second bucket is what I'll refer to as the "by the book" administrator. They have no interest in bending any rules for potential profit because after all, rules are rules. The end results are that these athletic departments rarely if ever receive the benefit of the doubt, and many sports programs are hindered because they can't play by the same rules as their competition. The third bucket is the administrator who has the savvy to adopt the best of both worlds from the first two. They take academics seriously, play by the rules, but also know that they need to be aggressive in representing the interests of athletics programs. Dr. Chernak's efforts fell squarely in this third bucket. He was a champion for the needs and wants of GW athletics without ignoring that GW is not exactly Ohio State or Alabama.
All one really needs to see in order to appreciate Dr. Chernak's accomplishments on behalf of GW basketball is to note the lack of such an administrator since his retirement. One of the most underrated reasons why GW has wandered the wilderness for much of the past ten years pertains to a lack of his presence, or really anyone's in this capacity. This is not to say that there haven't been behind-the-scenes trustees or other leaders doing their best, or that the Chris Caputo/Michael Lipitz combination may turn out to be more than influential on its own. Nevertheless, what Dr. Chernak brought to the table was an essential voice from the academic side. One who could explain and influence why athletics needs what it wanted to the naysayers. And one who was smart enough not to ask for the moon each and every time.
GW basketball flourished under Dr. Chernak's watch and has been badly diminished upon his departure. Things are starting to look up again, some might say "finally." It would be nice for a new Dr. Chernak to emerge from the academic side, someone to help explain and execute the vision that many of us have. For now, we should remember his fine work and congratulate Dr. Chernak on this outstanding honor.
