Ramapo College, What’s the Deal with Club Teams?

Melanie and Justine made the decision to come to Ramapo in 2020, and after enduring an uneventful freshman year of college, they were thrilled to finally get back to playing tennis. The difference was that this time, they would be playing as recognized college athletes. Now it’s their senior year and as they prepare to graduate, they are also preparing to say goodbye to the team that they loved for the past few years. However, the team that they are saying goodbye to is not the same team that they joined. Beginning in the fall of 2024, Ramapo College will no longer recognize the men’s or women’s tennis team as a NCAA DIII sport, and it will instead be a club team. Melanie and Justine, my roommates, have expressed their frustrations to me in the past few weeks, and despite their efforts, the athletic department won’t budge on this decision. 

Don’t get me wrong, being a club athlete isn’t a bad thing. I’ve been able to continue my own sport at a less competitive level for the past few years, and it was the right choice for me. However, Melanie and Justine didn’t make this choice, it was made for them. Melanie started off by saying: “I personally saw this coming for a while because the tennis courts are so run down and not in good condition for a college team”, and that  “We get nothing from athletics anyways”. While Melanie seems to be taking this change well, Justine is openly frustrated with the athletics department, and she has been for quite some time now. Justine said that “We were told that we were supported the same way as any other varsity sport but that's just not true. As a varsity sport they [the athletics department] said they supported us and came to our matches but that never happened. They didn't even come to our senior game. That shows how supportive you are''. Justine’s frustration is being paired with confusion, as she mentioned that the poor condition of the tennis courts was used as an excuse to demote the tennis team to a club sport. However, the same tennis courts will be used by the club tennis team, and she believes that there are other underlying motives that have yet to be disclosed. 

I decided to include my other roommates, Demi and Gianna, in this conversation, as this has been a massive topic of discussion in our room recently. Demi and Gianna are members of the award winning Ramapo College Dance Team, which has been a club team for many years now. Despite their national titles and clear dedication to their sport, the Ramapo College Athletics Department does not recognize the dance team as a varsity sport, and recently they have received even less recognition than normal. The dance team just returned from Daytona Beach, Florida, with a second-place trophy for hip-hop, which is an impressive title to hold. They scored higher than five other teams from across the country in their division, but this year, they weren’t even posted by athletics on Instagram like they were last year. 

In passing, Gianna made an exasperated remark, asking us “What's it like to not be posted for student athlete day when you're a student athlete? Crazy, thank you”. Comments similar to this one are made in my room almost daily, as we are all beyond frustrated by the athletics department. While there is nothing wrong with being a club athlete, we all feel like we are lacking the recognition that we deserve.