Athletics: Space, resources for club sports unavailable
By Rachel Schwartz
Little progress was made at an Associated Students forum last Thursday called to address the future of duplicate club sports, leaving club sports athletes frustrated and confused about their future.
Students seeking official recognition of their teams bombarded Athletic Department representatives with questions -- some outraged and some pleading -- about how duplicate club sports (teams that play sports that official Santa Clara teams play, such as women's volleyball) could be legitimized. However, Athletics representatives defended their position, claiming a lack of funds, space and personnel.
The Athletic Department has come under criticism from students, club sport team members, club sport organizers from other universities and The Santa Clara for the lack of program funding and their unwillingness to recognize duplicates of existing NCAA teams. Club sports are overseen by Campus Recreation, part of the Athletic Department.
The controversy began after a 2006 AS task force called for placing all club sports under Athletics, as some were previously funded by AS and the Athletic Department. The task force recommended Athletics hire a full-time staffer to oversee the program and that club sports receive a $40,000 budget.
A final decision, made by Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life, and Athletic Director Dan Coonan allotted $20,000 and a part-time staff position, allocated from the Center for Student Leadership. The task force also recommended against duplication of NCAA teams for the time being, wording which "left it open to re-evaluation later," according to leader Rudy Savio, '06.
The women's volleyball team was rejected from club sport status because of Athletics concerns that potential financial aid awarded to the women of the club team would cause the NCAA volleyball team to lose scholarships or eligibility to play.
Janice DeMonsi, director of campus recreation, Erin Patchett, assistant director of recreation, and Jeff Mitchell, director of compliance and student services, fielded questions about funding, facility access and financial aid compliancy during the meeting.
Although invited, both Rosenberger and Coonan were absent. "I was not there in part because after the most recent decisions about club sports. Most of it has been delegated to Janice and Erin," Rosenberger said. "The issue continues to be on our radar." Coonan could not be reached for comment, and his secretary referred all calls to DeMonsi.
The women's volleyball club, a registered recreational club under AS, and students hoping to form men's baseball and soccer club teams were vocal during the meeting. None have been approved as club sports, which would allow them to represent the school against other universities and receive part of the $20,000 club sports funding from Athletics.
DeMonsi said Athletics and Recreation does not have the ability to accommodate these teams, due to budgetary constraints and limited resources.
"Adding additional sports is going to be a concern for manpower," DeMonsi said.
Volleyball club co-president Chelsea Reilley said she was frustrated with Athletics' explanation. "We heard a bunch of the same stuff at the forum -- that they don't have enough resources to allow duplicate teams," Reilley said. "But then they tell us that they're trying to expand intramurals. It just doesn't make sense."
DeMonsi and Patchett both stressed during the forum that although financial aid compliancy is a major issue, more club sports could come at the expense of other Recreation offerings.
"We can offer more intramurals, or we can offer more club sports," DeMonsi said. "I can't just snap my fingers and go, 'Oh, here's $100,000 to support club sports.' "
Representatives for the duplicate clubs have offered to find off-site practice facilities if space cannot be found for them on campus, as well as check their own financial aid and GPA compliancy.
Although it does not violate any NCAA or federal regulations, DeMonsi said she was uncomfortable with letting students view each others' academic records, even if they waived rights guaranteed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which keeps educational records confidential unless permission is given.
"There has to be administrative oversight," DeMonsi said. "It's a staff person's responsibility."
DeMonsi said she could not hire another staff member to help check compliancy for new teams because money is not available.
The University of San Francisco, St. Mary's and Loyola Marymount all have full-time club sport directors, which oversee eight, nine and 10 teams, respectively. Santa Clara has 16 club teams.
While Athletics checked compliancy of the women's club volleyball until 2005, they no longer conduct checks because the volleyball team is now unaffiliated.
Operating costs for Recreation have increased in the five years that DeMonsi has been running the department, but the budget allocated to Recreation from the university has not changed.
Funding for Recreation, which had previously come through Athletics, has changed as of the new fiscal year. All wages and staff positions are allocated from Human Resources, while operating costs are strictly funded by revenue from sources such as alumni memberships, rentals and fitness classes, DeMonsi said.
DeMonsi said she had submitted several proposals to the Office of the President in November 2006 for fundraising priorities for campus recreation, one of which dealt directly with club sports.
AS Senate Chair Anton Zanotto said AS planned to continue looking at the duplication issue.
"We owe it to the students to be as thorough in our analysis as possible," Zanotto said.
Contact Rachel Schwartz at (408) 554-4546 or rschwartz@scu.edu.