Profile: Helping casual athletes ‘join the club’

But the club sports program has not always been so successful. Until 2007, the same administrator managed both the club sports and intramurals programs at Princeton. There was a lack of funds, playing fields, equipment and, more importantly, satisfaction with either program. It wasn’t until Mitch Reum was hired as the assistant director of campus recreation for sport clubs that the University decided to separate the administration of club and intramural sports.

When Reum took over, he was handed the reins to a program that was essentially on life support. He hoped to mold it into something better and capitalize on the enormous amount of potential that club sports held for the community.

“Students who I get to interact with are involved in not just their sport but also are studying to be rocket scientists, like to go ice climbing in the winter, are studying abroad or doing their thesis work in Africa,” he said in an email. “To be able to provide them, even in a small way, with either an outlet from the rigors of their academics or to help enhance that learning is a privilege.”

Reum recognized that in order to be successful, he would need to revitalize the relationship between himself, the executive council and students. He decided to expand the number of students that hold seats on the executive council.

“[It] expanded the number of leadership positions within sport clubs,” he said. “It also allowed us to bring more clubs in to be involved with the roles of the executive council, which are primarily allocating budgets, approving new clubs and representing the program to the University as a whole, and this next year will include working to better our social networking presence, marketing of the club program and officer training.”

A native of Phoenix, Reum’s involvement in club sports is deeply rooted in his own past. After playing varsity football in high school, Reum went on to play club rugby at the University of Miami. At the University of Florida, he served as the graduate assistant for the sport club program.

At Princeton, Reum focuses on giving financial and administrative support to all club sports teams on a general level. His approach of structured support allows captains to take a more hands-on approach, teaching teams to be independent and proactive in running their sport.

“All our team’s tournament fees, gas money and other expenses go through Mitch’s office,” Adlai Felser ’13, captain of the ultimate frisbee team, said. “He helps us set up a realistic budget for the year and follow through by sticking to it.”

Each team submits an annual budget proposal in the spring for the upcoming school year. And while funding has improved since the intramural and club sports were split, budgeting remains one of Reum’s biggest challenges.

“Sometimes we are not able to provide all that a club wants, but we hopefully have been able to find a balance that benefits everyone equally,” he said. “For budgets, we average just under $3,000 to each club that requests money. That funding helps pay for buses, rental vehicles, officials, gas and tolls, team equipment and contingency funds to help clubs out with any unexpected costs or needs.”

Rebecca Thorsness ’13, a member of the executive council who has worked closely with Reum, pointed to his genuine enthusiasm and involvement with the status of each team.

“He can go from talking about rugby tournament field scheduling to explaining how horses are selected at equestrian team shows to giving a history of club soccer in the Ivy League,” she said.

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Thorsness also noted how well Reum handles the more administrative aspects of the position so teams can worry about playing rather than paperwork.

“[He] is really good about explaining why things happen the way they do. What looked like endless bureaucracy before now makes a little bit of sense,” she said.

Besides giving students opportunities to be involved in athletics, Reum finds time to play his own sports as well. Reum serves as an umpire for high school and travel baseball and tries to ride his Suzuki GSX-R600 motorcycle — painted black and orange in typical Tiger pride — as often as his busy schedule allows.

Reum said he is committed to pushing club sports to remain a dominating force in the campus’ sport culture.

“We have the opportunity to reach almost 1,000 students through the sport club program, whether it is used as an escape from academics, a stress reliever, an opportunity to compete or for fitness,” he said. “When combined with the experience that our students gain outside the classroom, hopefully it makes for a positive and lasting impression on the Princeton community.”