Catamount athletic teams are hoping to have an extra player on the lineup at upcoming sports competitions in the form of a new student booster club.
The booster club will be a student-organized group dedicated to the enthusiastic support of Western’s intercollegiate basketball and football games, both at home and at away matches.
Jonathan Rowe, WCU student body president, conceived the idea last spring as a way to increase student extra-curricular participation. He looked at other North Carolina universities and wondered why WCU was the only one that lacked a booster club.
He was impressed by the kind of student involvement he saw at athletic events at larger universities like Duke and Wake Forest and resolved to bring that kind of enthusiasm to the mountains.
“In the next five years enrollment is projected to go from 6,500 to 9,000 students,” said Rowe. “With the booster club we expect to be able to both support student athletes and increase student support overall.”
The booster club would be a joint venture of the SGA and the athletic department. The proposed organization has been well received by the athletic director, Jim Compher.
“It makes all the difference in the world to have the support of Mr. Compher,” said Rowe. “Coming from a bigger school like Vanderbilt that has more student organizations, he sees the benefits a booster club can bring.”
Provided the booster club resolution passes, Rowe expects to have the club organized and officers elected in two weeks. After that he plans to move into the second phase of the club’s development: public awareness. “We’ve already contacted the school’s intramurals to let them know about the club. Once the bill passes we will appoint an officer responsible for getting the message out there to the public.”
The organization will be a subsidiary and receive its funding from the SGA.
The booster club will be open to all current students and include such perks as special seating at home football and basketball games, free tickets to away games, and a discounted Catamount Club membership.
Anyone interested in joining the booster club can contact Rowe at the SGA office on the second floor of Hinds University Center.
The only requirements to join: show up for the games and make plenty of noise.
