BEN SIECK | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Club basketball will soon be more than just a men’s sport at Butler. A women’s club team is well on its way to campus recognition.
Preliminary tryouts for the team began last weekend, and the second round of tryouts is set for tomorrow from 4-6 p.m. at the Health and Recreation Complex.
The team’s current president, sophomore Courtney Considine, said every year, women try out for Butler’s women’s basketball team but don’t make it. She said women have even approached the men’s club team about opportunities to play.
“Not only do I want Butler to have a women’s club team, but I think that it would be a good thing for Butler,” Considine said. “Obviously people want it, and obviously it’s needed.”
Considine said her love for basketball stretches all the way back to her childhood when she was two years old, and she wasn’t quite ready to give up playing competitively on a regular basis when she got to Butler. When she found some likeminded students, Considine said forming a club team was the next logical step.
Considine said the original founder of the team dropped out, leaving it in a state of flux.
“It was like no one really cared, but there were two of us who cared—me and Molly Craig. We decided that we weren’t going to let this thing die,” Considine said.
Craig, a junior, is currently the team’s vice president. Craig actually walked on to the Butler women’s basketball team during her freshman year, but the time commitment was too much for the pharmacy major.
“When you play Division I basketball, it’s your life,” Craig said.
For Craig, the club team is a way to fulfill her passion for basketball while keeping her grades up.
Freshman Megan Borries said she received an email from Considine about starting the team and immediately jumped on the opportunity.
“It’s really exciting because (the team) has never been here. I know there are a lot of girls want to play basketball,” Borries said. “It’s exciting to be a part of a team that is just beginning. You can make it whatever you want it to be.”
Borries acts as the team’s secretary. Along with Considine and Craig, Borries is one of six executive members of the organization.
Including the executive members, Borries said the team hopes to have 15 to 20 members.
The team is currently only recognized as a Student Government Association organization. The current waiting period for an organization to become recognized as a club sport is two years, according to Considine.
The team was originally created last year but became inactive before Considine got the ball rolling again. However, Considine said she hopes the team will be granted club status sooner rather than later.
“If we have a really successful year this year I could see them saying, ‘Okay, we’ll give it to you,’ but it all depends,” Considine said.
Because the team is not yet a club sport, it can’t receive the grant money designated for club teams. To make up for this, Considine said the team will be selling sweatshirts to pay for the team’s uniforms and tournament funds.
Considine said the men’s club team has been one of the women’s club’s biggest inspirations, and she has modeled the team after the the men.
Ultimately, Considine said she wants to team to be successful, but knows that it will take time.
“My goal is to create an element with our players that everyone players together, and to be competitive. Maybe not to win (immediately) necessarily, but to be competitive,” Considine said.
