At the end of last spring, it seemed like change was in the air for club sports. With control of club sports like Ultimate Frisbee and women's rugby divided between the athletic department and the Undergraduate Council of Students, jurisdiction of teams overlapped and was confusing, participants and leaders said.
But the answer to the question of whether UCS or athletics should have jurisdiction over club sports might be that neither should, according to UCS Student Activities Coordinator Sarah Saxton-Frump '07.
When school ended in the spring, UCS and administrators were discussing transferring control of all club teams to the athletics department. But that plan didn't go through.
Ultimately, that change did not take place, Saxton-Frump said, in response to a "major outcry" from club members as well as UCS members. Saxton-Frump said UCS thought it would be possible to find a solution without the downsides of shifting club sports entirely to the athletics department.
Now, Saxton-Frump's committee envisions a distinct "club sports council" directly involving the students. The committee is studying club sports programs at other universities, focusing on schools like Cornell University that have successful student-governing boards. Their plans for organizing this effort include lobbying administrators and creating a Web site that will be "the ultimate resource" on club sports.
Currently, club teams fall into one of three categories: teams that are recognized by UCS and given funds by the Undergraduate Finance Board; teams that are recognized and given money by the athletic department; or teams that are recognized by UCS but get funds from both UFB and the athletic department.
According to Saxton-Frump, there are positives and negatives for UCS control of club sports. The drawbacks include liability concerns, complicated travel arrangements, and coaching and equipment issues. Club sports athletes under UCS are not required to have emergency contacts and, unlike their counterparts under athletics, they do not have access to trainers with specific sports medicine knowledge but rather must make appointments at Health Services. Saxton-Frump conceded that "student-run doesn't necessarily work well all the time, especially in something as dangerous as club sports."
Last spring, it was those drawbacks that led administrators and former Student Activities Coordinator Rob Montz '05 to consider shifting all club sports to athletics.
Women's club soccer captain Laura Martin '05 said it's difficult to manage a club sport at Brown now. "We're in limbo - no one wants us," she said. "We get no support from the school." She said her club is currently at a standstill after UFB denied its budget last year; the team gets $90 from UFB, but that doesn't cover the team's costs.
"We have, like, three balls," she said. "There's no way we can compete against schools that have money for equipment, coaches, travel and lodging." The women's soccer club was not able to pay the fees necessary to attend a tournament at Princeton University this weekend; it will not play.
But Martin said she enjoys the club; the possibility of an independent sports council "would be ideal," she said.
The plan designed last year, which would have given athletics complete control of club sports, had disadvantages, Saxton-Frump said. The change would have likely forced elimination of club sports duplicated at the intramural and varsity levels. She said she found the prospect of deconstituting clubs that are popular enough to be duplicated "ludicrous, because if those clubs exist there is obviously a demand for them."
Another drawback could have left club teams unable to raise as much money as they did in the past. Under UCS, clubs can do their own-fundraising, but the shift to athletics would have meant donations went into a "club sports pot." Those funds would have been allocated to each group, possibly leaving alums less willing to donate to their team.
The positive side of placing all club sports at the discretion of athletics is that resources and rules would be "more equitable," Saxton-Frump said. Under athletics, club sports now under UCS would have equal access to fields and trainers and, possibly funds because of athletics' larger budget. But she said that it is those teams that are consistently successful that tend to most benefit from that budget.
A representative from the athletic department could not be reached for comment.
But Saxton-Frump stressed the key value of UCS - student involvement. That, she said, is a "very valuable learning experience," which could be duplicated by the proposed system.
