Ask any club sports athlete if they know Cristine McCarthy, and the reaction is always the same: You get a chuckle and a roll of the eyes. "Yeah, I know her," they'll say, before pausing to carefully consider what to say next.
McCarthy is famous for being blunt and down to business. As the coordinator of intramural and club sports, she oversees the 33 club sports and dozens of intramural sports on campus.
Many students interact with her on a weekly — and sometimes daily — basis. And dealing with her is not always easy. McCarthy's policy is that if you aren't five minutes early, you are late. She's known to lock the door to a meeting seconds after it has started, leaving those who don't arrive on McCarthy Time on the outside looking in.
One student-athlete said that McCarthy's authoritativeness takes all the fun out of playing intramural sports. "She takes it a lot more seriously than intramurals should be taken," this student said.
More than a dozen students interviewed by The Daily Princetonian painted a picture of an administrator who has built up animosity through her brash style and intensity.
The students spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern that their comments would sour their relationship with McCarthy and the Department of Athletics.
For her part, McCarthy defends herself and the way she runs her program. She said in interviews with the 'Prince' that she believes she has a good relationship with the student body and that she works hard to make the program a success.
"I try to impress upon the students that I want them to feel comfortable [coming] to talk to me," McCarthy said.
Despite the criticism leveled at her, McCarthy has her defenders — including students — who recognize her efforts to raise the profile of amateur sports on campus.
"She is dedicated and always wants more publicity for club sports," said junior Will McEachern, the co-captain of the club basketball team. "She is behind us and wants us to be recognized for what we do."
That recognition, some athletes said, is crucial when it comes to building more financial support for club and intramural athletics at Princeton — in itself one of the significant hurdles facing amateur athletics on campus.
Funding scarce
Students said that after concerns about McCarthy, their second challenge is finding a way to fund the amateur teams they play on. Club and intramural athletes said that they simply aren't provided enough money to support their teams' most basic needs.
Senior Bryan Comis, the president of the men's club soccer team, said that his team has been forced to find new avenues for financial support.
"This year, our membership dues are $75 per person," Comis said. "We are not buying any new jerseys and balls this year. We need money to play in tournaments."
Another club sports president, speaking on the condition of anonymity, seconded Comis' feelings about funding. "We do a lot of fundraising," she said. "We want to start asking alumni for money."
"They know what it's like to not have enough money to do certain things."
McCarthy acknowledged the funding problem, describing it as "unfortunate." But she said that until a solution is found, students should work aggressively to find alternative funding avenues.
Approximately 20 percent of all undergraduates participate in club sports each year. The numbers for intramurals are even larger. According to David Leach, associate athletic director of campus recreation, a safe estimate is that over half of all students on campus have participated in an intramural event during their time at Princeton.
An executive board consisting of four club sports athletes nominated by their peers — and overseen by McCarthy — acts as a support structure for the 33 club teams and helps solve problems that each team encounters.
Senior Rafe Steinhauer, a member of the men's club Ultimate Frisbee team and the treasurer of the executive board, explained that the board's major concern is allocating University funding to each of the teams, subject to McCarthy's approval.
"We are there to help the clubs in any way they need," Steinhauer said. "Our main responsibility comes in the spring, when we help teams write their projected budgets for the coming year."
McCarthy declined to provide the figure for how much the University budgets for club sports. Steinhauer said he was not allowed to share the number publicly, but club sports presidents interviewed for this article estimated the figure to be between $20,000 and $40,000.
The amount of money each team receives depends on several factors.
"[It] partly depends on how dedicated each team is towards competing intercollegiately," Steinhauer said. "We really want to encourage teams to play outside of campus."
Steinhauer also noted that there is a championship fund and a travel initiative fund that teams may use if they are traveling over 200 miles or have qualified for an important tournament.
Tom Migdalski, the director of club sports at Yale, noted that the recent addition of a student activities fee — a $50 payment added to each student's tuition — has helped increase funding for their club sports program at that school.
"Partial funding [for club sports] comes from the athletic department, and the rest comes from the student activities fee," Migdalski said. "It has more than doubled our available funding."
More challenges
Aside from inadequate funding, club sports teams had to cope with other problems. The University treasurer's office, several students said, has been slow in processing checks that teams often need right away.
"People were hesitant to referee for our team because they knew they wouldn't receive the money for at least a month, sometimes more," said Rebecca Garr '06, a former member of the women's club soccer team and its treasurer for two years.
"I'm not sure if that is something the Office of Campus Recreation can control, but it's definitely an issue," Garr added.
Club athletes also cite the lack of funds for adequate medical support. Because the teams lack their own trainers, the teams must rely heavily on University Health Services.
"The biggest thing that club sports needs is medical staffing," said Steinhauer, a Club Ultimate player and treasurer of the club sports executive board. "We really need a full time athletic trainer."
Garr expressed that the lack of medical support from the University can be detrimental to players and teams.
"It is extremely frustrating when a club player — one who represents the University in games throughout the Northeast and even throughout the country — gets injured during the game and receives no assistance from the University," Garr said.
McCarthy, though controversial, has attempted to help teams with their problems in the past. She said she tried adamantly to set up transportation for the teams from West Windsor fields, where many teams' evening practices are held.
"We did a study to look at what the cost breakout would be to have a dedicated vehicle shuttling back and forth," McCarthy said. "The cost was quite high. [The estimate for the entire] school year [was that] it would cost $26,000."
Yet another problem is the state of the facilities and playing fields. The teams often do not get the support from the University that they need to maintain their fields.
One club sports captain, said it would be in the best interest of the University to maintain the club sports facilities.
"The University should take pride in club sports and not want those teams to be an embarrassment," this student said. "We've actually had other teams come to our field and laugh at us because of the state of the field."
"Other schools should never laugh at Princeton."
Another club sports president echoed that sentiment: "There could be more funding diverted from varsity programs for club sports," she said. "It would be nice if they gave us access to a weight room and maintained field lines."
McCarthy said she is just as frustrated with the system as everyone else and that she wishes things were different. And, perhaps ironically, she's in need of support from the University just as much as the athletes.
In her current position, McCarthy directs both intramural and club sports. And in trying to control both programs at once, she may be outdoing herself, several students said.
"I think that intramurals should be separate from club sports," one club sports president said. "Intramurals take up a lot of time because they are run continuously. People play everyday. If someone else took that over, it would be better."
McCarthy noted that the separation of the two offices is foreseeable in the future. "With the addition of the new residential college, the plan is to have the position split so that more time can be dedicated to each particular area."
For now, though, students will keep waiting. Princetonian senior writer Karl Micka-Foos contributed reporting to this article.
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