PVCC favors club athletics due to economy, equality

As another Virginia community college joins the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), some former student-athletes on the grounds of Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) find themselves asking the question, “Where are PVCC’s school teams?”

If other community colleges are capable of having intercollegiate sports teams, then why does PVCC fail to have them? The answer is simple: money and equality.

PVCC is one of 23 schools in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). As part of this system, the school is bound into the decisions and actions of the VCCS, which does not have an intercollegiate athletic system set up between its members.

A system-wide athletic program would force the VCCS to financially commit to the athletic departments of every school in the system, which would mean making sure that all schools are funded equally and substantially. The VCCS would also have to ensure that the schools were all equipped equally with the proper playing fields, courts and gyms, as well as provide the proper sports equipment for each player. In the present economy, cutting such expenses makes good fiscal sense.

Now, a new question arises: how are six of the schools in the VCCS able to offer their students intercollegiate sports? These schools are all part of the NJCAA and fund their athletic departments through money from the institutions themselves.

While PVCC has elected not to put forth money to create a new athletics system and join the NJCAA, Steve McNerney, the Director of Student Activities at PVCC, pointed out that the decision is not purely economical.

“It’s much more important to have clubs that are open to anybody and everybody. The clubs do not and cannot discriminate,” said McNerney. PVCC’s stance is that the club athletics allow everyone to join and anyone to play. Intercollegiate team sports fail to do so since players must try out and be accepted in order to make the team and participate in the sport.

PVCC has not written off  the idea of intercollegiate sports completely. “If the VCCS decides to create an intercollegiate system, PVCC may decide to reconsider the matter,” said McNerney.

Until then, PVCC students will have to stick to their non-discriminate club sports. These club teams compete in local leagues as well as travel to other schools and compete in tournaments. Students wishing to learn more about any of the athletic clubs at PVCC can visit pvcc.edu/student_ life/clubs_organizations.php.

[This article previously appeared in The Forum, Vol. 10.4]