Basketball is considered one of the major sports at the college level, but it’s been the one that Cleary University has been missing since starting an athletic program from scratch in 2011.
That will change in 2023-24 when Cleary adds men’s and women’s basketball to a schedule that already has 15 sports.
“It’s a staple sport, not just in the WHAC, which is the league we’re in, but in Michigan State and across the country,” said Heather Bateman, senior vice president of operations for the campus and athletic director of Cleary.
“The addition of this sport will bring another dynamic to our university. Offering men’s and women’s basketball can provide many opportunities for athletes from these sports to come to Cleary.
The lack of a gym prevented Cleary from adding sports like basketball and volleyball. The Cougars use off-campus facilities for sports like bowling, cross country, golf, track and field, and wrestling.
Baseball, football, and softball teams use the on-campus Lake Trust Multi-Sport Stadium.
“Part of the concern was a facility,” Bateman said. “We don’t have an indoor facility. Cleary has dedicated the construction of our Lake Trust Stadium to the sports played on this specific space, namely outdoor sports. I’ve been here three years, and we’ve had this conversation since I’ve been here. This is to determine the impact on our institution and what it would look like.
Plans for an indoor installation have not been finalized. Bateman said basketball teams may have to use off-campus gymnasiums for practices and home games in the first season.
“It’s a discussion I’ve been working on with our vice president of development since I’ve been here,” Bateman said. “He and I discussed this and the whole development of the campus, in general.”
Cleary was the only member of the 12-school Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference that did not have men’s or women’s basketball. Cougars teams will be added to the league schedule in 2023-24 on a trial basis.
In addition to basketball, the 12 WHAC schools will compete in baseball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, and men’s and women’s track and field.
Although the start of the basketball program is over a year away, Cleary hopes to have coaches in place soon to begin recruiting players for the first teams.
Bateman hopes the addition of basketball will impact the entire student body, not just those on the teams.
“Doing this will also expand the aspect of student life on campus and the experiences for our students,” she said.
Cleary, founded in 1883, started a football program in the 1890s, added baseball in the 1930s, and a basketball team in the 1950s. The school didn’t have an athletic program for decades until the creation of its cross-country and golf teams in 2011.
Cleary won five United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championships from 2015-2018 in men’s golf, women’s cross country (two), softball and women’s soccer.
Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.