Club sports face unclear future without NCAA guidance

While Chapman’s Division III sports and physical activity courses are adapting their seasons, the status of the university’s eight club sports is still up in the air. Photo courtesy of Steven Olveda

Recently, Chapman has seen updates to its NCAA Division III programs’ seasons with a planned Oct. 19 return to in-person classes, and physical activity courses are still alive and well despite their online status.

One aspect of Chapman athletics seems to have fallen by the wayside in the midst of plans, however; the current state of some club sports is still undetermined.

Chapman offers non-NCAA-affiliated sports such as cheerleading and men’s lacrosse. Tradon Reid, once a student-athlete at Chapman, now coaches the club ice hockey team, affiliated with the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

“We still have a division, we still have a team, we still have a region and we can still compete for a national title,” Reid said. “But it’s not as expansive as the NCAA.”

Without the guidance that other programs might receive from the NCAA, Reid has had difficulty providing clear instruction to his players. Hockey’s fall season was scrapped, and Reid said they’re working to try and start up a season in January that carries into the spring, but that status is still up in the air. In the meantime, Reid has been working alongside Jack Matura, senior hockey captain, to prepare the team for a return to the ice.

“It's been hard to get on the ice during quarantine, as many of the ice rinks have been closed,” Matura said. “Even with all these hurdles we're having to overcome, spirits among the team remain high, as the prospect of a spring season seems like a possibility.”

Men’s lacrosse coach Dallas Hartley has also had to instruct his team to adapt to the uncertainty.

“They are trying to stay in shape and keep their sticks from getting dusty,” Hartley said of his players. “We haven’t done anything as a group, and will continue to not do anything as a group until we get the go-ahead green light.”

Unfortunately for men’s lacrosse, the pandemic means they may miss out on what could have been a successful season for the team. According to a preseason ranking, the Panthers are ranked third nationally in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). That success has made Chapman lacrosse a hotspot for recruitment.

“We recruit actively; we try to bring in around 15 players each freshman class and a few transfers,” Hartley said. “Usually each year our roster is anywhere from 35 to 50 players.” 

Despite the disappointment of a postponed season and uncertainty of a spring restart, club teams are still grateful for their place on campus.

“Through being on a club team, you are involved with an organization that is mostly player-run,” Reid said. “You meet a lot of great people along the way and you get to play hockey at a high level.”