First of Its Kind: Utah Women Launch State's Only University Club Basketball Team

By Natalie Newton

 

 

Enter the George S. Eccles Student Life Center after 5 p.m. at the University of Utah any day of the week, and the sounds of shoes squeaking, balls bouncing and nets swishing can be heard echoing out of the gym. Pickup basketball draws dozens of students to the courts after classes end for the night.

In these games, male students dominate the courts, with a female student or two some nights. Girls who played basketball in high school but aren’t on a college team, like Ella McDonald, said it can be hard to find opportunities to keep playing.

Recognizing this gap, McDonald took a historic step last fall by founding the first and only women's basketball club at any university in Utah. She made the decision, she said, after repeatedly finding herself with only one option: trying to join games filled with male students. She knew other women wanted to play — they just weren't gathering in numbers at the same time.

“There weren't any clubs. And then for intramurals, they didn't even have women's," McDonald said.

Her initiative created a middle ground between casual intramurals and the highly competitive NCAA team, opening doors for female students who love basketball but lacked organized playing opportunities beyond high school.

“I kind of did it by myself,” McDonald said about starting the new club from the ground up. “That was definitely a little daunting.”

The team's launch coincides with surging interest in women's basketball, creating a timely opportunity for female students seeking the camaraderie, competition and community that organized basketball provides.

Team point guard Sydney Europa, who helped get the club started, said she became frustrated with the constant barriers women face when attempting to play the sport they love. 

“We have intramurals but it’s really only guys who play on the teams, and it’s very hard as a girl to get on,” she said. “I’ll … sit for like two hours and get in one game, and then lose, and probably be done for the night because nobody wants to let me in on their team.”

As the only collegiate women's club basketball team in Utah, finding competition presented a unique challenge. Instagram became their most successful channel for connecting with other clubs and planning games, McDonald said.

Without other in-state university clubs to compete against, the team joined women's basketball recreation leagues around Salt Lake County, playing against a different demographic than they had anticipated, said team vice president Eden Schulz.

“It was an older women's league but they were probably anywhere from 20s to 40s, age range,”  she added. “It was just one league, and everyone played.”

The team was able to find some success, hosting the Colorado State University women's club basketball team in the fall for a series of games. Building on that connection, they traveled to CSU in late April to compete in a tournament against other universities' club teams, Schulz said.

“A lot of us want to travel, just cause it’s fun,” she added. “You get to go to a new place, hang out with your teammates, stay in a house together, play games against other colleges instead of just leagues around Utah.”

However, travel requires money, and finances presented an obstacle for the pioneering club, said team secretary Georgia Hatton.

“With the club being brand new, it’s been harder to be able to fund everything that we’re doing,” she said. “The more that we can have financially, the more opportunity we have to… go play in different states.”

Travel became necessary to play other schools because no women's club teams exist at other universities in the state, said Europa.

"We're the only school in the state of Utah that has a club team, so if we wanted to play other schools we have to go out of state," she added.

They also needed money for uniforms and equipment, said McDonald. They raised funds through several channels, including GoFundMe, Snap Raise, Little Caesars, and Associated Students of the University of Utah, the U’s student government organization. 

“We have ways of getting money, they’re just really hard,” Schulz said. 

McDonald said ASUU gave the team $160, for example, which isn’t enough to fund travel or gear.

Despite the challenges, the club grew from the first semester to the second — starting with about seven girls in the fall, but attracting so many people in spring tryouts that they had to make cuts, Europa said. The demand led to girls willing to only attend practices without traveling or playing in games.

“We want to give girls the opportunity to just be competitive and still feel like they have a place to play basketball,” Hatton said. “Creating a space where girls can come and play… on the same level is something that’s important.”

The club team has filled that gap in its first year at Utah. Female students looking for a place to play basketball with their peers have the chance. The founders, McDonald said, remain hopeful about the club’s future.

“My plan is to leave it in somebody's hands and to keep it going, pass everything on,” McDonald said. “Everything's set in place to keep going.”