Last November, DePauw football wasn’t the only athletic team disappointed during Monon Weekend.
For the first time in nine years, the school’s ultimate frisbee team lost the “Monon Disc” to the Little Giants in what proved to be a down season for the Tigers, something not too entirely surprising for an intramural sport.
“[The program] has had its ups and downs,” said senior Kyle Whistler, who is this year’s team leader. “Last year we kind of died out, we didn’t really have anybody.”
Athletic Director Stevie Baker-Watson agreed.
“It’s a group dynamic thing,” Baker-Watson explained. “You add people to the group, you take people away from the group, and the level of passion and dedication changes. If you have someone who’s highly motivated to make sure the team is practicing on a regular basis and caompeting on a regular basis, they’re going to have a banner year.”
But while the sport only functions as a club here on campus, ultimate frisbee at the collegiate level is growing quickly.
After its establishment in 1984, the College Division has grown to 14,000 student-athletes across 700 college campuses, according to USA Ultimate’s website. The sport even has it’s own Division III national championships.
While it’s not fair to compare our program to that of powerhouses such as The University of Oregon, The University of Notre Dame and The University of Pittsburgh, or even similar-sized schools like Davidson College and North Park University, there’s no reason why DePauw can’t make the club more of a relevant sport on campus.
The club is returning a core of dedicated players, many of whom played the sport in high school. While they saw it as a casual sport then, they are now seeing it as more competitive.
“People are pushed more to learn about the game and actually improve skills as opposed to just throwing the frisbee around,” said junior John Stanton. “[The sport] takes a lot of skill, a lot of athleticism and is fun to watch.”
If anything, last Friday’s activities fair seemed to be a step in the right direction for the new season. The team managed to land 70 first-year signatures, and while that number is likely to dwindle, it’ll go a long way in bringing depth to the organization, especially in the tournaments the team plans on playing in.
But Whistler hopes to hold on to more than just a handful of new players, as he’s coming at the season with a different approach.
“[I’m trying to] allow more of an open concept where if you want to learn just talk to the people who are more experienced, instead of trying to just push frisbee and strategy down their throats,” Whistler said. “We kind of just teach on the fly.”
Besides finding consistent players, the team has yet to find a permanent practice field. The team can often be found throwing frisbees around in Bowman Park next to the GCPA.
The club’s problem is that by the time they come to the athletic department to request practice space on DePauw’s intramural fields, it’s too late, and space has been snatched up by another sports team, according to Baker-Watson.
“I’d like [for them] to be able to play on the turf fields and under the lights,” explained Baker-Watson. “But they don’t come to us [early enough], so it’s hard to help them.”
For a program that’s been around since 2006, this season will serve as a perfect time to get the club sport back on track and possibly take it to new heights in the upcoming years as the sport itself continues to thrive on college campuses.