Club sports strive to leap to varsity status

SHAWN CHENG/YH

They hawk their sport to the scores of freshmen and upperclassmen at the freshmen bazaar. They mail out hundreds of letters attempting to romance alumni and telling them why a contribution to their team is a worthy cause. They set up organizational meetings and contact league officials and opposing teams to set up schedules. When they finally get on the field of play, they teach newcomers the basics and coach veterans on nuances of the game.

Varsity athletes get to leave these tasks to their coaches and the athletic department staff, allowing them, as Yale's mission statement describes it, to "have the opportunity to test their skill and valor in intercollegiate competition," without any other duties. The extra effort put out by many club sport captains goes unnoticed. They play to paltry crowds and are rarely reported on, while varsity teams play in packed gyms and receive extensive media coverage.

Yale's Club Sports Handbook outlines two basic purposes for the club sports program—two purposes which are in stark contrast to the mission of varsity sports. Club sports exist "to provide a valuable learning experience through student involvement in fund raising, public relations, organization, administration, budgeting, leadership, teaching, and scheduling in addition to athletic skill in a particular sport." That's a lot to ask of an athlete, but hundreds of Yale students do it every year. There are now over 30 club teams at Yale, and many participants feel the program is achieving its purposes. Yet many clubs are increasingly unhappy and are looking to gain varsity status.

It ain't easy bein' club

Club sport members are indeed a different breed of athlete. Amy Mechur, SM '01, the captain of last year's women's alpine ski team, which finished fourth in the McBrien division of the U.S. Collegiate Snowsports Association, values the experience that she had last year. "Having the responsibility of running a team definitely taught me how to deal with several different problems," she said. "It was good experience. I'm better for it."

It's not an easy job, though. Mechur, whose team, coupled with the men's alpine ski team, received a total of only $1400 from the University last year, relied on alumni funding to compete last season. "Without strong alumni support, the alpine ski teams would only be able to attend one race. With five or six races on the schedule, the ski team would not exist without the alumni," Mechur said.

Though one purpose of the club sports program is "to provide a valuable learning experience...in fund-raising," the University does not make this experience very easy. In fact, just to obtain alumni mailing labels, club teams often have to pay at least $50 out of their small budgets.

Women's ultimate frisbee, also known as Ramona, lacks an alumni base. Because it was founded in the early '90s, the team's graduates have not yet become a vital part of the fundraising efforts. Instead, Ramona relies heavily on a tournament it hosts every spring to fund its season. While the University accommodates the tournament's special needs, the support seems to end there. Team members are responsible for everything from cleaning the fields before and after the tournament to paying for the Porta-Potties. "The University doesn't offer much help. In fact, in the past we've owed the University money after the tournament," captain Lisa Kinney, ES '00, said.

In recent years Ramona has gone on to compete for a national championship. Competing in nationals are an almost insurmountable financial strain for the team. The university is able to help club teams vying for national supremacy through a Master's fund created specifically for this reason. However, with so many teams petitioning for money, the amounts given to each team are almost negligible. The $500 Ramona received last year for nationals was barely enough to pay for one person.

The lack of University support for Ramona's endeavors frustrates Kinney. "It's really tough to always be working on fundraising. As a nationally ranked team, it's frustrating to not get funding and recognition," she said. But with that in mind, Kinney and her teammates wouldn't change their status as a club team. "We like the freedom of being a non-varsity sport and having authority over our practice and game schedule," Kinney said.

Making the move

Many club teams do not share Kinney's sentiments. Club sports that have done well in recent years have pushed to earn varsity status. But it isn't easy. In the '90s, no club team has been able to accomplish this feat. Two varsity sports, however, have recently been demoted to club status. In 1991, as part of broad cutbacks in Yale's athletic department, men's water polo and wrestling both lost varsity status and became club sports.

Currently, several club teams are investigating the possibilities and implications of gaining varsity status. Men's wrestling, in the wake of it's national championship in 1998, is one team that has been especially prominent in its struggle. "All we want to do is what all Yale athletes want to do. And that is to compete at a very high level in our sport," co-captain Zach Kaufman, SY '00, said. "It really upsets me that I can't do that and my teammates can't do that." The wrestling team has been pushing to become a varsity sport again since the day it became a club team. "Varsity reinstatement is our most important goal," Kaufman said.

While Kaufman is encouraged by the progress his team has made in its quest, the process has not been an easy one. "I don't know what the Administration is looking for in terms of the wrestling team proving why it deserves varsity status, and that greatly frustrates me," he said.

It is unclear what it would take for the Administration to reverse its decision concerning the wrestling team or any other club team. "There are no magic formulas, no textbook guidelines when it comes to collegiate athletics," Larry Matthews, Yale's associate athletic director who deals with club sports, said. "Moving a team from club to varsity status is a very big decision, one that the University would not, and should not, make without serious analysis."

There are, however, several different problems which must be addressed when considering the creation of a new varsity program. The two central issues in such decisions are budgetary concerns and Title IX compliance.

With 33 varsity programs encompassing almost 1,000 athletes each year, finances and facilities are already being squeezed to the limit. "The more teams there are, the more they compete for practice time," said chair of the faculty committee on athletics and Morse College Master Stanton Wheeler. With limited facilities, accommodating the existing varsity programs, club sports, and intramurals is extremely difficult, according to Wheeler.

Given the situation, the Administration has to decide how its money can be spent to best serve the student body. Recent improvements—including the new weight room and the Lanman Center in Payne Whitney Gymnasium—are perfect examples of the University seeing a need and taking action. Yet club sports have still not benefited from such amenities as the varsity-only weight room.

Accomodating Title IX

The second major issue pertaining to varsity athletics is Title IX compliance. With 16 men's and 17 women's varsity teams, it seems that there should be room for one more men's team. However, by the rules of Title IX, which are designed to provide women with the opportunity to play varsity athletics, it is not so simple. It takes multiple women's teams to balance the amount of funding for—and number of athletes in—the men's football program.

Title IX is the bane of many men's club sports team's existences. Many opponents of the current Title IX laws, including Kaufman, believe the law is flawed. "The intention of Title IX is good. No one would disagree that we should promote women's athletics," Kaufman said. "However, it should not come at the expense of male student athletes."

"If a new team were added to the varsity program here, I'm quite sure that it would be a women's club," Tom Migdalski, director of Yale's club sports program, said.

This reasoning gives the women's water polo team the best chance of any club in gaining the elusive varsity status. The team has taken the first steps to investigate the possibility of rising to the varsity level. Team officers have spoken to both Matthews and Wheeler about the move.

With women's water polo set to become an official NCAA sport by 2001, team members believe that it will be increasingly difficult to compete with the growing numbers of varsity teams in the country, unless they too become a varsity squad. "It will be very tough to compete with varsity programs," Shira Saiger, BK '02, who has led the charge for varsity status, said. Furthermore, according to Saiger, it could happen that as a club team water polo will not be allowed to compete with other varsity programs.

Gaining varsity status is not an easy project. Whether women's water polo or men's wrestling will shift from the club to the varsity ranks in the future remains to be seen. Creating a new varsity team has implications for the athletic department and the University as a whole. But until they achieve their goals, club sports that strive for varsity status won't rest. "In the meantime, we're going to have a successful club team and hopefully get a lot of Yalies into the sport," Kaufman said.

Graphic by Shawn Cheng.

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