Tag Archives: rcl1314

Changing the Stereotype

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I think one thing is safe to say that before entering college there were many believed stereotypes of club sports at colleges. For one, they are seen somewhat as students and athletes not being good enough to play at a Varsity level, for another it is because they are too lazy or cannot afford to go to a school with the Varsity sport.

What people do not realize, is that club sports play an important role in boosting athleticism in colleges.

While many people think that playing a club sport is a joke, a student Gregory John Vitale who attended Tufts University mentions how his opinion of club sports changed drastically. Tufts University, is one well known for both academics and athletics, therefore Vitale had one thought in his mind, that he wanted to play Varsity Rugby while attending. He soon discovered that playing club Rugby rather than playing at a Varsity level was a better choice. He used to hold the opinion that many still do that club sports are a joke, but he learned that ” club sports are generally very competitive and illicit a considerable effort from players. ” Although he does mention in his article that is does depend on the attitude of the team as well.

Club sports, though they are not necessarily the “cream of the crop” per se, make a big impact on the University as a whole. They still go to compete in far away lands (sometimes all over the country) to represent the school they are playing for. The name of their school is on their shirt, and it should also be shown in their performance.

One large stereotype of club sports is that it’s not a game that is competitive and you will most likely be playing with your friends and just having a grand old time. This is false, so false. Cub sports compete at a national level, and for one, Penn State Club Sports have won quite a few championships, such as Gymnastics, Fencing, and Golf. These sports still go onto compete seriously against, get this, other schools. Since some people seem to mix club sports and intramural sports, just to clarify that club sports compete with other schools and IM sports don’t.

IM sports are more of the teams that are just out there to have a good time, compete against friends and play a sport that they love.

Club sports, while most times overlooked play an important role in the athletics of a university. But do they play as important of a role as the Varsity sports? Who has a say in whether or not a club sport really is “just as important” or not? And my most important question, is why do we have these stereotypes of club sports, and how do we stop them?

Changing Attitudes

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While many students may choose to come to a school based on the academics, when athletes choose which school they would like to come to, it often comes down to who is offering the best scholarship, who has the best team, or which school has the best success rate for their teams. The decision of which school has the best academics rarely comes into the minds of athletes looking to play varsity sports.

Due to the fact that many athletes would rather go to a school with a successful team that they can play on rather than the success of their academics, the true purpose of going to college, which is to get an education, is lost.  Students who have chosen to go to college specifically for their athletic career and future as an athlete rather than for their academics have even made this obvious, an example being an Ohio State student, Cardale Jones,  tweeting that he chose to go to Ohio State to play football specifically, and does not understand why he should have to attend classes.

His tweet reads: “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come here to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS.”

In an article reviewing Jones’ tweet, it mentions that he is a third string quarter back, so maybe instead of focusing on playing football, he should think twice about his outlook on attending classes.  (especially with the horrifying grammar in his tweet).  The question becomes, if Jones feels this way, does this mean that other Varsity athletes view their priorities in college as such? The answer is not always clear. There will always be the students who think that their athletics are the most important thing to focus on in college, and others that would rather make sure that they are getting a adequate education.

Taking a look at Ivy League students, it seems to many that one of the easiest ways to get into an Ivy League school, is to become very good at a sport. This could simply be because what originally brought the eight Ivy League schools together was a sport, football. As mentioned in an article titled “Who the Heck is Getting into Ivy League Schools”  the author mentions that these colleges that began as an early athletic conference, have now evolved to the most challenging universities to attend.  For athletes, who also have grades that can get them into Ivy League schools, this becomes easier.

Schools, though, tend to help their students who are in Varsity athletic programs at their schools. This is done through tutoring help, and required study sessions. The only thing, though, is that this is not available for both club sports and Varsity sports. Varsity athletes at Penn State, for example, are required to attend study sessions for a certain amount of hours each week, whereas club sports are not.

Due to this, Club sports athletes (who may be spending equivalent or even more time practicing) must be able to manage their time even more than the Varsity athletes, and if help is needed they must seek it out themselves rather than being required to do so. Our school, Penn State is a perfect example of this.

So, does this create the problem of Varsity athletes slacking back in class like say, Cardale Jones, Simply because they are required to attend study sessions? Or is is the complete opposite, and the study sessions that the athletes are required to attend bolster their ability to succeed in their academics as well as their athletics?

