The date was January 22, 2025. At the time I had just finished the transfer student application process for the 2025/26 academic year at Sonoma State. This was the day that the SSU community was shaken to its core. It was announced that there would be sweeping cuts of departments and programs due to the massive budget deficit that the university was facing.
This was a major shock. I had known many people who were at SSU when this happened, and all I had heard from people was how appalling this announcement was. Also part of those changes was the fact that NCAA Division II athletics would be no more by the end of the spring 2025 semester. When I saw this, it definitely affected my expectations for my time at SSU.
Fast forward to now. It’s just over a year later, and we have since gained a new university president in Michael Spagna, and he and his new team has outlined their plans to bring back competitive NCAA athletics. When I am walking around campus, I can’t help but notice all of the sports venues and the sports fields, empty and quiet. Yes, we have club and intramural sports that use all of these, but the return of NCAA athletics would be the ultimate morale booster for our university.
Last semester, I wrote an article about a San Francisco Giants game that I went to in the fall, and I specifically tried to focus on the feeling of the fanbase inside the ballpark. I was imagining what it would feel like to go to a basketball game in the Wolves Den, or to a Seawolves baseball game out at the baseball field. Every college student, regardless if they are at a D1 school, a DIII or a junior college, should be able to cheer on their sports teams with all the school spirit and pride that they can muster.
I asked my fellow Seawolf Angel Chavez, a transfer student from San Francisco, what it would mean to him if sports made a return. He said, “I think it would give students the opportunity to take part in more extracurricular activities, and to meet new people from other schools.” This perspective showed me that it would really mean a lot to this community to have sports back.
Sports are what brings communities together, especially at a university. I have been to a handful of college sporting events throughout my life. I’ve been to a Cal football game in Berkeley, a college basketball game at UC Irvine, and I’ve even been fortunate enough to go to a Michigan game at the largest stadium in the U.S., Michigan Stadium.
Yes, these are three completely different places, but they all had one thing in common: a shared passion for college sports. Obviously the Michigan game was an unforgettable experience, but even the UC games had tons of energy. The student sections were always going crazy for their teams, along with the rest of the home crowds. Something super cool happens when your team or the opposing team feeds off your energy; you want to encourage your team and distract the heck out of the opposing team. Our school needs this, and when we do get it back, it will be a momentous occasion.
