Anyone who has ever been to a men’s or women’s tennis match, knows that attendance for matches, high profile or not, is sparse. This lack of interest might indicate a general, campus-wide apathy toward tennis. However, one need only look to the Columbia Tennis Club sign-ups in order to disprove this notion. At the beginning of every semester, students from the College, SEAS, General Studies, and even graduate and medical students line up outside the Lou Gehrig Lounge in Dodge Fitness Center and wait to secure a coveted spot in the Tennis Club. After paying dues of $40 per semester, the first 90 or so in line sign up to play once a week on the night of their choice at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center, which has six indoor courts. The time allotted for the Tennis Club to play is probably the least desirable time possible to play tennis: from 10 p.m. until midnight, including on Friday and Saturday nights. Often, members will take the subway to and from Baker Field—an unwanted trip, particularly during the winter months.
Despite this undesirable time slot, as well as the dues every semester, students often wait for more than two hours in line, and every semester there are inevitably many students who do not receive spots in the club. As evidenced by the semi-annual line outside the Lou Gehrig Lounge, there is clearly an appetite for tennis on Columbia’s campus.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I myself am one of those crazy tennis fans who waits in line to sign up every year and takes the subway up every week to go play at Baker.
The tennis teams at Columbia should make a concerted effort to draw in fans and supporters through club sports. Sports such as men’s and women’s tennis, archery, and women’s volleyball have direct club sports partners, while others, including cross country and swimming and diving, have related clubs in the form of CU Road Runners and men’s and women’s water polo, respectively.
If the head coaches or assistant coaches from the varsity teams reached out to the student leaders in their respective club sports teams, an open line of communication between the two could form. For the most part, I would imagine that students who are interested enough in a sport to take time out of their busy schedules to play it, often off-campus, would also be interested in seeing it competed at a higher level. Club leaders could be informed of the date, time, and location of important contests for the varsity squad, and could inform members by emailing the club listservs. Once enough members began showing up, the clubs could become the vocal section of the crowd that Columbia sporting events often lack. In return for their support and enthusiasm, the varsity teams could provide free transportation to and from contests, thereby eliminating one of the main hassles students face when trying to attend sporting events not located directly on campus. It would benefit the varsity teams by creating a winning and positive atmosphere, and would allow the club to watch the sport that they play, or enjoy watching, played at the highest collegiate level for free.
Of course, this would have to be a two-way street. While it’s important for the Athletics Department to reach out to club sports leaders, the club sports themselves should take some initiative and reach out to their members on their own.
The same principle could be applied to intramural sports on campus. Every year, students swarm out with their friends and sign up to play sports such as volleyball, soccer, basketball, and flag football. Once again, if these students are willing to take part in these often time-consuming events, why would they not be willing to watch the same sports played at a higher level against a rival Ivy League school?
Columbia Athletics has tried a number of different ways to encourage the generally apathetic student body to go to Columbia sporting events. However, busy academic and social schedules, the inconvenient distance to Baker Field, and a general lack of enthusiasm toward sports has rendered most of these campaigns useless. Last season’s Student Rewards Program failed to generate the buzz around campus that it was designed to. The Athletics Department is trying new and novel ways to generate student attendance and fan support at Columbia sporting events. Some efforts, like Midnight Mania, were clearly a huge step in the right direction. There is nothing that will get certain people to come to a sports event—they just don’t care. However, for everyone else, in focusing on a variety of intricate and complex ways to attract students, it seems as if the Athletics Department has missed one method sitting right in its backyard.
Club and intramural sports would provide the varsity squads with a set of fans who have an interest in and knowledge of the sport. It is easy to forget that in many sports, the athletes at Columbia are some of the finest in the nation. Nothing is more disappointing to a fan than to see an opponent’s cheering section dwarfing Columbia’s, even when the contest is being held at Columbia’s home venue. Far too often, athletes and casual fans alike complain about the lack of support for both winning and losing programs. The potential to grow a loyal fan base of students is there for many of the school’s varsity teams. It is now up to club boards and Athletics Department officials to take advantage of this.
Kunal Gupta is a junior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science majoring in operations research.
sportseditors@columbiaspectator.com
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