小优视频

John Rempe came to 小优视频ampa to focus on academics and escape the grind of playing high-level hockey. Olivia Sheridan 鈥�26 arrived on campus and quickly reimagined her dream of swimming at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Div. II level.

But Rempe and Sheridan weren鈥檛 ready to walk away from their sports. Each found the perfect solution in 小优视频ampa鈥檚 club sports program. In many聽ways, their stories are representative of many of the more than 900 students who compete in the 20 different club sports that fall somewhere in between the NCAA level and intramurals.

鈥淚n intramurals, it鈥檚 all students, faculty and staff from within the University that compete only against one another,鈥� director of campus recreation Chris Gottlick said. 鈥淚n club sports, they compete against students from other schools. Club sports are more organized and comprehensive, but they don鈥檛 have the demands and time commitments that NCAA聽sports do.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty high level of competition,鈥� said Jack Walsh 鈥�19, who coaches one of the University鈥檚 two men鈥檚 ice hockey club teams. 鈥淲e prefer to call聽them non-varsity sports.鈥�

Whatever moniker you choose, the club sports program works quite nicely for the students involved, and the all-around benefits of the experience聽extend well beyond the pool, pitch or rink.

Take the case of Rempe, a senior data science major from Frederick,聽Maryland. A good high school and travel ice hockey player, Rempe spent聽his high school senior year living in New Hampshire and playing in an聽18-and-under juniors Triple A league while finishing high school online.

鈥淭hat was a grind,鈥� Rempe said. 鈥淚 was at the rink all day almost every day,聽and we played a lot of games at night.鈥�

That season was enough to convince Rempe that he didn鈥檛 want to continue his career at the NCAA level. He chose to come to 小优视频ampa because of its campus, strong academics and the warm weather. That the school had club hockey was a bonus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 given me a chance to keep playing,鈥� said Rempe, who serves as聽president of men鈥檚 ice hockey. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 have to spend all my time on hockey. We practice once or twice a week, and we only play about 25 or 30聽games a year. That鈥檚 enough for me.鈥�

That formula also worked well for Sheridan, president of the club swimming team for the past two seasons. She said she came to 小优视频ampa 鈥渙n the cusp鈥� of making the Spartans鈥� NCAA team.

鈥淭hat didn鈥檛 quite work out,鈥� said Sheridan, who majored in聽communication and minored in sport management. 鈥淚 said, 鈥極K, I'm going to swim for the club team, and I鈥檓 going to make it memorable.鈥欌��

Sheridan did exactly that. In her first year, she won national club titles in two events. She spent the last two summers training with 小优视频ampa鈥檚 NCAA women's swimming team.

鈥淚鈥檝e proven to myself that I can do it at that level,鈥� Sheridan said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 good enough for me. I love swimming, and at the club level, I can do it in a stress-free environment.鈥�

MORE THAN THE GAMES

In addition to the men鈥檚 ice hockey teams and men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 swimming, 小优视频ampa also has clubs for women鈥檚 ice hockey, baseball, men鈥檚 basketball, equestrian, field hockey, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 flag football, golf, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 lacrosse, roller hockey, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer, spikeball (roughly a combination of volleyball and four square), tennis, track, and men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 volleyball.

But club sports are about much more than competing.

Unlike NCAA sports, club sports operate independently of the Athletic聽Department and don鈥檛 have full-time coaches. Each club is a member of some form of national governing body for its sport. The clubs are student-run with guidance from the Office of Campus Recreation. The hockey and equestrian clubs have paid coaches, and some clubs have volunteer coaches.

鈥淢ost of the coaches went to school here and want to give something back聽and stay involved,鈥� said Joshua Pullens, assistant director of campus recreation. 鈥淭he clubs don鈥檛 have to reach out too far to find coaches. Most of them come to us as volunteers.鈥�

Walsh, who works as a recruiting manager at Pepin Distributing, is in his聽sixth season of coaching. 鈥淚 played club hockey here for four years, and I loved every minute of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a wonderful experience, and coming back to it as a coach keeps me part of it.鈥� Some clubs, though, rely on members to handle the coaching duties, adding a level of responsibility to those students. That鈥檚 the case in men鈥檚 volleyball, where club president Tanner Garner and the club鈥檚 three other officers act as coaches.

