Club sports allow all students to compete

Just a small percentage of the incoming freshmen at West Virginia will be on a varsity athletic team, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be athletes.

This is thanks to club sports.

With 40 different club sport teams at WVU, Sports Club Federation President Ryan Summers said the variety of teams gives a lot of students something to do. The number of club sports teams continues to grow, too.

The number of teams has increased every year since the Sports Club Federation was founded. Last year, there were 37 teams at the start of the year. This year there are 40. All but a few compete year-round.

"So many students have grown up playing sports," Summers said. "And when you get to college, maybe they’re not good enough for a college level, but club sports give the ability to play a sport that you love."

Last year, the University opened up new state-of-the-art recreation fields that cost $8.4 million. The recreational fields project has three areas around Morgantown.

The artificial turf field, tennis courts and walking track across from the Evansdale Residential Complex were completed last year, as well as the new turf rugby field and lighted baseball and softball fields at Mylan Park. Summers said the field complex at the Medical Center won’t be completed until at least the spring semester.

"We’ve really pushed hard for more support, and they’ve been great," Summers said about the support from the University. "(WVU President James P.) Clements has been huge. He helped us get the fields. We’ve really gotten everything we’ve asked for. We just keep growing every year."

The new recreational fields also provide West Virginia club sport teams the ability to host tournaments and games in Morgantown, something Summers said a lot of the teams haven’t been able to do in the past, but are now utilizing.

"Hosting tournaments and events is a great revenue income for the club teams," he said. "Teams actually want to come here to play. They just want to come up and play on our new fields."

Summers said the men’s ultimate Frisbee, men’s soccer, billiards, equestrian and roller derby teams will all host tournaments this fall.

The Sports Club Federation is responsible for dividing funds among the 40 teams.

The federation will receive $137,500 from the University this year, after receiving $100,000 last year. It received only $75,000 two years ago.

The money is allocated based on the number of members and estimated budget. In past years, a team’s community service was taken into consideration, but it is now mandatory for all club sports teams.