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As a student at Eastern Connecticut State University, you are expected to represent yourself, your team, and Eastern with honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, academically, athletically and socially. You must recognize that participation in an intercollegiate club team is a privilege, not a right, and should be treated as such.
The students representing Eastern’s intercollegiate club programs are a window to the University. Whether you are on-campus or off-campus, as a club student-athlete you are often in the spotlight and your behavior is subject to scrutiny by your peers, members of the campus, the media, and the local community. Your actions may result in a generalization to all students, your team, the athletics department, student activities and Eastern, be it positively or negatively.
All club student-athletes must comply at all times with civil and criminal laws, the individual team rules established by your head coach, and all other institutional policies set forth by Eastern. In no instance does this club student-athlete Code of Conduct exempt you from any of the systems of rules and regulations to which all Eastern students are otherwise required to adhere.
Rules around cancellation of games and practices- any schedule changes for games must be communicated to the Associate Athletic Director immediately. Coaches oversee coordinating field and/or travel arrangements, referee changes as well as rescheduling play. In the case of Ice Hockey, Student Activities will cancel or reschedule Joy Ru security when a cancellation occurs.
Practice parameters established by the University state that a club may not exceed 8 hours/week of official practice, including contact practices, plus up to 4 additional hours of captain's practices. Captain’s Practices: These student-led practices should be communicated to the Associate Athletic Director and the Assistant Director of Clubs and Organizations in Student Activities. Expectations for the captain’s practices include the assignment of student leaders (whoever is conducting the practice) chosen by the Head Coach and communicated to the Associate Athletic Director and the Assistant Director of Clubs and Organizations.
These student leaders will be responsible for the safety and well-being of their teammates and the facility being used. Contact will NOT be permitted in any way during these captain’s practices.
All purchases, paperwork, and collection of funds for equipment or fundraising must be requested and coordinated with the Student Activities Office. Reimbursements will not be submitted without preapproval for any students or coaches under any circumstances.
Students should not collect funds of any kind in cash, Venmo or any other bank app for team use. Fundraisers should be registered through Student Activities and online link for the collection of funds will be given to the team upon approval.
Athletic/Club Sport Hazing Policy: Eastern defines hazing as an act which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, or which destroys or removes public or private property, for the purpose of initiation or admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership, in a group or organization. Hazing in any form is a violation of the University’s student code of conduct and is subject to conduct procedures as set forth in the University’s student handbook. Hazing often involves more than one person, and frequently involves portions of athletic clubs. Any student club athlete or athletic club found in violation of the Hazing Policy will be:
The deadline to join any club sport is September 30 (for the fall semester) and 4 weeks after the Spring Club Fair (for the spring semester). Any requests for students to join the team after that date must be approved by the Associate Director of Athletics.
Medical clearance is required prior to participation in practices and games. Please see link to the medical clearance requirements and the preparticipation examination form below. It is the responsibility of the E-Board and/or Coach to provide the Associate Director of Athletics with a complete roster. New additions to the roster should include name, Eastern email address, date of birth and student ID#. Once received, student-athletes will be invited to our electronic medical record and can begin the process of completing medical clearance requirements.
All athletes must complete their medical clearance requirements through the Healthy Roster App.
Athletic Trainers MUST be present for contact practices. Draft contact practice schedules must be sent to Scott Smith and athletic trainers at the beginning of the semester. Approved schedules will be made available as soon as possible. Athletic Trainers will provide onsite care at practices for up to 4 hours per week. Contact practice must fit within the Athletic Trainers' hours, or the club will be responsible for coordinating and paying for EMTs/outside services.
To participate in club sports, you must maintain a GPA above 2.0. At Eastern, students must maintain a 2.0 grade point average to remain in “good academic standing” and to continue at Eastern after accumulating more than 45 credits. Failure to maintain the required GPA may result in a student being placed on academic probation or dismissed from the University. Students who fail to meet these academic standards may not hold an office in any student organization and should understand there may also be financial aid implications.
