Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly unanimously passed a resolution last Sunday calling on the University to increase funding for club sports.
A Feb. 8 draft argued the budget reallocation would address "equity concerns," enhance club “performance,” and allow for an expansion in the number of club sports organizations on campus. The UA addressed the resolution to the President’s Office, the Provost’s Office, the Executive Vice President’s Office, the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics, and Penn Business Services.
At the Feb. 8 general body meeting, UA Vice President Musab Chummun — who spearheaded the assembly’s work on the policy — said that with the resolution passed, administrators would be “more or less obliged to give a formal response.”
In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Chummun explained that the resolution fulfills a campaign promise he and Wharton junior and current UA President Nia Matthews — who is also a staffer at the DP — made while running for office.
“Nia and I, and our campaign platform, made it a point to advocate for more funding for club sports and more funding across the board for other clubs,” Chummun said. “So coming into this session…we were laser focused on how we could make sure the student experience [was the] best.”
“I think this was one of Musab and I’s priorities when we came in here,” Matthews explained at the Feb. 8 meeting.
Chummun and Matthews first began reaching out to students involved in club sports last November. Chummun also worked closely with Penn’s Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics when drafting the proposal.
“DRIA and the UA have worked collaboratively through ongoing dialogue to better understand the challenges facing club sports and to clarify how funding, facilities, and operational support function,” Penn's Director of Campus Recreation James Rogers wrote to the DP.
RELATED:
UA passes resolution calling on University to disclose investments
UA allocates over $3 million in funding for student clubs in 2025-26 budget
“Recent conversations, including meetings with UA leadership, created space to discuss where funding comes from, how costs are distributed, and where students are feeling pressure,” the statement read.
At the meeting, Chummun described growing concern over University funding for club sports.
“Unfortunately, while the amount of clubs under SAC has doubled, the amount of money we allocated has not doubled — people are starting to feel the cuts and feel left out,” Chummun explained.
Chummun argued the funding increase would “not only benefit people who are in club sports” but also “benefit everyone else in any other club,” because the UA could “siphon more money" currently being allocated to club sports to other student groups.
The resolution also calls on DRIA to set up “institutionally backed fundraising efforts to aid club sports organizations in their fundraising attempts.”
Chummun explained how student leaders were previously held responsible for fundraising their club sports budgets.
“The reason why dues are incredibly high is because the clubs — which don't get enough money from the school… are unable to fundraise,” Chummun said. “So then the students who are participating have to pay dues up to like $1,000 each.”
According to Chummun, club sports typically use very informal fundraising efforts and often leverage social media or alumni relations. He described that less institutionalized organizations — which often have weaker alumni retention and fewer fundraising opportunities — are frequently left with limited finances.
“The institutional support from Penn would be able to allocate money properly towards these clubs who don't have a strong alumni network,” Chummun said.
Either by working with administrators or with athletics departments, the changes detailed in the resolution are expected to be implemented this fall.
Chummun explained that passing this resolution demonstrates how the UA “has a really unique opportunity to do really cool things and shoot for really big goals.”
“As students at the University, we really, really have the power, opportunity and discipline to ask for amazing things and advocate for ourselves at the highest levels on campus," he told the DP.
RELATED:
UA passes resolution calling on University to disclose investments
UA allocates over $3 million in funding for student clubs in 2025-26 budget
Staff reporter Rachel Erhag covers student government and can be reached at rerhag@sas.upenn.edu. At Penn, she studies philosophy, politics, and economics. Follow her on X @RErhag.
