Men’s and Women’s tennis teams struggle to fund Spring Break trip
Playing a club sport at USU can be a very costly venture – just ask a member of the hockey team who annually pays in excess of $500 out of his own pocket to help cover expenses. What many people don’t know is the same thing happens to members of the men’s and women’s tennis team, despite tennis being a Division I sport at Utah State.
Both the men’s and the women’s team will participate in a tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, during Spring Break. Play will begin Sunday. With that in mind, how will the teams generate the necessary funding to go to Hawaii?
Compared to schools with a larger athletic budget, such as Brigham Young University, USU is not allocated that much money for tennis, said USU assistant coach Jevin West. In fact, BYU garners more funding for tennis than the University of Utah, Weber State University and USU combined, he said. The Aggie men’s and women’s tennis teams are allotted $18,000 and $37,000 a year, respectively.
As a result, USU relies on fund raisers, including events like the date auction that was held in early February and directing fans to pay for parking spots at Aggie basketball games.
However, these fund raisers, plus the money the teams are allocated, do not cover all of the operating costs. Like players who participate in club sports, members of the tennis team pay money out of their own pockets. Funding for the Hawaii tournament will require each player pay at least $200 out of his or her pocket.
After the Hawaii tournament, the women’s team won’t compete again until March 30 against Northern Arizona University. The men’s team’s next meet isn’t until April 3 at Weber State University.