2008 Woodie Awards
Club baseball's back at PUC
By: Jeremy Homan
Issue date: 1/22/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
This spring will be the start of the inaugural PUC club baseball team. Two roommates, juniors Darren Zancan and Brad Calvart, established the team in the fall of 2006.
"We were looking through all the universities and colleges in the area and saw that there were a lot of smaller schools that have baseball teams," said Zancan.
After talking to officials around campus they started a student organization, which required them to have a president, vice president, and advisor; Zancan, Calvart and Intramural Sports Coordinator Matt Dudzik, respectively.
From there they started building the roster and within three days there were 12 games scheduled. The team will remain a club sport for at least this year and possibly the next couple.
"Our immediate goal is to become intercollegiate next year," said Zancan.
According to newly established Head Coach David Funk, if the necessary paper work is filed in time then the team can become intercollegiate next year.
Funk previously coached at Calumet College during the fall season, and after a long talk with the team he was hired.
"It was really a stroke of luck," said Funk.
Funk will be bringing in two assistant coaches, his father Dimitrius Funk and Frank Eccles.
The team will raise most of their funding themselves. On Saturday, the team is hosting a Playstation 2 Madden Football tournament with a $20 buy-in and the team is also looking to hold a Battle of the Bands. The Chancellor has agreed to match the money the team raises with university funds up to $2000.
They will also be raising funds for the Chicago White Sox Training Academy, featuring John Mallee's Pro Style Hitting, where they will be hitting and pitching twice a week.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Melinda Dalgarn has agreed to help transport fans and possibly even the team to the games because the team does not have a homefield.
The team will travel as far as Michigan for a tournament with Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo.
Because this is the teams first year, they see it as an advantage against other teams since no one has seen them play. Right now the team is carrying roughly 20 players and hopes to increase that number.
The team has roughly 29 games scheduled for the season, which kicks off March 17 when they travel to IUN.
"We were looking through all the universities and colleges in the area and saw that there were a lot of smaller schools that have baseball teams," said Zancan.
After talking to officials around campus they started a student organization, which required them to have a president, vice president, and advisor; Zancan, Calvart and Intramural Sports Coordinator Matt Dudzik, respectively.
From there they started building the roster and within three days there were 12 games scheduled. The team will remain a club sport for at least this year and possibly the next couple.
"Our immediate goal is to become intercollegiate next year," said Zancan.
According to newly established Head Coach David Funk, if the necessary paper work is filed in time then the team can become intercollegiate next year.
Funk previously coached at Calumet College during the fall season, and after a long talk with the team he was hired.
"It was really a stroke of luck," said Funk.
Funk will be bringing in two assistant coaches, his father Dimitrius Funk and Frank Eccles.
The team will raise most of their funding themselves. On Saturday, the team is hosting a Playstation 2 Madden Football tournament with a $20 buy-in and the team is also looking to hold a Battle of the Bands. The Chancellor has agreed to match the money the team raises with university funds up to $2000.
They will also be raising funds for the Chicago White Sox Training Academy, featuring John Mallee's Pro Style Hitting, where they will be hitting and pitching twice a week.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Melinda Dalgarn has agreed to help transport fans and possibly even the team to the games because the team does not have a homefield.
The team will travel as far as Michigan for a tournament with Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo.
Because this is the teams first year, they see it as an advantage against other teams since no one has seen them play. Right now the team is carrying roughly 20 players and hopes to increase that number.
The team has roughly 29 games scheduled for the season, which kicks off March 17 when they travel to IUN.
Be the first to comment on this story