To participate in Club Sports, you must be a Full-Time student. To be considered full-time, you must have:
In addition to the normal procedures of forming a regular student organization there are several steps that must be taken before an organization can be recognized as an established Club Sport. Following student activities procedures, the organization must be recognized by the Student Senate, funded by the Budget and Management Committee of SGA, but instead of just reporting to the Director of Student Center /Activities, it will also report to the Director of Athletics or designee who will directly supervise the club sports. A club sports is defined as "any organization whose purpose is to practice, play, and/or compete in athletics with other institutions on and/ or off the campus that does not have Varsity Sport status. This section is designed to help explain the steps in detail so that after having read it the organization has all the information necessary for forming a club sport.
It is important to note that while the Student Government Association may have approved the establishment of a student organization it does not guarantee the University and the Department of Athletics are required or able to provide facilities and or fields for the club sport which it does not possess or have access to.
The base criteria to disestablish a club sport are:
The president should delegate and review the following tasks with the rest of the E-Board members.
Club Sports will practice and compete only on facilities designated and approved by the Athletic Director or designee. The Athletic Director has the right and responsibility to determine the playability of all Eastern facilities and may cancel any practice/competition based on weather and field conditions. ANY off-campus facility use MUST be approved by the Director of Student Activities or his/her appointee.
To reserve facilities, the executive board and/ or coach should contact the Athletic equipment manager.
If the University is closed due to weather, then no practices or games should be held both off and on campus.
Each sport must have a coach who satisfies the following conditions.
The Club will submit resumes of interested candidates to the Athletic Director along with the names and phone numbers of three individuals who can provide professional recommendations for the candidate. The Director of Athletics or designee and the Director of Student Activities or designee will be responsible for approving the hiring of a coach. The Club Sport must allocate a portion of its budget to pay a stipend to its coach. Once the Athletic Director has approved a Coaching Candidate all required paperwork will be processed by the Director of Student Center/Activities or his/her designee.
All injuries (even those seemingly minor) must be reported to the club's coach and an athletic trainer. The coach must submit an email to the Associate Director of Athletics (see below).
Club student-athletes must be full time students at Eastern Connecticut State University and are required to hold their own primary health insurance in order to participate.
Participants who refuse medical assistance or choose to go to their own doctor or to the hospital of their own accord do so at their own risk.
Anyone seeking payment of medical bills associated with an injury incurred during participation in club sports must have informed the Associate Director of Athletics at the time of injury.
Furthermore, participants must submit claims to their own insurance company first; the University's accident insurance will only reimburse for covered expenses incurred within two years of the date of the accident which exceeds any applicable deductible, or the total of benefits received from any other insurance.
All emails should include the following and should be sent day of injury to the Associate Director of Athletics:
Athletic trainers and or the Associate Director of Athletics will respond accordingly. It is the student athlete’s responsibility to check in with the Athletic trainer after their injury. The athletic trainers will be included in all response emails.
First Aid Kit There must be a first aid kit at the site of all practices, games, and/or matches at all times. It will be the club's responsibility to purchase a complete First Aid kit and replenish it with the necessary supplies as necessary. This will NOT be supplied by the Athletic Department, but its contents must be reviewed and approved by a Certified Athletic Trainers employed by Eastern Connecticut State University.
An AED must be on the site of all competitions and within 2 minutes of the site of practices. It is the responsibility of the Advisor to secure an AED from either the University Police Department or the Athletic Department.
A certified Athletic Trainer or EMT must be present and on site for all games or matches considered to be home contests. Some club sports may be required to have an Athletic Trainer or EMT present at all contact practices. This will be determined by the Athletic Director or designee.
If University vans are used to travel to games and practices, the driver must be van certified and must be a student or employee of the university with a valid license. The club must complete a travel authorization form, signed by the Club Advisor anytime traveling off campus. In doing so they assume all risks associated with such. All travel by organizations and clubs must have the approval of the Director of Student Center Activities.
A TA (Travel Authorization Form) is required by all clubs and organizations when traveling as a club activity, whether it is in state or out of state, even if there are no expenses incurred. When a club is going out of state or when staying overnight on an in-state trip, an advisor must accompany the group. TAs must be received by the Student Activities Office at least two weeks before your trip, or the group will be unable to attend the trip. Attached to the TA, there must be a roster of all the individuals traveling and itineraries and/or schedules, which provide the necessary detail for each vendor.
Updated August 2025