|
||||
  
 
 |
Growth of women's sports is great, but it's adding pressure on overbooked fields and gyms By
Landon Olson Volleyball, tennis, softball, track, cross-country, soccer, gymnastics and now, basketball. Utah State University has been building up its women's programs and has recently added basketball as the crowning piece. Attending women's sporting events is an experience many fans ignore, and hopefully the addition of basketball will help create interest in women's athletics at Utah State. The advantages of adding basketball are immense. There will be more games to attend, more athletes will have opportunities at USU and the addition of women's basketball probably will assist in the Aggies finding a new conference. Despite the positives of adding this program though, there is one issue that could turn into a problem. That problem? Facilities. Slowly, new facilities have been built to accommodate athletics at Utah State, but there is still a lack of playing space and teams are left out in the cold. The women's soccer team has had to share its practice and game field with not only the men's club soccer team, but also intramurals. Scheduling conflicts aside, the field also experienced additional wear-and-tear. Starting next fall though, the women will have their own field and the conflict will largely be resolved. The women's and men's tennis teams practice and play at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club in downtown Logan because there are no indoor facilities on campus to accommodate them during the winter months. Softball is forced to practice in the Fieldhouse due to cold weather during their early season, tying that facility up when it could be used by students or club teams. Currently three teams, men's basketball, women's volleyball and gymnastics, use the Spectrum for games. These teams also schedule practice time in the Spectrum. Add a fourth team to that mix and scheduling will become tighter than it already is. An argument can be made that the seasons occur during different times of the year, but in actuality, they are always practicing or playing. Because of the competition for space in the Spectrum, teams are often bumped into the HPER building to practice. Practicing in the HPER is not necessarily a problem for the teams, but it becomes a problem for students using the HPER. Having to compete with varsity athletics and classes for use of limited facilities, it is no wonder students often complain about the lack of recreation facilities at the university. But the conflict does not stop there. Next comes intramurals. On-campus recreation uses the same facilities as everyone else. Intramurals are usually scheduled at night but then end up conflicting with student use. Finally, as we trickle further down the through the priorities, we reach club teams. Club sports are an integral part of athletics at Utah State because of the opportunities they provide. Athletes, who otherwise may not play a sport elsewhere or chose to come to USU for non-athletic reasons, get the chance to compete. Club sports are not university sponsored, thus lacking the power of the athletics department and are not just open for everyone to play at their leisure. The result is that club sports are placed last when it comes to facilities. The men's volleyball team has struggled through its spring season trying to find a place to practice, but often must just go without. The HPER is not a possibility because of intramurals. Renting practice space is too expensive. The Spectrum is usually reserved for varsity teams. Occasionally, the men have caught a break and are able to schedule the Spectrum for a late night practice, but that doesn't always go as planned. Recently, the team was scheduled for a night practice in the Spectrum. What did they arrive to find? A high school women's basketball team running practice. Though volleyball had the facility scheduled, they had to sit around and wait until the high school team was done practicing. The high school team had its own facilities, but instead, with the state tournament upcoming, wanted to practice in a different environment. The reasoning cannot be faulted, but bumping a group of players who often go without practice because they do not have facilities seems wrong. The creation of women's basketball team is a great accomplishment, but let's make sure the facilities are in place to serve all the student-athletes, club sport participants and the general student body.
|
Archived Months:
January
1999 January
2000 January
2001 |
||