Over the past two weekends, the swim team competed in two NESCAC Championships, competing separately as women and men. The women’s team travelled to Williams while the men journeyed to Bowdoin College, where each team spent three days competing against our NESCAC rivals. Both teams performed outstandingly, with the women taking third place overall for the second year in a row and the men claiming fifth place. NESCAC is the most competitive Division III conference in the country, so these achievements should not be underestimated, and we are all extremely proud of what we have achieved this season alongside our academic commitments. However, these achievements flew largely under the radar, which made us all think about the ways in which sports could be better publicized at Conn.
All sports at the collegiate level have the opportunity to bring students together in a sense of college pride, and as such, athletic achievements should be shared among the student body. At large Division I institutions, sport is a culture. Team spirit and loyalty are not only shared among college students, but in many cases among their towns and even their states. Sport is both a source of profit due to branding, ticket sales, and endowments, and also profoundly affects student enrollment and culture on campus. Weekends revolve around sports games–tailgating and cheering for your team alongside students from every possible major, grade, and background, united by your team spirit. The pride one feels in one’s team extends far beyond sports, into a lifelong commitment to their university. Alumni play a huge role in perpetuating this tradition through donations and purchasing merchandise, or by continuing to follow the progress of sports teams.
As a Division III liberal arts institution, Connecticut College does not share the sports culture of larger schools, but that absolutely doesn’t mean we should not care about sports on our campus. Chances are, a lot of your closest friends are student-athletes or play on an intramural team. But how many times have you actually watched them play? Or kept track of their results over the course of the season? Now think about how different our campus would feel if we all banded together behind every team on campus. What would happen if we had a full crowd for every home game we hold here? How would that affect not only our sense of community, but how our sports teams perform?
Knowing that you have the support of the entire campus behind you is an extremely powerful thing, and provides motivation to make everyone proud and to represent your school. In short, for athletes and spectators alike, sporting events provide the opportunity to create so much “Camel Pride.” Though we are not a Division I school, school spirit remains an important factor for prospective students. Most people who enroll at Conn are attracted to its small campus, and its promise of a close-knit community. That is also what makes us feel at home here. Our community would be brought even closer together if we truly got behind our teams. Let’s meet new people, cheer alongside them, and use sport as an opportunity to foster an even more cohesive community. One of the best things about Conn is the million-and-one things that we have going on all the time in all different departments and extra-curricular endeavors. However, that multiplicity should not rule out the opportunity to come together as a whole, support our teams, and share in their successes. As the spring sports commence, let’s support, respect, and acknowledge what they do, and use them as a way to connect with each other as well.
To student athletes: let’s also do our part to raise awareness for sports on campus. Write about on your teams’ achievements in platforms like the Voice, or make posters to put around school to advertise your games. Post on social media and tag @camelathletics or @conncollege to make sure you are recognized by the College and the campus community. As athletes we have the privileged opportunity to bring the school closer together—let’s use it!
