By Kiley O’Donnell
Contributing Writer
There is a shortage of locker room availability for varsity teams at St. Bonaventure University.
Some teams share locker rooms with other teams that do not play in their seasons. But there are also some that have no locker room space at all. This has been an issue for the cross country team, a team that has been increasing in size each year, due in part to the introduction of a track team for the spring.
“If you’re going to run a program at the Division I level, you have to have lockers,” said Tim Kenney, the university’s athletic director.
Nicolette DiMura, a junior and co-captain on the women’s cross country team, said having no space can be an inconvenience for the team.
“We have no place to put our stuff,” said DiMura. “Our bags just sit out in the hallway. My coach’s office isn’t big enough for everyone to have their belongings there.”
The team also has an increasing need for room to warm up and stretch, she said.
“Before every run, we do what is called rope stretching and mobility (leg swings). We basically take up the entire hallway, and it’s just a pain when people walk by,” DiMura said. “If we had our locker room, we wouldn’t have that problem.”
Hailey Gattuso, a junior and co-captain on the women’s cross country team, also said having a locker room would benefit the team enormously.
“Whenever we want to meet as a team, we have to meet in the hallways. If we are coming from class we have to go to the bathrooms to change,” said Gattuso. “There are things we bring to practice every day [ropes, watches, foam rollers, warm-ups, water bottles, etc.] that we need to bring back and forth to each practice. Sometimes we need to bring all of our practice stuff to class with us. It would be a lot more convenient and we would be less likely to forget things if we had lockers.”
DiMura also said not having access to a locker room directly after practice can have consequences on the team’s physical health.
“We run in all kinds of weather conditions, and it would be nice if we could shower directly after running to avoid having sore/tight muscles.” said DiMura.
Ben Collins, senior captain of the men’s cross country team, said it doesn’t really bother him not having a locker room.
“If I had to choose the biggest inconvenience, it would be changing before practice,” Collins said. “My classes tend to run until we meet for practice, so I find myself changing in the bathroom a lot.”
Kenney said he’s well aware of the locker room shortage and is doing his best to fix and address the issue.
“It is an issue that we have been talking about for the past year. And not just cross country, the overall locker room situation for our teams,” said Kenney.
He said there are a few concerns the school has regarding the situation.
“One is making sure we allocate enough space in this building [The Reilly Center] because that would be the ideal situation,” Kenney said. “Two is time frame. And three is money.”
Kenney said he has plans on how to fix the locker room shortage and plans to act immediately.
“We know we will go out and do a fundraising campaign for the lockers,” Kenney said. “We have to go through the first process now and ask, ‘What space do we have? What space can we free up to take care of it?’ because it’s important.”
Kenney said how important locker rooms are to the varsity team members. Currently men’s soccer and baseball teams share a locker room, as do lacrosse and women’s soccer teams. Tennis does not have a locker room in the Reilly Center, although it has a place to put its belongings near the court.
“If you’re going to run a program at the Division I level, you have to have lockers,” he said. “Over these next few months, we’re putting together the facilities; what we will call an audit. We’ll see what we have and what we can do to shift space around, and then we will be able to go into the next standpoint. But it’s right there up front. I say it at probably every meeting I’m in when we’re talking about the future, because this is step one.”
