Kelsey Orrill remembers what participating in club sports meant to her when she was in college. As an assistant director in Campus Recreation, a big part of Orrill’s job is overseeing sport clubs. Between 800-1,000 students participate in 26 club sports at Illinois State. Two more clubs will be added in 2024-25.  

“I love working with the officers and clubs because I know the important, positive impact these experiences have on their college experience,” Orrill said. 

Feedback from students and alumni shows that participating in a club sport ranks near the top when it comes to feeling a strong connection to the University, a fact not lost on Orrill. 

“If you walk the Quad, you can see students wearing their sport club apparel. They are proud to belong to their team, and for many it becomes an aspect of their identity here on campus,” she said. “These activities result in strong bonds.”

Justin Goforth is treasurer of the table tennis club, which was established as a registered student organization in 2017; he’ll soon move into the president’s job. Table tennis is open to anyone with an interest in the sport. The season is year-round, and the team competes in events sanctioned by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association. 

Goforth, a mathematics teacher education major from Lincoln, will be a sophomore this fall. He said his favorite thing about the table tennis club is that he gets engrossed in a sport that briefly takes his attention away from the rigors of the academic calendar. 

“Practice is a blocked-out portion of each week that is stable,” he said. “I can escape the worries of my schoolwork.”

Goforth applauded Campus Recreation for providing activities where students can get to know each other through a shared interest in a sport. He also likes that the sport he plays is straightforward but challenging. 

“One reason people join table tennis specifically is because the sport is simple at its core,” he said. “But it also requires a high skill level.”

Allie Vosberg is president of the women’s water polo club. A communication and business major from Rockford, Vosberg will be a senior this fall and has participated in water polo all three years at Illinois State.

The team practices three times a week at Horton Pool and competes in three competitive tournaments and two nonconference tournaments in the Collegiate Water Polo Association. 

“There was some good competition this year, and it’s fun to compete with teams of similar strength as us,” Vosberg said. 

Teams get an allocation from Campus Recreation to help fund their travel. To raise additional funds, Vosberg said her team organized a fundraiser scrimmage and sold T-shirts. 

Vosberg participated in water sports in high school as a member of the swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming teams, but no experience is required to join the water polo club, which carries 25 members during the season. Vosberg was already an athlete, but she saw the social benefits of joining a sport club. 

“I saw water polo at Festival ISU, and figured I’d give it a try,” she said. “I like the friendships I’ve made. It was nice to join a team and make some good friends right away.”