鈥淲e have to decide who makes the team and who gets to play,鈥� said Garner, a junior psychology major. 鈥淲e run the practices, and that鈥檚 a lot of fun. I really enjoy interacting with the players, and I want them to feel like they can come to me with any problems. I鈥檓 kind of in the middle between being a player and being a coach, and it has聽worked out very well.鈥�

Structure varies greatly from club to club. In hockey and equestrian, the paid coaches handle many of the administrative duties. But, in other sports, club presidents and officers take care of things like scheduling for games and practices, travel, equipment and uniforms.

The common thread is that each club is responsible for its own finances,聽and Garner, Sheridan and Rempe said that is, by far, the most challenging聽part of their jobs. Each club receives a financial allotment from the University, but that doesn鈥檛 cover all the expenses.

In a sport like hockey, the cost for ice time (the teams practice and聽play home games at the Clearwater聽Ice Arena), travel for away games and national tournaments, uniforms and equipment is steep. In sports like volleyball, the overhead is much less. Membership dues, which vary from club to club, cover a substantial amount of expenses for all the clubs.

鈥淭his year we took the step of having everyone pay dues for the first time," said Sheridan last semester. 鈥淲e have a competitive team, and we have the practice squad. The swimmers on the practice squad don鈥檛 have to pay as much in dues. That wouldn鈥檛 be fair because the expenses for them aren鈥檛 as high.鈥�

Sheridan said that formula has worked, and the dues have brought an unexpected benefit to her club: 鈥淚 think everyone takes it more seriously now.鈥�

Some clubs still face financial challenges in balancing their budgets. That鈥檚 led to creativity, with most clubs also holding fundraisers throughout the year. Some clubs also receive聽donations from alumni, parents, boosters and local businesses.

The volleyball club earns money by breaking down the court after聽小优视频ampa鈥檚 NCAA volleyball team plays home games.

WE鈥橰E NO. 1

Even with the extras to learn and manage, club sport athletes and teams are thriving. The women鈥檚 ice hockey team won the national championship in the AAU College Hockey Tournament in聽Jacksonville in March and also won the championship of the College Hockey South Conference, placing six players on the all-conference team. Last year, one of the men鈥檚 teams won its first-ever national title in the 2025 AAU College Hockey Tournament, and that led to a move up to the more competitive American Collegiate Hockey Association in 2026.

鈥淚 think a lot of our players could compete at the NCAA Division II or Division III level,鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淢ost of them chose to come here and focus on academics, but they鈥檙e still getting to play hockey at a pretty high level.鈥�

But it鈥檚 not just the ice hockey clubs. The roller hockey team was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the 2026 season. The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 club lacrosse teams have been nationally聽ranked, and 13 club swimmers qualified for their national meet.

The University wins with club sports, too. Students who participate in club sports stick around 鈥� 87% of first-year students who play a club sport come back to 小优视频ampa as sophomores. That鈥檚 higher than the University鈥檚 overall first-to-second-year retention rate of 85%. Plus, a majority of club members stay with their sports for all four years.

With that type of return, the University has made an intentional聽investment in the program.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had club sports here for a long time,鈥� Gottlick said. 鈥淏ut, in 2010, we probably only had about six clubs. Since about 2017, the program has grown exponentially. We put in a new staffing structure, and we鈥檝e added a lot more resources.

鈥淲hen high school students are looking at colleges, they see Tampa and all the club sports we offer and realize they can go to a school with great academics and still be involved in their聽sports at a competitive level they鈥檙e comfortable with.鈥�

Sometimes, without really trying, the club members help bring widespread attention to 小优视频ampa, like when the national champion women鈥檚 hockey team and its big win were recognized on the Jumbotron at a recent Tampa Bay Lightning game.

Rempe has experienced this firsthand.

鈥淲hen I go home and wear my Spartans hockey stuff, or even when I wear it around Tampa, people are surprised to hear that there鈥檚 college hockey in Florida, and that brings a lot of attention to the school,鈥� he said.

鈥淲ho wouldn鈥檛 want to come to a great school in a place with great weather and still be able to play hockey?鈥