Bake sales for basketball

The IU athletics department is in such financial disarray that the players are having to feel the brunt of the responsibility.\nBe on the lookout because all of the new football recruits are going to have to participate in a bake sale, and I hear that coach Terry Hoeppner is demanding they all cook themselves. The men's basketball team will be holding a kissing booth before the home games, and the men's and women's diving team will be holding a dunk tank -- from 30 feet!\nOK, so the athletics department isn't making the athletes chip in to help ease its debt. Instead, a mandatory athletics fee is forcing the students to bear the burden. But there are some student-athletes on campus who won't receive a penny from this fee. Club sport athletes at IU have to worry not just about playing their sport, but also paying for it. \nNo matter how you look at it, club sport athletes are underappreciated. Nobody is chanting their names at halftime. Nobody is buying their jerseys to wear to games. They don't even have name recognition. These athletes spend their time and their money just to have the chance to play the game.\nI know what you're thinking: "Club sport athletes aren't real athletes." True, there are some club sport participants (with sports such as foosball) that are more focused on throwing back a beer or two and listening to Nelly than breaking a sweat. And there's nothing wrong with sports based on camaraderie, but that's not every IU club sport. For every laid-back table tennis player or bass fisherman, there's a scraped-up, bruised field hockey or rugby player. These athletes practice five times a week in addition to worrying about classes. And this is without scholarships from IU.\nStudent-athletes in general endure far more than the public realizes. Nobody denies how hard it must be to balance both classes and practice. Hell, I find it hard to balance classes and the IDS at times, so I can imagine the basketball team's schedule. But throw in fund raising just to be able to play your sport and you've got a different kind of athlete.\nIt might surprise you, but club sports aren't cheap, folks. Travel expenses, uniforms and equipment all add up. Although IU's RecSports division -- funded by the University -- generously contributes thousands of dollars to these club sports, it hardly makes up enough to keep them going.\nTake IU's club hockey team as an example. Coach Richard Holdeman said it costs close to $90,000 each year just for the team to break even. RecSports provides $6,000 a year, but most of the fiscal responsibility lies with the players. In addition to paying $1,200 each to join the team, each player has to participate in numerous fund-raising activities just to play the sport they love.\n"On our team, there are guys who pay to play," freshman hockey player Reed Schaffer said. "Yeah, having the athletic department backing you up means a lot, but we're serious. We are just as serious as any varsity athletes."\nIn a world where Kris Humphries of Minnesota is more worried about stuffing his stats to make the NBA instead of winning games, it's refreshing to see club sport athletes that are all playing for the right reasons. Instead of just worrying about scholarships or going pro, these guys are there to hang out with buddies and just enjoy the sport. The least we can do is give these players our support. Head out to an Ultimate Frisbee match or a lacrosse match.\nThe bottom line is that we hear so much about the athletic department's financial woes and about the troubles the department goes through just to raise enough funds. Well, these club sport athletes raise almost all of their budget themselves and it's about time we give them some respect.