It's official: The newest rite of passage for the athletically minded Tufts student has come to fruition.
After years of frustration and discord, the Tufts Athletics Department has begun to collaborate with various unsanctioned club sports. Though not all unrecognized clubs have made equal progress, a few of them, like the club tennis and baseball teams, have successfully been granted the position of a Tier II club sport. The club soccer team, meanwhile, has applied and is waiting for confirmation from the Athletics Department.
The Tier II recognition allows teams to wear the official Tufts name and gives them more flexibility in using Tufts facilities, though they must still do so without any funding from the school. Considering the struggling economy and the decline in the university's endowment, it seems that there is simply not enough money to go around. So for now, the club sports have to fend for themselves.
The Athletics Department has been generous with regard to facility use. However, Tier II sports are still prohibited by Tufts policy from reserving facilities.
A compromise that entails occasional use when the facilities are free is something that the Athletics Department is trying hard to provide for these clubs. Because of the modest increase in facility use, teams are able to practice more, resulting in higher interest and increased participation from the student body, as well as strong results on the field.
Club soccer, also known as TUFC, consists of two squads, a blue and a white, with a total of about 70 players. TUFC, founded in 2006, plays in the New England Collegiate Club Soccer League, which is composed of teams from both Div. I and III. With an overall record of 3-5-1, TUFC has seen some exciting victories this year. The team has five games left this season against NESCAC rivals such as Trinity and Conn. College and is hoping to at least match, or surpass, last fall's 6-6-1 record.
"We've had some great wins this season," said senior Dalton Swing, a co-captain and co-founder of TUFC, as well as a tri-captain of club baseball. "We started the year off with a 3-1 home win versus Brandeis. Over Parents' Weekend, we hosted St. Anselm and won 1-0. This past weekend, we beat [Boston University] on a last-second header from [senior] Dan Malmer off a corner kick by [junior] Danny Santarsieri."
Although many of these teams have grown dramatically in both size and ability even without official recognition from the school, there is still much to be agreed upon between the Athletics Department and the various clubs.
"There are so many members of the Tufts community who find themselves involved in some way with club sports that recognition has become a demand which must be met," said Jon Zindman, senior and co-captain of TUFC. "There is certainly a place for more recognized club sports at Tufts. We all play because we really want to in spite of any difficulties that might arise."
The Athletics Department has made strides to work with these clubs, which say that the Tier II option is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Still, some believe there is more ground to cover.
"We are aware that field space is limited and would certainly be willing to work around the schedule of the Athletics Department," Zindman said. "I know that I am so proud to have been a part of this program's successful development, and I hope that the administration can understand how much recognition of all of our efforts would mean to us. That said, I think I speak for us all in saying that I am thankful for the strides that the Athletics Department has taken this year in support of club sports at Tufts."
"I think if a sport can get a sizable team together and compete in an organized league, then there is little reason not to recognize them," said Aaron Greenwald, junior and tri-captain of the club baseball team. "Just like with any other activity on campus, if there is a motivated and responsible group of people trying to participate in any kind of activity, they should be recognized."
The club baseball squad is an example of a team that needs plentiful equipment, which is where school funding could play a huge factor. Baseball teams need to pay for bats, balls and gloves, and they need to cover the exorbitant costs of being a part of the New England Collegiate Baseball Association (NECBA), the league in which Tufts participates. However, they are one of the few teams to have earned the right to bear the Tufts name as a Tier II club sport.
"It would be great to get at least some funding from the school," Greenwald said. "Even a couple hundred dollars would be great. The league invoice was $1300 split among 16 guys, and we have other fees like providing game balls for every home game, which is about 35 dollars per home game. Unfortunately, being in a leadership position means having to spend more money — the captains have picked up a lot of the financial slack."
The lack of funding, though, hasn't stopped the club baseball team from excelling. In probably the biggest win in their brief existence, club baseball unseated the back-to-back defending champion of the league, Northeastern, with a walk-off hit by sophomore Joe Nagel. The win was even more impressive considering that Tufts had to fight back from a 6-1 deficit and that it was only the second game the team had ever played in the league, as this is the club's inaugural season in the NECBA.
"We made the league take notice," Swing said.
Like club baseball, the club tennis team has received official Tier II recognition from the Athletics Department. Considering the extremely high demand for the limited supply of tennis courts, this recognition is especially significant for club tennis. With Tier II recognition as a shield, the team can tell desperate onlookers that the courts are reserved on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10 p.m.
Tennis also happens to be the most popular club sport on campus. In only two years, the team has now grown from around a dozen members to an e-mail list of 170 people, with about a quarter of that number showing up for practice on any given evening. The team sends players to four or five tournaments in the fall and three or so in the spring — the tournaments being a part of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) New England Tennis on Campus league.
"I think that as our base continues to grow, our talent will continue to develop," junior Josh Lund-Wilde, the team's captain, said. "I could definitely see us as a legitimate force in the Tennis on Campus league. There is no school that is completely out of our league right now, and we will definitely be one of the top teams if we have the resources to continue to grow."
Just like all the other club sports, the club tennis team's biggest needs are in the areas of funding and transportation, neither of which is covered by the Tier II status. Players are forced to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket to compete. They also have to deal with struggles to even meet the demand for cars in order to get to a tournament. Nevertheless, the club tennis players are quick to emphasize the importance of their part of the Tufts community.
"I think that the 170 people that have signed up for club tennis would say that there is a place for tennis as a recognized club sport," Lund-Wilde said. "We are filling a demand for tennis where there was previously a void on campus."
But even club sports with less interest than tennis seem to be performing well above the standards of an unsponsored and unfunded group of players. For example, the club lacrosse team made it to its second straight New England Club Lacrosse League championship game last spring.
The team entered last spring's championship undefeated at 7-0 and as the defending league champions. This success came without a single organized practice, which was a result of the school being unable to lend field time.
Though a few teams have made headway thanks to some generous concessions by the Athletics Department, the club sports scene on campus as a whole remains to be seen.
"There is a huge need for club sports on campus," Swing said. "Tufts students are very proactive and have taken it upon themselves to start these teams. Furthermore, club athletes are extremely proud to play competitive sports in college, and club sports also allow us to still be involved in many other aspects of the Tufts community. For all of us to be able to represent Tufts officially is the next big step and I believe we are definitely going in the right direction."
