UTSA has a lacrosse team? UTSA has a men’s volleyball team and a hockey team? To clear up your confusion, these teams are a part of the UTSA Club Sports Program on campus. According to the UTSA Recreation website, club sports “fill the void between intramural sports activities and intercollegiate athletics.” The program includes both individual and team sports.
The club teams must be recognized by the Student Activities office first, and then can be sponsored by the Campus Recreation Office, which allows these teams to use the Roadrunner logo. Some of the club teams travel nationwide for tournaments and games. To be an eligible club sport’s member, students must have a minimum of six hours of college credits and maintain a 2.0 overall GPA.
“The number one goal of any student here is to graduate,” UTSA club sport’s director Mario Rios said. “Although I love seeing students playing and practicing, I also love it when they graduate and move on to their next career.”
The club teams on campus are student organizations, so the success of any club program has to come from its members. That means that team members have to do their own fundraising, UTSA can provide only a certain amount of funds per team. Unfortunately, the club program can’t fully fund a team, but these teams are welcome to use UTSA’s recreational facilities for practice.
Some of the membership fees can reach hundreds of dollars per semester for some club teams. James Cua, a junior, has played volleyball since he was 10. He joined the men’s club volleyball team and has fully enjoyed his experience.
“You get to meet a diverse group of people, travel and make friends,” Cua said. “It’s been a good experience.”
For some other students, being on a club team is a real sense of pride. A chance to represent UTSA with intercollegiate competition. “I have more school spirit because of being part of club sports,” junior Angela Hodo said. “I’m excited to be a part of this team, and try to win tournaments as a part of UTSA.”
Any student with an interest in any of the club sports provided can join a team, or even start a club team of their own. The minimum number of people to start a team is five members for individual sports; for team sports the club must have four more members than the minimum number to play that sport. For example, if a student wanted to start up a UTSA club basketball team, then he/she would need at least nine people to start up that team.
The other goal of the Club Team program is to allow students a productive way to stay in good physical condition and face a higher-level competition than intramural sports.
“We are trying to be a part of a wellness initiative here at UTSA,” Rios said. “We have opportunities for those students that want to compete at a certain level, like they did in high school. They get the chance to compete at the state, regional and national levels.”
More details of UTSA’s club sports program can be found at utsa.edu/recreation/club_sports.
