New Year, New Clubs: Loyola’s Club Sports Scene Grows to 24

On Aug. 25 from 12-3 p.m., the Campus Recreation Department hosted the Campus Recreational Club Sports Fair, giving students the opportunities to interact with the Campus Recreation staff and Club Sport athletes. 

At the Lake Shore Campus, West Quad tables lined the border of the field, packed with information regarding the various sports offered.

The fair highlighted the numerous activities offered by Campus Recreation — intramural sports, group fitness, open recreation, a rock wall, aquatic events, e-sports competitions and even board game nights.

Campus Recreation’s doors are open whether students are looking to join a program with years of history or building one from scratch. There are 24 active Club Sports from long-established teams like the women’s Club Volleyball to brand-new additions, like the Triathlon Club. 

The full list of current clubs can be found on LUCommunity, but there’s a distinction between sports and interest clubs. Club Sports must compete a minimum of 3 to 4 times throughout a school year to keep their status and classification, as well as funding. 

Third-year biology major Maia Jones is the women’s Club Volleyball president and the Club Sports Student Lead, working under the professional staff in Campus Recreation to oversee all 24 clubs.

Jones said her mission is to make her team feel like family. She holds open gyms, giving the girls an opportunity to connect and familiarize themselves with the team and their level of competition. As the president, she describes the purpose of tryouts as a way to gauge the skill level of players beforehand.

“There were still nerves, of course,” Jones said. “You’re always hoping you’ll make the team — but the way they structured the process helped take some of the stress out of it.”

The sense of family extends past the roster as third-year information systems and accounting and analytics major Shafique Mohammed met Jones while practicing for club sports tryouts in Halas Recreation Center.

Jones explained one of the things she likes about the club is the opportunity to make friends and meet with people in her free time. Every year, clubs open up to a new group of people from different backgrounds with different playing styles, she said.

“Our biggest goal is getting everyone aligned under the same system,” Mohammed said. “Having people who are open-minded and willing to try new styles is always a good sign.”

That openness, Mohammed said, is what he’s most looking forward to this year. New teammates, new dynamics, and — in his own words — some new beginnings.

Not every student will want a year-round competitive commitment, which is where intramurals come in.

Campus Recreation recently adopted the Fusion Play software as a new system which allows Loyola students, faculty, staff and participants to register either as a team or as a free agent. 

Second-year Connor McNamara is the current president of the Triathlon Club and said he hopes to share his love of running with his peers. During McNamara’s first semester at Loyola, he met second-year environmental science major Jens Istvan. They both sought to start the school’s first Triathlon Club and proposed the idea to the Club Sports office.

McNamara met with the Club Sports office in fall 2025, and by the spring semester they were allowed to start recruiting interest. 

Not only did McNamara and Istvan have to propose the idea, they had to make a plan for how they would support themselves without funding from the school for a whole school year and the location where they could compete and practice as space was limited. The club has to run unfunded from the school during the first year, so Campus Recreation can confirm the club will be consistent with recurring membership.

Once the Club Sports office reviews the plan and confirms the team is sustainable, they’re allowed to compete as an official Club Sport the following year. As long as the club remains active for the year and meets the competition requirement, it’s allowed to be active.

During the initial planning phase, McNamara and Istvan reached out to schools with current Triathlon clubs to understand more about the planning.

“We have to be intentional with funding, so we had a plan laid out,” McNamara said. 

This school year, the club’s finances are based on the members’ dues, as this allows them to apply for competition.

With three run practices and two swim practices a week, McNamara developed a plan to bring his club members to their best potential. He’s not alone, though, with a total of six executive board members.

“Our goal is to prepare our club members to compete and help them achieve their goals,” McNamara said.