Clubs Sports provides opportunities for Xavier

While most Xavier students will never get the opportunity to lob the ball to Dez Wells, every student has the opportunity to play a sport. Xavier has one of the largest club sports departments in the region with 26 clubs that fit every

student at Xavier. Roughly 560 students are currently

members of a club sports team at Xavier. James Alexander,

assistant director of club sports, has been in this position since 2009. "Club sports give students a chance to continue athletic experiences that they otherwise would

not have," Alexander said. In terms of of functions and

roles, XU's club sports program mirrors that of an athletic department of an NCAA school. The students also have a club sports council that meets every two weeks to discuss business news, budgets and general experiences of the clubs. Just like the clubs themselves, the executive

board of the club sports council is led by students from the clubs and oversees the activities of the club sports.

While club sports are allocated funds from the University, the individual teams do additional fundraising to help cover their costs. Clubs sports is successfully able to double their funds through fundraising opportunaties. at various

opportunities such as concession stands for Xavier basketball, the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Likewise, many teams team join Habitat for Humanity or other Xavier service clubs while other teams find service opportunities on their own. Something new for club sports

this year is their partnership with Tri-Health services. The company provides medical support and services to every club sport at Xavier and provides medical staff to every club sports competition to assist with any injury that could occur.

Currently there are 26 club sports teams at Xavier and many of them are making news. The women's volleyball team currently has 29 members and fields both an A and a B team to allow more girls to compete. The fencing team

competes all across the Midwest against teams such as Ohio State and Notre Dame both of whom sponsor NCAA level fencing. The motto of club sports is "Experience, Learn, Develop," and through the vaious opportunities the program provides, it hopes to help students achieve these goals.