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Michigan State Club Water Polo seeks to reclaim national prominence and possibly elevate team status

Head coach Matt Latham telling his players how he wants them to hold the ball during a drill.
Cameron McClarren
/
Cameron McClarren
Head coach Matt Latham telling his players how he wants them to hold the ball during a drill.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrecked much of the last two years, leading to a delay in the women defending its Big Ten title. But there is also a bigger discussion - should the women be a varsity sport?

EAST LANSING, Mich. — It’s 8 p.m. on a Tuesday, and members of Michigan State’s women’s club water polo team are filing in along the IM West indoor pool deck to start their Big Ten title defense.

It’s been two years in the making, as the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns prevented them from competing. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to shut down for two years, they are in a good position to make another run at the Conference title and a possible national championship.

The team competes in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s (CWPA) Big Ten Conference. The Spartans won six straight Big Ten titles, from 2001-2006, and consistently finish in the top-half of the conference every year. They have also won three national titles and finished ninth in the national championships during their last appearance in 2019.

“I know we have a good group of athletes,” said Coach Matt Latham. “I definitely think a Big Ten title is possible, but we have a lot to learn and a lot of ground to make up to do it.”

This is a storied program at an athletic powerhouse university that, given its recent success, should be in the conversation to make the jump to varsity status.

The Michigan Model

Part of the reason why the team believes it should be in the conversation to go to varsity status is because another Big Ten school has already done it. One located just down the road.

The University of Michigan has played Division 1 women’s water polo since 2001, but they also have two club teams that currently compete against the Spartans in the CWPA. Michigan’s varsity program has made the NCAA tournament in five of the past six years, and their top club team has finished in the top two in the Big Ten since 2010.

The team, which features two new classes who have yet to play a collegiate match, also has to teach the newcomers the basics of water polo before their first match in February.
Cameron McClarren
/
Cameron McClarren
The team, which features two new classes who have yet to play a collegiate match, also has to teach the newcomers the basics of water polo before their first match in February.

“I think that would be really nice to see,” said Alanah Soriano, president of the MSU women’s club water polo team. “We play against their club team and they are pretty good too, and then they have their varsity team, which they are just next level. It would be nice to see Michigan State open up that opportunity for girls that want to play at a higher level.”

Latham has had conversations with the head coach of Michigan’s varsity water polo team, Dr. Marcelo Leonardi, and coaches within the Indiana University water polo program, with both expressing the desire in MSU jumping to varsity status.

“They are all about it and would love to have it,” said Latham. “Could you imagine having a Big Ten Conference of this? I’ve seen it at the club level, how competitive it is, and the Big Ten rivalries that bring out the best in competition. I think it would be great for the sport.”

The foundational problems

One shortcoming of most programs looking to go D1 is Title IX. According to the NCAA, schools are Title IX compliant if there are equitable opportunities to participate in sports, athletes receive scholarships relative to their participation, and there is equitable treatment of athletes regarding equipment, travel, scheduling, among others.

The first condition can be satisfied by providing opportunities that are proportionate to the makeup of the student body, which is why MSU has one more women’s sports program than men’s since the student body is 52% female. Adding women’s water polo would make women’s athletics disproportionate to the student body, meaning the university would have to add a men’s varsity sport.

Latham noted, however, that if MSU needs a men’s team to go up with women’s water polo, there’s a men’s water polo team that has proven they should be in the running. The Spartan men’s club water polo team has won 13 Big Ten titles and just won its fourth national title last November.

“Title IX shouldn’t be an issue because you can add both,” said Latham. “That's usually the biggest obstacle for sports, but to me that’s the easiest thing about water polo.”

Water polo is still a niche sport, mostly only seen during the Summer Olympics every four years, so you would think that there wouldn’t be a lot of interest in the sport.

However, Hannah Frazier, who coaches water polo and is in her fifth season on MSU’s women’s club team, has noticed that the once California-centered sport has become increasingly popular in Michigan. Club programs, like Wolverine Water Polo, are adding more age-specific teams to meet demand.

“It’s insane how much younger you can start playing water polo,” said Frazier. “Even in Ann Arbor, Wolverine Water Polo wasn’t really a thing until I was in middle school. First it was just high school players, then they added on a 14U, then they added middle schoolers, and now they have a masters team.”

Funding & facilities

Title IX and participation issues aside, the team faces bigger issues such as the need for increased funding and better facilities.

MSU club sports, such as the water polo teams, are self-financed. They pay for their own uniforms and equipment, often paying higher prices in order to represent MSU on their apparel. Club dues, which cover tournament and hotel costs as well as coaching fees, can be as much as $400. Just a suit, trademarked with the Spartan logo, costs $75 each.

The question of funding is not only centered on the noticeable, but it coincides with the larger problem: the facilities.

“If we were to have a varsity team, the facilities would have to be updated,” said Lilly Zink, apparel chair for the women’s club water polo team. “In order to pull the amount of people we need and the funding we need, we would need a better pool if we wanted to become a varsity team.”

The MSU women’s club water polo team begins their second week of practice with a long swim set.
Cameron McClarren
/
Cameron McClarren
The MSU women’s club water polo team begins their second week of practice with a long swim set.

UM and the University of Southern California have both renovated their pool facilities to continue aquatic supremacy in the 21st century. Michigan’s Canham Natatorium was renovated in 1998 for $8.5 million and will host this year’s NCAA women’s water polo championship. USC, the reigning NCAA women’s water polo national champions, received an $8 million gift from a former men’s swimming program captain to build a new facility in 2014.

In recent months, MSU has made strides in trying to upgrade their facilities, including the planning of a new IM facility that would replace the current IM West. There are also plans for the construction of artificial turf fields with a proposed budget of $13 million. Both projects are set to be funded by the new student recreational fee.

Since the team began practice on Jan. 10, concept drawings for the new IM recreation center were released. Though, according to the university, the center would, “address current student recreation and fitness needs,” the drawings lacked one major facility: a pool.

“I honestly felt kind of disgusted,” said Frazier. “If I am paying for a new ‘IM West’, I would like for my money to go towards part of a facility that my players could use after I’m gone with a really nice pool, great balls, great goals. We could even get a swim team back.”

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