“Back the Badgers” is a fundraising campaign Spring Hill College athletics has started this semester. Jim Hall, Director of Athletics Department, said that this campaign is an attempt to “attack head-on” the social media platform to help maximize the reach that Spring Hill College’s Athletics Department has, in order to raise money for the department.

This is the first official year that the campaign has been active. However, the Spring Hill community can expect it to become an annual fundraiser for the Athletics Department from this point on. This year’s campaign ends Sept. 22, 2017.

Hall said that the campaign was sparked by SHC Athletics transitioning from the NAIA to the NCAA. This transition caused the school to begin to invest in its athletics department.

Professionals like Hall are not the only people investing in our sports. The student-athletes also have a heart for what they do, and after speaking with two current Rugby players, it is apparent how important the sport is to them. “If I were to lose rugby, it’d be a pretty big deal. I’d, honestly, probably leave the school. It’s kind of a big reason why I am here,” said Oliver Cane, a sophomore team member. Cane also said that he’s been playing rugby since high school and that the sport is important to him and his family.

The fear of losing rugby was too real for junior women’s rugby player, Elizabeth Kasongo. “After last semester, us being told they were going to cut our women’s [rugby] program, it was shocking,” Kasongo said. “They just told us they could not afford to pay for injuries anymore, but rugby is a contact sport. You expect a lot of injuries but when people do get injured, [with] the love they have for the sport, they keep coming back.” She also said that she knows that this campaign is not just going to help the rugby team, but other sports as well.

The Badgers’ Athletics Department, as well as the student-athletes, are firm advocates for this new fundraising campaign. Spring Hill is hopeful for the benefits its athletics will receive from this fundraising campaign. “Back the Badgers” is expected to greatly aide athletics in the transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II for the Badgers.