Christina Matacotta
Christina Matacotta
AUC Underdogs: Sports Clubs that Fight for Recognition
AUC Underdogs: Sports Clubs that Fight for Recognition
With a full month now under the belt, most sports within the AUC are in full swing. Football, volleyball and lacrosse are popular across the different AUC campuses. But what sports take priority in the eyes of students and college administration?
Some sports, such as Morehouse Football, receive more validity due to their Division II placement in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Others, such as Spelman volleyball or lacrosse, are considered registered student organizations and rarely compete with other schools.
Discrepancies around official status, organization, amount of members, or the intensity of the sports can cause gaps in a club’s recognition, impacting the recognition they receive from their colleges and student peers. However, two teams are defying these constraints.
“People used to look at us as ‘oh, these kids just want to fight,’” Morehouse Boxing Club President Kaleb Hudson said. “We're not just meatheads trying to beat each other. We're a family.”
Tides shifted for the boxing club since making history at the U.S. Intercollegiate Boxing Association National Tournament in March of this year as the first HBCU to compete and win championships.
“Now we have national champions. We have collegiate titles. People who used to try and shut us down are now looking at the club like we’re doing something great. We are at the point now where you can't really ignore us,” Hudson said.
The Spelman Lacrosse Club has also garnered more recognition this year. Despite its founding being constrained by lack of resources, equipment and support from the college, Spelman Lacrosse is making headway in its endeavors of fundraising and recruiting new members.
“We went from having little to no support from our college to having resources and help to make our sport more legitimate,” Spelman Lacrosse Club Co-President Chyna Beale said. “Because of this, we have been able to grow our team to 30+ new members in just one year.”
These two sports clubs’ fights for recognition demonstrate a lack of diversity in what sports are valued within the AUC. It is easy to think that if there are people who want to play a sport, then there is no reason they should not be able to. But concerns around equipment, safety, space to practice and especially student interest stand in the way of people playing the sports they love while others are heavily funded and respected.
“It’s not just a small thing that a few students are doing, it’s an actual sport that is growing and creating community for students on campus,” Beale said.
These two clubs’ tenacity shows that there is still work to be done in ensuring that all AUC students feel represented. All sports on campus should be respected by the students and the college. After all, sports are a foundational way for students to find commonality and community in each other, as well as keep their minds and bodies healthy.
With a full month now under the belt, most sports within the AUC are in full swing. Football, volleyball and lacrosse are popular across the different AUC campuses. But what sports take priority in the eyes of students and college administration?
Some sports, such as Morehouse Football, receive more validity due to their Division II placement in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Others, such as Spelman volleyball or lacrosse, are considered registered student organizations and rarely compete with other schools.
Discrepancies around official status, organization, amount of members, or the intensity of the sports can cause gaps in a club’s recognition, impacting the recognition they receive from their colleges and student peers. However, two teams are defying these constraints.
“People used to look at us as ‘oh, these kids just want to fight,’” Morehouse Boxing Club President Kaleb Hudson said. “We're not just meatheads trying to beat each other. We're a family.”
Tides shifted for the boxing club since making history at the U.S. Intercollegiate Boxing Association National Tournament in March of this year as the first HBCU to compete and win championships.
“Now we have national champions. We have collegiate titles. People who used to try and shut us down are now looking at the club like we’re doing something great. We are at the point now where you can't really ignore us,” Hudson said.
The Spelman Lacrosse Club has also garnered more recognition this year. Despite its founding being constrained by lack of resources, equipment and support from the college, Spelman Lacrosse is making headway in its endeavors of fundraising and recruiting new members.
“We went from having little to no support from our college to having resources and help to make our sport more legitimate,” Spelman Lacrosse Club Co-President Chyna Beale said. “Because of this, we have been able to grow our team to 30+ new members in just one year.”
These two sports clubs’ fights for recognition demonstrate a lack of diversity in what sports are valued within the AUC. It is easy to think that if there are people who want to play a sport, then there is no reason they should not be able to. But concerns around equipment, safety, space to practice and especially student interest stand in the way of people playing the sports they love while others are heavily funded and respected.
“It’s not just a small thing that a few students are doing, it’s an actual sport that is growing and creating community for students on campus,” Beale said.
These two clubs’ tenacity shows that there is still work to be done in ensuring that all AUC students feel represented. All sports on campus should be respected by the students and the college. After all, sports are a foundational way for students to find commonality and community in each other, as well as keep their minds and bodies healthy.