Real Student Athletes on Campus

By Alex Hider

Photos by Halie Cousineau

Story by Alex Hider, Section Editor

Cam Newton, Terrelle Pryor, Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo couldn’t do it without special treatment and a full scholarship. Millions of children across the nation aspire to play their favorite sport at the colligate level, but only a fraction get the opportunity. Even fewer finish their college career on the team, as it becomes too difficult to balance the titles of student and athlete. It’s obvious that at this level, it take more than just talent to succeed. Tyler Ardrey, two-year president of the Ohio University crew club, and Corbin Coe, two-year president of the lacrosse club, seem to have found the formula for success.

Not only do Ardrey and Coe face the same struggles as the aforementioned student athletes, they also pay for the privilege to compete on top of their tuition, often in front of near empty stands. It’s clear that club athletes are playing for the love of the game.

“Dedication is definitely a big part of the team,” says Coe. And with practices nearly every day of the week all year long, members of both the crew and lacrosse teams need as much as they can get in order to be successful student athletes. “It is a big commitment,” says Ardrey of crew. “How do you do it? Time management.”

Think how much free time a typical college student has. Most would tell you not enough. Between school, other clubs, and possibly a job, students need all the time they can get. It’s safe to say the majority of students would not be able to handle an additional 10-12 hours of workload a week due to practices. In addition, both teams do extensive travel to tournaments and regattas, with both teams traveling as far away as Georgia for some matches. The University excuses absences due to club sports, but the missed class time certainly takes its toll.

Both Ardrey and Coe both admit to a slip in grades due to the sports they play. While neither team nor the University institutes a minimum GPA in order to continue playing, both presidents say it hasn’t been an issue. Both teams’ GPAs hover around 3.0, and those struggling in class can simply turn to teammates. “Many of our guys are business majors, so there’s always help available,” says Coe.

Not only do both presidents struggle to balance school and practice, but they also must oversee all funds that come in out of their clubs, organize fund raising, and oversee apparel and branding. On top of all that, all club teams must complete 20 hours of community service in order to receive funding from OU.

However, the two agree that the dip in grades is more than made up for in life skills. “The benefits I get from dealing with students and people from other teams, my people skills have sky rocketed,” says Ardrey. They say college is all about meeting new people, and Corbin agrees. “I’ve met some of my best friends playing lacrosse,” he says. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Club teams at Ohio University also face numerous funding challenges. With all the debt facing the university, every department is fighting for any penny it can get. It’s no surprise that sports that bring in little to no money are the first to suffer. “The university gives us minimal contributions,” says Ardrey. “I mean, they paid for the football team to travel to New Orleans for the bowl game…I think varsity sports can take for granted the funding they receive.”

Unfortunately for club athletes, tight budgets mean high fees on top of high tuition. The funding provided by the university comes nowhere near covering equipment, uniform, travel and lodging costs. The rest of those costs rely on the athletes themselves. (LACROSSE) However, this pales in comparison of crew, one of the most expensive sports in which a person can participate (one boat can cost up to $80 thousand). “When you add everything up, it comes to about $500 a person,” says Ardrey.

Especially in a slow economy, paying for the privilege to play college athletics can pose a problem to some. “There have been guys who have quit due to money, but the team usually tries to help out as much as possible,” says Ardrey. Often, it comes down to taking a job in the summer. “I realize that this is where I want to be when I’m in school, so I take the time during the summer to make sure I can participate.” “It’s all about what you are willing to do. The team can’t make you do anything. It’s what you make of it.”

The numbers don’t lie when it comes to the struggles of club sport athletes. Of the 22 freshman athletes Tyler started his crew career with, he is only one that remains. What accounts for this startling drop off? It all comes back to time management. The majority of club sport athletes drop their sport sophomore or junior year, right when students are beginning to take difficult classes for their major. At this point in their careers, time restraints simply become too much to handle, and students begin to start thinking of their future. But for those who stick with it, it is the experience of a lifetime. “I’m extremely happy,” says Corbin. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Coe, transferred to OU after a year of playing lacrosse under scholarship at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. He says that while receiving a free education to play lacrosse was nice, he was missing something from his college experience.