Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan: The many hidden benefits of being an Ivy League athlete

So, why did you choose Penn?

Usually an innocent question, but part of me gets a bit defensive when I hear it. It's because some people who know me as an athlete ask it with incredulity and raised eyebrows rather than simple curiosity. It's because they're thinking what one of my high school coaches put so eloquently when I told him I was considering going to an Ivy: "Why? They suck."

Yes, that's a common attitude back home. Ivy League teams are junior-varsity caliber at best, right? And they won't even pay you to play! Why be a Penn athlete when you could take your pick from any number of jock-friendly schools vying for your attention?

I'll tell you why.

First off, let's settle the question posed by my coach. Contrary to popular belief, Penn is actually a pretty great place for the serious athlete. To put it plainly, we're good. Not just good as in competitive, not just good as in we give 'em a run for their money -- good as in we win. Check out the records or the rankings for our Quaker teams if you don't believe me.

Granted, our big-name sports don't really win national championships -- they don't really get past the first or second round in NCAA play (yes, there are a few exceptions, but unfortunately they aren't the "important" sports) -- but that's not really the point here. Let's be honest: it may be a cold day in hell the day some of our teams take home the grand prize, but most other Division I teams tell the same story. The difference? They still have to put in the hours, miss all the classes and give up their summers like those top-ten teams do. We don't (thanks, restrictive Ivy rules!). And somehow, when we face those guys, we beat them. Ha ha.

So consider the number one slur against us void: we're not worse than all the other D-I teams. Beyond that, in many ways, the Penn athlete has a sweeter deal.

Wouldn't you know it, the coaches are right when they give recruits that spiel about how at Penn, you're a student first and an athlete second. Sure, practice and weight lifting and full-body Icy Hot applications do take up a hearty chunk of your time, but compared to your basic scholarship institution, it's a manageable sacrifice. There's none of this leaving-on-Wednesday-morning-for-a-Saturday-match craziness that my former teammates moan about. Here, you're actually allowed to go to class.

The benefits of this philosophy extend past just school and sports, giving us fighting Quakers the opportunity for a much more balanced existence. Take just one team as an example, say, volleyball (incidentally, back-to-back Ivy champions and a fine collection of ladies to boot): members are involved in honor societies, community service, sororities, campus leadership groups and even Penn's renowned journalistic enterprise. They wouldn't have time for such pursuits elsewhere. All this, and Quaker athletes even make it out socially once in a while -- keep your eyes peeled next Friday night and you may spot one.

But there's another dimension to Penn athletics, a major difference between us and the hordes of scholarship colleges: since Penn isn't picking up our tuition, our athletic experience can't become a job. And as anyone who's spent a summer mowing lawns or shuffling papers knows, any task labeled as a job loses much of its fun status -- that's the risk you run once "I like to play" becomes "I have to play." I know too many scholarship D-I athletes who simply burn out long before they play their final game.

Not so with us Quakers. Many of us have bypassed full rides at other schools to take advantage of Penn athletics -- which means we truly want to be out on the court/field/track. We have to be in love with the game, or there's nothing sustaining us when the going gets rough. We have a free choice to compete every day in a way that scholarship athletes don't -- and that gives us a bond that often translates into a leg up on those other teams.

Would I turn down $40,000 a year if the Ivy powers that be had a collective change of heart? Of course not. But seeing as that's not happening anytime soon, it helps to recognize the benefits to the system as it stands. All in all, not too shabby.

So to all you doubting, eyebrow-raising nose-wrinklers who ask why I chose to be a Penn athlete, I say, that's why. Then I say, come watch us play. As great as the athletic experience is, we're not yet mobbed by adoring fans. No, that's where you can help.

Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan is a junior communications major from Wheaton, Ill.

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