By Micaela Myers
While Division 1 sports garner the most attention, the University of Wyoming also offers more than 20 club sport teams with about 500 students and employees participating each year. The teams compete with other regional teams and in the process improve retention and create lifelong friendships and leadership skills.
“Club sports are run by students for students,” says Pat Moran, director of UW Campus Recreation. “They go out and promote their clubs, fundraise and organize.”
In addition to leadership, participation helps students stay active and contributes
to overall wellness. New clubs often form, driven by student interest (see sidebar
for a complete list).
“I like to say we have the best cricket team in the state of Wyoming because to the best of my knowledge we have the only cricket team in the state,” Moran jokes. “They have won the Colorado cricket championship the last couple of years and are very competitive.”
Some club sports welcome faculty and staff to participate. “Cricket is the sport I enjoy most, and I played it competitively back home in India,” says Amit Thakar, a neuroscience senior research scientist and cricket team member. “Club sports provide the platform for UW students to explore and pursue their interest outside of studies. It also exposes the UW community to different cultures and sports from all over world.”
The men’s hockey team is one reason student T.J. Hill of Colorado Springs, Colo., chose UW. Now a graduate student in kinesiology and health, he serves as the team’s president and assistant coach. “Clubs are a great way to get involved as a student when you are new to the area or want to meet new people or try new things,” he says.
“I’ve played volleyball my whole life,” says Alyssa Hagstrom, a senior marketing major from Evanston, Wyo., who serves as president of the women’s volleyball club. “Club sports give you the competitive edge past high school or community college that athletes need and want. It’s a great way to meet a lot of friends, stay in shape and still play competitively. It’s a step higher than intramurals but a step lower from university athletics.”
While campus recreation provides some matching dollars, the teams must raise the majority of their funds. Perhaps no team raises more than the internationally competitive Nordic skiing team. “We’ve won a national team title now 10 times,” says Christi Boggs, a lecturer for UW Outreach School and co-coach of the team. “Because of that success, we’ve been invited to the World University Games three times. We’ve been to Turkey, Italy and now we’ll be going to Slovakia in January 2015. For that trip alone, last year we had to find $110,000.”
But Boggs and co-coach Rachel Watson, a lecturer for the Department of Molecular Biology, both of whom competed as Division 1 Nordic ski athletes in college, don’t see the fundraising as a hindrance. Instead, it encourages exceptional leadership.
“When I finished skiing I could say I was fast,” Boggs says. “When these guys finish skiing, they can say, ‘I was president of the club, we raised $60,000, we organized these events, we did environmental justice work, we traveled all over the world, we presented at the Shepard Symposium, we know how to coach others.’ ”
“Suddenly what they aspire to be becomes so much more of a superhero,” Watson adds. “That kind of leadership is a big part of what triggers the accomplishments.”