 

Breaking the Bank

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Being students in college, money is something that starts to concern most of us. College is expensive enough without having to pay for extraneous items that we simply want to have, or paying to play a sport or join a club that we find enjoyable.

One thing that seems to be a reoccurring discussion in the topic of sports in college is dues. 

For Varsity Sports at most colleges, there are no dues, since a large amount of the athletes playing on that team have been recruited and/or offered scholarships to play for that school. Although a few schools recently, such as Old Dominion University have mentioned that student fees are what help to keep sports programs funded, if you would like to read more about this the article is here. 

For club sports, though, dues are necessary. This is because club sports uses different facilities than the Varsity Sports and the school rarely gives funds for their equipment. Another reason club sports must pay dues is because the money that each member pays goes towards the team competing and that specific member’s ability to compete with the team.

While dues are a good amount of money for most, (I pay $390 to be on the crew team, and that will increase next year when I am on Varsity) paying for other things such as gear for their team costs a good amount of money too, although certain things are free for Varsity Sports that are not the same for Club Sports.

Recently I spoke to Kirsten Gochnauer, a midfielder for the Penn State Varsity Field Hockey Team about spending for her sport. Something that stood out to me that was different between her sport and club sports is that while they do not have to pay dues, they are still given equipment for free, some of which is kept and some of which is returned. Gochnauer mentions that the equipment she is given is “used for four or five years and then replaced and must be handed in at the end of the year.” This can include jackets, game gear, and travel gear. However, sticks, sneakers, turfs, as well as practice gear are allowed to be kept at the end of each season. The more fun gear, though, such as backpacks and extra clothing must be purchased by the players.  This can average around $200-$250.

So not only are the Varsity sports players not paying to play for their school, but they are also given equipment and gear to use for free as well.

This may not seem extremely different from the club sports teams at colleges, but simply the fact that the uniforms for certain Varsity sports as well as equipment is already paid for can make a large difference. For example, paying dues already does a good job of putting a dent in parents’ and students’ wallets, but when the time comes to purchase uniforms and practice gear (or just extraneous gear to wear for fun) this can become cumbersome. Varsity sports simply have more of a luxury when it comes to spending for the sport, while club sports seem to get the short end of the stick and pay for the facilities and gear that they use.

So, is this fair? Should sports that are higher ranked and labeled varsity sports get the luxury of not having to pay for their sport as well as using the equipment and gear for free while club sports pay an average of $800-$1000 a year to play a sport? If this isn’t fair, (which I believe it is not) I wonder what would fix this – enacting a set of dues for Varsity sports, or ridding all sports of dues in general.

 

 

What makes a sport “major” or “minor”

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While reading through the topics for our Civic Issues blogs, one specific one stood out to me, and that was the question that asked if there was a difference between “major” and “minor” sports in collegiate athletics.

The answer to this, is simple, there is a drastic difference.

The major sports at each college are different, though. Schools are ranked for certain sports either Division 1, Division 2, or Division 3. Different sports at each college can have different divisions as well, meaning that football can be Division 1, while Volleyball or Soccer can be Division 2.

What a specific person defines as “minor” and “major” sports are each college can differ based on what division a specific sport is in, or if it even is a Varsity sport, rather than a club, team, or intramural sport. When sports are defined as a major sport, they usually get more respect from the University as a whole, as well as their fans.

But the question arises, what exactly is a major sport and a minor sport? Because of the definition of each Division of athletics, many people seem to define major sports as the Varsity ones, rather than ones that succeed in their competitions. For example, if a school has a Division 1 basketball team with a losing streak, and a Club Hockey team with a winning streak, regardless of the record or their success, the Division 1 team is likely to be considered a “major” sport simply because it is Varsity and Division 1, while the Hockey team is slightly put on the back burner, if you will, because they are “Club.”

The differences between “major” and “minor” sports can be easily recognized simply by the attendance at the competitions and sporting events, because the Varsity sports that are either Division 1, Division 2, or Division 3 are likely to bring in a larger crowd. This may be due to the fact that many, if not all of these events, are televised.

While there is a difference between these sports, the distinction is unnecessary. There are many sports at our University, and certain ones do not receive the level of respect that is necessary simply because they do not receive the same publicity and “perks” that other sports do. So through this blog, I challenge, you as my readers, to take another look at the club sports at your University and think about how they are similar to the Varsity sports, or how intramural sports are as well.