This past week, the Milwaukee Club Football program received unexpected news on the status of its team. The program received an email stating that it must revoke its format as tackle football.
According to the Supervisors of the Sports Clubs, the reason for the program to be disbanded is due to “Extensive safety and risk assessment conducted in collaboration with Sport Risk Standards.”
The sudden disbandment comes as a surprise to the players and coaching staff; there is no recent history of documented safety violations or injuries that would have impacted this decision. Student-athletes are required to sign liability waivers acknowledging the risks associated with the sport before joining the program.
This decision concerning the football program is perplexing as UWM continues to host and support other high-contact club sports such as hockey and rugby, which carry comparable and possibly higher and more physical risks. These high-risk collision sports are allowed to maintain active club status, which seems as though the football program is being singled out.
This selective enforcement raises fair questions about whether safety concerns are being applied consistently across the university’s club sports catalog as a whole, or if football is being held to a standard no other high-impact club is expected to meet.
“We were caught off guard and it seems unjust that we weren’t notified of this apparent revision of our club,” said the Officer Board of the UWM Football program. “We had no say to plead our case on this decision, the team was counting on having a season and we would hate to get stripped of the opportunity to play tackle football again, especially so close to the fall season.”
Since July, the team has been holding practices and has been handling organizational work behind the scenes in preparation for the upcoming season, as well as already having a full game schedule set. UWM’s football program ensures that there are always certified CPR, AED and First Aid members available during games and practices.
The program has been established since 2003, serving as an outlet for students seeking the opportunity to play college-level football. While finances have been an issue in the past and the university does provide a baseline level of funding, the majority of the team’s budget is raised directly by the players and program through fundraising and community support.
A request for a statement from the Supervisors of Sport Clubs program as well as the Chancellor’s office has not yet been returned.
The club football Officer Board is scheduled to meet with the Dean of Students on Monday, August 17, to formally appeal the decision. If the meeting fails to produce a resolution, the board is preparing a student petition to challenge the ruling and keep the program alive.