Club sports offer students opportunity to keep playing

Intercollegiate club sports provide an avenue for hundreds of Pitt students who are interested in competing athletically at a high level, but who might not see themselves participating in Division I sports. Trent Dillon began playing Ultimate Frisbee at age 8, and he hasn’t stopped since.

Even though Dillon knew he would never receive a scholarship to play Ultimate in college, he wanted to go to a school that would allow him to continue playing the sport he loves.

The sophomore is now one of many Pitt students currently participating in club sports at the University.

Intercollegiate club sports provide an avenue for Dillon and hundreds of other Pitt students who are interested in competing athletically at a high level, but who might not see themselves participating in Division I sports. Unlike intramurals, where competitions take place exclusively amongst Pitt students, club sports offer the opportunity for students to face off against athletes at other colleges, allowing for a higher level of competitiveness.

There are more than 20 club teams Pitt students can join, ranging from soccer to Quidditch.

Although some sports rely solely on attracting new students once they get to campus in August, many club sports such as lacrosse and Ultimate recruit interested student athletes to play on their teams before they even set foot in Oakland, which has led to success for both programs.

Pitt’s men’s Ultimate team has made it to nationals seven straight times, establishing itself as a powerhouse in the process, while the men’s lacrosse team was also in contention for a national championship this spring after being awarded the No. 10 overall seed in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association tournament.

Several other Pitt club sports programs competed at a high level this year.

After winning the Allegheny Rugby Union the past two years, the Pitt women’s rugby team recently competed in nationals for the first time, winning one game before falling 39-12 to Winona State in the quarterfinals.

Pitt Roller Hockey finished the year as Division II national runners-up after returning just five players from a squad that made it to nationals last year, and both Pitt men’s ice hockey teams just missed winning their respective conference championships.

In some cases, club athletes are Division I-caliber. Tyler Novotny, a senior on the men’s club lacrosse team, played at St. John’s University before coming to Pitt, and Rob Behling, a junior goaltender on Pitt’s ice club hockey team, previously played at Connecticut.

Travel is a large part of the commitment to club sports.

Julian Hausman, a former player on the men’s Ultimate team — which competed in California, Florida and North Carolina this past year — said such a varied travel schedule requires players to adjust their academic schedules around travel dates.

“It’s a whole bunch of traveling, but honestly that’s one of the things that has attracted me to the sport,” he said. “I get to travel all over the country. All of the team pools their funds together, and we split hotel rooms.”

A small number of teams, such as lacrosse and baseball, compete on campus: lacrosse in the Cost Center and baseball on one of the fields behind the Cost Center.

Along with the time spent practicing and traveling, competing in club sports also comes with a monetary cost.

Club members pay dues that vary from sport to sport, but in most cases, costs are minimized through communication with the Student Government Board.

Although many participants are experienced athletes, club sports also allow for students to try something new.

Senior Mariah Blake hadn’t heard of crew before coming to Pitt, but when she saw people walking around with oars at the Activities Fair her freshman year, she thought it’d be fun to try.

Blake joined the crew team her freshman year but said that many on the team start later.

“We have people who join the team as juniors and seniors just for their novice years and have a blast,” Blake said.

But although club athletes praise their experiences, participation in a club sport isn’t always to be taken lightly.

“It’s definitely for people who are looking to be seriously involved in a sport,” Bailey Moorhead, the captain of the women’s Ultimate team, said.

Most teams conduct tryouts in the first weeks of the fall semester.

Dillon said that although club sports can be time consuming, he doesn’t regret joining the Ultimate team.

“With school and everything, this team takes up so much of your time,” he said. “It’s great because we’re all so close-knit. It’s a lot of fun [because] it’s a thing we all love to do.”

Club sports at Pitt

Club Tennis Team, Cricket Club, Lady Ice Panthers, Lady Panthers Club Lacrosse, Lady Panthers Soccer Club, Men’s Ice Hockey Club, Men’s Intercollegiate Soccer Club, Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Club, Men’s Water Polo Club, Equestrian Club, Panther Lacrosse, Panther Rugby Football Club, Panther Women’s Rugby Football Club, Panther Wrestling Club, Pitt Rowing Club, Pittsburgh Fencing Association, Pittsburgh Intercollegiate Snowboard Team, Pittsburgh Men’s Volleyball Club, Pittsburgh Women’s Volleyball Club, Pitt Quidditch Club, Roller Hockey Club, Ski Team, Women’s Club Gymnastics, Women’s Fastpitch Softball Club, Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Club, Women’s Water Polo Club