Join the club

Through Campus Rec, UNO students have the opportunity to participate in more than a dozen intramural sports. At HPER and around campus, students form leagues to play flag football, basketball, floor hockey, volleyball and other sports.

But what about sports that aren’t offered by Campus Rec? When there is enough interest, students can establish their own organizations through Campus Rec sports clubs.

Sports clubs at UNO are administered by the members who create their own organizational framework, leadership and performance level. The benefit of being a part of sports clubs in college is the immediate connection it gives the student to the campus and to other students, Lisa Medina, assistant director for sports clubs and youth programs at UNO, said.

Participation in club sports gives students a place to fit in and opportunities to lead, she said.

UNO features 18 clubs, but not all are active, Medina said. The most popular clubs are soccer, which has about 40 members, and Ultimate Frisbee, which has about 20, she said. The most competitive club sports are trap and skeet and equestrian.

“Quidditch is definitely being talked about the most, though,” she said.  The newest club is bass fishing, which started last spring, while Frisbee golf will most likely be the next club to form, she said.

Medina started working at UNO in 2000. Back then, UNO had clubs for women’s hockey, taekwondo, martial arts, badminton and bowling, which was the most active. None of those clubs are still active today.

Medina said student interest is the first step in forming a club sport. A request to begin a club can start at Student Organizations or Campus Recreation offices.

UNO’s student government must approve the request. The Campus Recreation office then takes over, Medina said.

The sports club program has limited funding, which pays for equipment and uniforms, Medina said. Funding is based on a point system, which awards points for student involvement, community involvement and events.

Students who start a club must recruit enough members to make it viable. Club members pay $20 per semester.

Each club sets its own schedule. Clubs that travel must cover their own expenses. They can host fundraisers to help defray their costs, Medina added.

Students interested in joining an active sports club can visit or contact the UNO Campus Recreation office in HPER 100. Campus Rec also has its own spot on unomaha.edu that includes a tab for sports clubs listed at the top.

If a user selects the sports club tab they will be taken to a page that includes all of the current sports clubs listed in a menu on the left. Those interested in starting a sports club that isn’t on the list can email Medina at lmmedina@unomaha.edu, email Joe Troia at jtroia@unomaha.edu or stop by the Campus Rec office in HPER 104.