Weber State University is full of clubs for students to get involved with.
A club sport at Weber State requires around four students who volunteer to be a part of the leadership of the team. The leadership makes the decisions for the team, including budgeting, scheduling of games, what teams to compete against and who will officiate games.
“Clubs are run by the students for the students,” Nick Garcia, the men’s club baseball vice president, said. “The differences between clubs and athletics are very drastic. Athletic’s budget is much much larger than ours as they get buses, plans, and other amenities. Granted, they bring in much more money than us. Our players have ‘player dues’ or amounts they need to pay in the fall and spring, which helps out our budget greatly.”
The leadership does a lot of work to make sure the club is functioning, but not all the pressure is on them. Weber State has a club office that works with each of the club’s leadership, making sure no rules are broken, everything operates effectively and offering support if needed.
In terms of money, not all of it comes from the players in the clubs or the activities they host. Weber State provides some financial compensation.
“The school has us give [Student Fee Allotment] presentations, and depending on our club attendance, club fines, and our competitiveness we are granted some dollar amount up to $20,000,” Bryon Fobair, the men’s club hockey president, said. “The rest of our funding comes from players paying dues and us organizing events like our golf tournament.”
Club sports offer scholarships as well, usually set aside for the presidency due to the amount of work they put in to help things move forward. Each club varies on the amount of money that is given.
“Most of our players work part-time jobs to cover team expenses, rent, and school. It definitely teaches our guys how to manage their time well,” Fobair said. “Everyone is willing to do it in order to play, though, so it shows the commitment and how much our guys care.”
Weber’s club sports help students continue playing the sport they love after they have graduated from high school. While there are expectations to be met when it comes to club sports, each player puts in the effort to meet them.
“It is worth it because it proves a sense of belonging and community to athletes who lose the sport after high school,” Garcia said. “It’s playing for an actual school, and it brings that fire back that athletes lost after high school.”
Weber State’s website allows students to check out the 19 different clubs sports on campus. Each club has links to registration, live rosters, current events and gives you access to the team website. Clubs such as men’s baseball and men’s hockey allow students to represent their school and a sport they love.
