St. Cloud State University Swimming & Diving head coach Jeff Hegle has a strong belief in having as many people as possible participate in college athletics.
That includes taking every one his student-athletes to road meets, which is a challenging expense for a combined men’s and women’s team of over 70 athletes.
How do you fund that goal? SCSU Swim & Dive makes it happen by working security for some of the state’s biggest sporting events.
Huskies Swim & Dive worked three University of Minnesota football games, two Minnesota Vikings games and a Minnesota United soccer match during the first month of the semester.
This yearly tradition has been going on for about 15 years. Nearly 50 athletes are each scheduled to work four of the six events, bussing down to the Twin Cities for a hands-on experience in customer service.
Hegle says the life lessons his team receives by interacting with people are invaluable.
“We deal with many people per game, and it helps us develop problem-solving, clear communication and patience,” said senior diver Kailey Fossel.
“Our team has a very good reputation,” Hegle added. “Most of them are already claimed before we check in. The supervisors know what games we’re coming to … our student-athletes do a wonderful job, so they’re always highly-wanted.”
The team has also done security for high-profile concerts like U2, Taylor Swift and various country music artists. Besides raising money to go towards the team’s operating budget, the events serve another benefit: building a strong, cohesive team.
“A lot of our kids practice at different times, so early in the season they don’t know each other yet,” Hegle said. “With this they get to spend eight hours together, so they get to know each other pretty quickly.”
And without that strong bond, it would be difficult for the Huskies to operate as a nationally-ranked program year after year.
“Not only are we privileged to attend many live sporting events, but the benefits for our team are fantastic,” said sophomore swimmer Cayden Sumption. “It provides us with the amenities we need when we compete, like lodging and feeding over 80 people. These benefits ultimately increase our ability to swim fast and dive well.”
Follow Huskies Swimming & Diving and all Huskies Athletics at scsuhuskies.com.
