Club sports fees backlash

I’m disappointed with the IU Athletics Department’s decision to charge club sports to practice in its facilities (“Club sports now pay to play,” Jan. 15 and “Club sport athletes react to fee decision,” Jan. 16). By charging club sports $4,000 for late-night use of Mellencamp Pavilion just days before practices began, the IU Administration is sending a clear message: On this campus there are varsity athletes and there are students; if you are the latter, stay away from the athletics facilities unless you show up with money in your hands. This attitude drives a wedge between the athletics department and the rest of the university and shows a lack of respect for the hard work and dedication of club sports teams. I doubt this point of view is shared by the varsity athletes whom the athletic department supposedly represents. Furthermore, it flies in the face of the fact that many club sports participants are the epitome of the student athlete. They are at IU for academics, and yet they are incredibly dedicated to their sport, practicing long hours, spending their own money to compete and receiving almost no recognition even when they represent their university with honor and success at a national level. This sum of money is pocket change for the athletic department. By comparison, they collect more in parking fees in a single hour before each home men’s basketball game. On the other hand, this charge is a significant burden for club teams. So why do this? It’s hard not to interpret it as an attempt to push the club teams out of the varsity facilities. This is misguided. It can only serve to drive away potential students looking for a university that supports them as athletes, alienate current club sports teams and turn off the thousands of alumnae who played club sports when they attended IU. Is this the message the IU Administration wants to send? Is it so much for club sports athletes to ask for the use of an indoor practice space from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., when it would otherwise stand empty?