By now you’ve likely heard a lot about the successes of our Club Sports teams. Several of these teams have made national headlines! Director of Club Sports Mikaela Sites gives us a look into these popular, unique, and up-and-coming sports.
Mikaela’s Club Sports Q & A
We currently offer Disc Golf, Cornhole, Esports, Spirit and Women’s Flag Football as Club Sports under Athletics.
We are actively exploring and developing several new Club Sports opportunities to add additional programs in Fall 2027. Some programs under consideration for the future include Men’s Volleyball, Tennis, Pickleball, Swim & Dive, Men’s Lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee, Drone, Cycling, Rugby and Ice Hockey. Stay tuned for future announcements as these plans develop!
Absolutely! Cornhole and Esports are two particularly strong examples, with both programs earning national championships and helping attract students to Winthrop because of their competitive opportunities. Our Women’s Flag Football program is also generating early momentum, with our head coach already helping bring prospective students to campus during the program’s inaugural year.
Cornhole and Esports have not only recruited a great number of student-athletes to Winthrop, but high academic students, with over 90% retention, and students from not just throughout the United States, but the world. Students are here from New York, California, Texas and Hawaii along with Canada, Turkey and South Korea.
We benefit from strong connections within the sporting community and partnerships with nationally recognized organizations, including Innova and the American Cornhole League. These relationships help us identify qualified individuals with the competitive experience, coaching knowledge, and leadership skills needed to build successful programs.
For Women’s Flag Football, we were lucky to have one of Winthrop’s faculty members, Joni Boyd ’07, ’20, ’21, professor of exercise science, serve as a key consultant to the club. She is a former women’s professional football quarterback and current girls flag football coach at Northwestern High School. She has helped shape the program from the start and assisted in identifying an experienced head coach.
We look for coaches who bring more than just sport-specific expertise. We choose individuals who are committed to student development, creating a positive team culture and representing Winthrop with pride. Our goal is to establish programs that are competitive while also supporting academic, personal and professional growth.
Our teams compete locally, regionally and nationally! Depending on the sport, competition may include collegiate tournaments, national championship events and other major competitions. Internationally, some of our Esports students have represented Winthrop at a competition in Brazil and others are headed to the Bahamas later this year.
Both! My department falls under Winthrop Athletics and operates on a hybrid model that is intentionally designed to increase recruitment and retention for the university, much like the varsity sports do. There are also clubs that operate as student organizations under Student Affairs that are funded by the Student Government Association. Athletics and Student Affairs at Winthrop have a great relationship and intentionally partner to ensure amazing opportunities for all students on campus to participate in things they are passionate about.
Yes! Current students are encouraged to explore participation opportunities with our existing and future Club Sports programs. As we introduce new sports, student involvement will be essential to building strong rosters, establishing team culture and creating sustainable programs. Any interested students should contact the individual coach for information about joining the team.
Winthrop provides varying levels of resources to support Club Sports based on each program’s needs, roster size and operational requirements. Resources may support areas such as coaching, travel, equipment and other essential program needs. Teams also pursue fundraising and sponsorship opportunities to supplement university support. Our long-term goal is to continue developing sustainable programs that provide meaningful experiences for students while responsibly managing the resources available.
We are seeing encouraging engagement, and increasing student awareness and participation is an important priority as the program continues to grow. Part of my role is to increase the visibility of our teams across campus and strengthen connections between Club Sports and the broader Winthrop community. As we continue to grow, we hope to build an even stronger culture of support and school pride around Club Sports.
We are working to create a centralized location for all Club Sport competitions! For the time being, check out each program’s social media accounts and websites for program updates.
Thank you, Mikaela, for this deep dive into the world of Club Sports. We’re excited to watch these Club Sports explode in popularity and attract even more students to Winthrop! Be on the lookout for our next Q&A edition in the November Update!
