Spring Break
Funding approved for new club sports program
by Claire Moses
News | 4/17/07
Posted online at 10:29 PM EST on 4/16/07
/ Last updated at 6:18 AM EST on 4/16/07
A restructured club sports program run by the Department of Athletics is in the early stages of implementation, after the University Board of Trustees last month approved the University's budget for the fiscal year 2008.
The budget included an additional $140,000 for Athletics, which will now be able to partially fund club sports, said Budget Director for the Office of Students and Enrollment Keenyn McFarlane, who negotiated the agreement with Union officials.
Approval of the new budget brings to a close almost two years of negotiations between administrators and Student Union officials over the future of the program.
"We're really excited about it," Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa said. "It's a positive change for club sport student athletes."
The program, which will be fully revamped by September, will be jointly funded by the administration and the Union's Finance Board, which was previously responsible for the entirety of club sports funding. Those clubs had long been considered underfunded, and after wrestling for a year over how to share funding responsibility and control of the program, Union and administrators came to a general agreement late last year.
The program will fund NCAA-approved sports, as well the existing martial arts clubs, the Ultimate Frisbee team and the men's rugby team. A council of leaders from club sports teams will make funding decisions alongside a full-time program director. A search committee for that director has been formed, Sousa said.
Clubs not funded under the new program-mainly recreational groups like the Skydiving Club and the Paintball Club-are still eligible for F-Board financing.
The budget included an additional $140,000 for Athletics, which will now be able to partially fund club sports, said Budget Director for the Office of Students and Enrollment Keenyn McFarlane, who negotiated the agreement with Union officials.
Approval of the new budget brings to a close almost two years of negotiations between administrators and Student Union officials over the future of the program.
"We're really excited about it," Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa said. "It's a positive change for club sport student athletes."
The program, which will be fully revamped by September, will be jointly funded by the administration and the Union's Finance Board, which was previously responsible for the entirety of club sports funding. Those clubs had long been considered underfunded, and after wrestling for a year over how to share funding responsibility and control of the program, Union and administrators came to a general agreement late last year.
The program will fund NCAA-approved sports, as well the existing martial arts clubs, the Ultimate Frisbee team and the men's rugby team. A council of leaders from club sports teams will make funding decisions alongside a full-time program director. A search committee for that director has been formed, Sousa said.
Clubs not funded under the new program-mainly recreational groups like the Skydiving Club and the Paintball Club-are still eligible for F-Board financing.
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