Lake Forest College allocated $2.3 million to the Athletic Department and to the 17 Division III sports teams for the 2014-2015 academic year, which may seem like a lot of money dedicated to just one department at the College.
Jackie Slaats, Director of Athletics and Senior Advisor to the President, thinks this is a “common misconception that people make about the athletes here.”
“[Athletes] have pride in their school and the team that they play for, and it is them who choose to showcase that by purchasing and wearing their team’s apparel,” said Slaats, arguing that although athletes are provided with their equipment and uniforms, many students do not realize that several players purchase some of their Forester gear with their own money.
Chase Janer, member of the Men’s Varsity Basketball team, broke down many of the expenses that he pays for as a player. Although he feels that his overall needs as a student athlete competing at the Division III level have been met, he still purchases a number of things on his own that his coaches “highly recommend.”
Members of the Men’s Basketball team need to buy a pair of $100 basketball shoes, an $88 dollar jumpsuit, and a $40 polo. Each player also has the responsibility to sell $200 worth of raffle tickets as fundraising for the Athletic Department. Members of the Swimming and Diving Team paid $750 each for their training trip that they recently took to California in January.
Protective equipment and the cost of travel are the biggest figures that the Athletic Department has to pay, following the number of dollars spent on staff wages. Nearly two-thirds of the College’s students participate in some kind of sport, whether it is at the varsity or club level.
The financial assistance that athletes receive is 19 times larger than the amount allocated to the 70+ clubs and student organizations on campus. For the Spring 2015 semester, clubs and student organizations were allocated $60,000 by the College Council to keep their programs up and running.
Some students believe that the College should consider using that $2.3 million on other student programs and activities, as not all students are athletes and can benefit from that allocated amount. Dominick Scafidi ‘17, one of the Student Representatives in Student Government, says that the lack of attention paid toward clubs in terms of money is a true problem for the organizations moving forward. He describes this as a “true shortfall.”
Jackie Slaats, on the other hand, is proud of the Athletic Department’s work. She believes in building a strong program for the athletes, saying: “If you’re going to have it, make it successful.” It will be interesting to see whether or not students displeased with the amount allocated to the Athletic Department take initiative to challenge that budget or if student athletes take to defending it.
