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The Dartmouth
July 10, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

IN THE RED

he Dartmouth club sports program has long voiced pleas for more adequate funding. While some programs are thriving, many others struggle to get by. The Student Assembly's Club Sports Commission, after meeting together for a little more than a term, is planning to release a report addressing the problems facing club sports at Dartmouth. There are a number of problems facing the teams and the individual players that the CSC is likely to address.

The most pressing issue for most teams is funding. According to Adam Sigelman '05, who authored the commission's report, the athletic department oversees 26 club teams, and funds them with $35,000 in total each year. However, about $19,000 of that funds postseason play, leaving the clubs with just $16,150 for their regular seasons. Friends networks -- collections of alumni who help fund club sports activities -- help provide more adequate funding for some, but only eight clubs have active friends networks

The current level of funding actually represents an improvement in the situation. The President's office allocated an extra $30,000 to club sports for this year. The athletic department has also put that money towards postseason play, and there is no guarantee that the program will continue to receive the extra funds in the future.

Some teams, however, are able to come up with money for regular season trips and events.

"We are really lucky to have such generous alumni," said the men's rugby team president Peter Harris '07. "Rugby really does not have to sweat over having enough money to go to nationals or anything of the sort."

In fact, rugby traveled to Argentina and Uruguay over spring break on their annual tour. The team plans to spend over $100,000 this year. Though the team is far from frugal, the trips are expected to bring results and are not simply vacation. The team won the Ivy League Championship and its first round match in the national tournament over Ohio State University to finish in the top eight teams in the nation.

"Without a doubt, the spring trip was key to our success in Ivies and Nationals," said co-captain Aziz Sayigh '07. "Playing against veteran ruggers like we did really improves team play more rapidly than practice alone, and it helped some of the younger players get some much needed experience."

Similarly, ultimate frisbee has seen results from increased travel. The team went to Las Vegas and Georgia and, for the first time, got a bid to the Centex Invitational in Texas. While seeded close to last at No. 25, Dartmouth ended up beating the No. 3 ranked University of British Columbia.

Other teams have not been able to galvanize their alumni base and find non-College funding. The players are then forced to make the choice of doing less with the club, or spending more out of their own pocket.

Teams that are not actually recognized by the College have particularly tough rows to hoe. The College does not fund clubs for sports with an extant varsity squad. Players have to pay for everything and, furthermore, struggle to get adequate practice time.

"It tough not being recognized by the college," said Conor Hackett '07, a member of the club soccer team. "We end up paying for all of our expenses out of our own pockets and that prevents some people from playing. We also struggle to get field space."

The process by which money is handed out may also draw the CSC's attention. Clubs eligible to receive money from the College go through an interesting process to actually acquire it. The money is doled out on a request basis. If a team qualifies for nationals, for example, it can ask for money. However, if it does not qualify, it does not get to put the money to other uses.

Facility usage and sharing has also been a problem. This year, more so than in the past, there has been a struggle to find available grass fields. At Sachem, many of the fields have been torn up from play in the fall and are no longer used. The brand new rugby fields are also not yet open. The result has been teams being forced to share fields and practice time.

In response to the lack of playing fields, the administration has looked into purchasing turf fields. Turf fields, similar to the one being put on Memorial Field for the football team, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and are not by any means a definite plan.

"A recreational turf field would greatly increase the chance of recognizing more clubs," Shute said.

During the winter, club teams have difficulty getting consistent time in Leverone Field House. Often, they are given virtually no advance notice for available time slots for their practices and cannot get consistent, scheduled practice time.

"The reservation system for Leverone has to change," said Sigelman. "Because of the randomness of the schedule it is very tough to get a full team out."

The report is to be released within the month and the CSC is hopeful that the necessary improvements will be made.

"People are taking club sports more seriously and it is a big growing system," said Sigelman. "If you're not recruited for varsity, club is your only option. Problems will be solved if the college treats us like we treat ourselves."

Perhaps more important than the actual report might be the direct line to the administration that the CSC represents. Students sit in with Roger Demment, director of physical of physical education and club sports, and Andrea Shute, the assistant director.

"There was a lot of unhappiness coming into the year and students were disgruntled," Shute said. "It has been very beneficial for the clubs that the group was put together and it'd be great if the info gets out to the rest of the students."

"The time to improve club sports is now," said Bryan Siegel '08, captain of the club tennis team. "Sports are a huge part of this campus, and we students, no matter what club you're in, deserve the opportunity to play."