Tufts should embrace its club sports

Tufts’ sports teams -- softball, men’s lacrosse and women’s basketball to name a few from 2014 -- have all made impressive strides on the national Div. III level. Alongside these bigger varsity sports is a community of club sports and smaller activities that have blossomed and represent the unique sports culture of Tufts. These smaller sports deserve the support they need to thrive, as there is overwhelming interest in participation and growth at the club sport level.

Tufts still does not have the big sports culture is common at other schools. What we do have, however, is a lively club and intramural sports culture. Student boxers at Tufts comprise one small group that displays the best of student passion: people willing to come together, without proper funding, to convert their passion for a sport into a reality and have fun doing it. 

The ultimate frisbee teams, too, serve as examples of highly passionate and prolific club sports. The necessity of traveling across the country to prominent tournaments -- tournaments Tufts often performs very well in -- however, presents its own set of financial problems. Many expenses are paid out-of-pocket by members of club sports teams for competition travel and equipment.

Tufts is lucky to be a school where there is a sport for just about every student who enjoys athletics, a school whose identity is not solely defined by one sport, but many. We must do more to balance our smaller sports with our larger sports, however. Tier I club sports have not fallen easily into a category of campus activity -- but this should not prevent their members, as deserving as any other Jumbo athlete, from receiving the needed funds to excel. These sports are just as valuable for both the students who compete in them and the school community, and that value must be addressed with proper monetary support and resource allocation. Furthermore, there is continuous, expressed interest in participating in and building these teams, and Tufts has an obligation to meet that demand.

If the Tufts administration and community wants a sports culture that can bring us together and be fun for everyone, we should provide the support needed for small clubs to fully pursue their passions, and for our older clubs to reach greater heights.