By Danny Nikander
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
A new tier system will determine how much money each club sport organization can request, as well as the requirements that the clubs have to fulfill each semester.
A meeting was held on Wednesday, March 16 to discuss the new system that will regulate and improve the organization and funding of club sports teams. The system categorizes teams into different tiers that will determine guidelines and expectations for these clubs to follow.
“We’re trying to build better structure so we can better support you guys,” Pat Montagano, senior assistant dean of students and director of recreation and intramural sports, said. “It really helps build a better presence in the Hofstra community.”
Senior forensic science major and president of the Hofstra Crew club, Ashley Wilson said this system will benefit her team in the long run.
“This will definitely change how the crew team is run. We will have to focus more on doing things around campus. I think that it will help us build up the team and bond more,” she said.
Tier one is the probation period. This is primarily for new clubs; however, others may be pushed back to this tier if they do not meet the expectations of their tiers. Clubs in the first tier will remain on probation for a full academic year. In addition, these clubs must attend one community service project per year, one university event per year and all monthly club sports meetings; as well as having a budget limit of $400 each semester.
Tier two, or the white tier, is designed for clubs that are interested in recreational sports, rather than competitive sports. Expectations are increased, requiring these clubs to attend two community service projects and university events per year. Clubs in this tier are also required to attend monthly club sports meetings and their budget limit increases to $3,000.
The second tier additionally calls for clubs to fundraise at least 10 percent of their budget allocation from the previous year and to actively manage a presence on social media accounts or websites.
Tier three, the blue tier, is for more competitive teams that are a part of local or national organizations or conferences. Unlike clubs of lower tiers, these clubs typically have coaches. Blue-tier teams will also be required to participate in three community service projects and three university events per year. Their fundraising requirement increases to 15 percent of their budget, which also increases to a $6,000 limit per semester.
The fourth and final tier is the gold tier. This level is designed for the most competitive teams who sometimes require expenses such as athletic trainers. Falling in pattern, these teams will be required to attend four community service and university events per year. In addition, they must fundraise 20 percent of their previous budget allocation, as well as complete all expectations laid out in the other tiers. This level has an unlimited budget and SGA will allocate funds as they see fit.
“Clubs on this end usually ask for the most money,” Shaun Fean, associate director of recreation and intramural sports said. “[Fundraising] just shows SGA that you are making an effort on your end.”
Gold tier teams will also be expected to attend or host one alumni event and host one tournament per year.
“We’re not trying to make things super tough on you guys,” Fean said, addressing the teams. “Clubs request budgets then fail to do anything with them. These clubs need to establish and prove themselves.”
Montagano and Fean then began talking about the severity of not following the guidelines of each tier.
“If you are a gold tier club and only raise 17 percent, we are not going to demote you,” Montagano said. “We can do all the better at supporting each other.”
“Where we see something that’s an outstanding situation, we will make the decision that could help or hurt you,” Fean continued.
Nicholas Powers, a freshman civil engineering major and president of the Hofstra Roller Hockey Club, is in favor of these changes.
“Personally, I think it encourages growth for the clubs,” Powers said. “It may not seem fair to some, but it sounds as if before creating the system they put a lot of thought into how much each club needs to run properly and very reasonable requirements to be able to obtain that amount of funds.”
Powers feels this new system will not drastically change how the roller hockey club is ran, as he said that they have already fulfilled most of the requirements for their projected gold tier status.
“I think the system does a very good job at rewarding clubs that are more active, as well as keeping the budgets fair for the clubs that aren’t as competitive, or lack the size that some others have,” Powers said.
The new tier system will go into effect in the 2016 fall semester.
