This week in Rec Sports I got to see a different side to the organization: the managerial side. My boss called me in to her office because she wanted me to see a more business-side of the job as well as weigh-in with my opinion on the matter. A freshman student was there to inquire about creating a Flag Football Club team. While the Intramural sports department of Recreational Sports offers a Flag Football intramural program every Fall, this student wanted to create a more competitive team to compete intercollegiately year round. While he enjoyed the bonding aspect intramurals offered, he had played high school football and wanted to get back into a more competitive, time-dedicated program. While Sport Clubs offers 31 respective teams, Flag Football is not currently one of them.
My first instinct was to jump for joy and tell them "YES," because why not expand our programs to offer my variety. In my giddy-school-girl-response's defense, I still thing the idea of a Flag Football Club Sport is a good idea; however, there's a lot more involved with creating a new program than I ever imagined. Kellie explained to the boy how any student is allowed to start their own Virginia Tech club (as long as they stick to the guidelines laid out by the Division of Student Affairs), but becoming a Sport Clubs recognized team is a very difficult task. When she said that my mind automatically went to Title IX and thinking that it had to do with the distribution of our current teams and gender. However, I learned a lot about the financial background and the paperwork involved with Sport Club teams. I won't bore you with the 15 minutes of financial chatter that then occurred - because I honestly couldn't explain it properly even if there was a gun to my head - but what it boiled down to is the Rec Sports department would have to have an increase in funds by approximately $6,000 in order to add Flag Football. Blew my mind. Coming from a Public Relations and Marketing background I honestly never give much thought to the financial side of these situations. That's one thing I'm very thankful for, that working in Rec Sports has taught me to always think like a business person.
My first instinct was to jump for joy and tell them "YES," because why not expand our programs to offer my variety. In my giddy-school-girl-response's defense, I still thing the idea of a Flag Football Club Sport is a good idea; however, there's a lot more involved with creating a new program than I ever imagined. Kellie explained to the boy how any student is allowed to start their own Virginia Tech club (as long as they stick to the guidelines laid out by the Division of Student Affairs), but becoming a Sport Clubs recognized team is a very difficult task. When she said that my mind automatically went to Title IX and thinking that it had to do with the distribution of our current teams and gender. However, I learned a lot about the financial background and the paperwork involved with Sport Club teams. I won't bore you with the 15 minutes of financial chatter that then occurred - because I honestly couldn't explain it properly even if there was a gun to my head - but what it boiled down to is the Rec Sports department would have to have an increase in funds by approximately $6,000 in order to add Flag Football. Blew my mind. Coming from a Public Relations and Marketing background I honestly never give much thought to the financial side of these situations. That's one thing I'm very thankful for, that working in Rec Sports has taught me to always think like a business person.
Image courtesy of http://blogs.fortlewis.edu/pbgeisinger/files/2014/10/image.png