NO CHEAP SHOTS

W&Lstudent-athletesstaysilentinsteadofaskingfor financialhelpbecauseofsocio-economicstigma

Story and photos by Tyler Palicia

private university located in rural Lexington, Virginia. Once an all-male school, it only began admitting undergraduate women in 1985. According to a 2017 study by Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-based research institution, W&L ranks No. 14 among elite, private and public schools with students whose families earn incomes in the top 1% in the nation.

The study of 65 other universities found that 19% of W&L’s students were in the top 1% income bracket. The study also found that 55% of W&L’s students were from families who earned incomes in the top 5% in the nation.

“When you’re at a school where that big of a percentage of the student body exists within that small of a percentage of income, it’s not something you really want to talk about if you’re below that,” Chiguluri said.

Clare Suter, a pre-doctoral fellow at Opportunity Insights, said schools like W&L bear responsibility for students with fewer financial resources. “Elite schools like Washington and Lee end up being a pipeline to disproportionately influential positions in our society,” she said. “So, it’s important that W&L makes sure that its student body is economically diverse and that those students can succeed.”

Since 2017, W&L has doubled its Pell Grant recipients to 12% of the student body. Pell Grants are awarded to students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree, according to the Federal Student Aid office.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for Athletics was formed in the spring of 2021 to promote inclusion in W&L sports. Chiguluri heard about the committee through her coaches. She applied in fall 2021 and has been a member ever since.

Bethany Dannelly, associate director of athletics, said the DEI committee is focused on trying to develop ways for coaches to assess the financial needs of studentathletes.

“We need to look into how they are currently handling things if someone can’t afford to buy something,” she said. “We need to figure out what sort of messaging needs to go along with that.” that being said, we don’t know for sure. There may be something we don’t know about. That’s why we are looking into it.”

Jimmie Mack Johnson III, an assistant football coach at W&L and member of the DEI committee, said he believes that everyone at the school should be able to participate in sports regardless of socioeconomic status.

Clare Suter

She said she thinks coaches are identifying student-athletes with financial needs. “In general, I think coaches are doing a good job in supplying students with what they need to compete,” she said. “With

“We want to see if there is anything we can do or tweak to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our student-athletes, especially as we continue to diversify from a socio-economic standpoint,” he said. “That way we can make sure everyone can play their sport to their fullest potential.”

Johnson, who graduated from

W&L in 2020, played football and ran track. “I had everything that I needed to play my sport,” he said. “For football, the only thing that we did have to buy were cleats. Our coaches made it very clear that if cleats were an issue, then we could come to them. They just wanted to let us know that they could alleviate that if it was an issue.”

Jack Bosco, a sophomore on the wrestling team, said he doesn’t believe his sport has a financial barrier.

“All you need is shoes to wrestle. The shoes can get pretty expensive, but if you want to buy cheap ones, then you can probably just find some for $60. It’s not that bad.”

Bosco said alumni also have made donations to help students in need.

“They want us to succeed,” he said.

“When you start up, you get backpacks, shirts, pants, and socks—all for free.” on his equipment, trying to make sure he has the best clubs he can.

“I have about 14 clubs in my bag. Each club is about $200. Some are $300. I have gloves, tees, golf balls,” he said. “It’s hard to give you a price on that, but it’s just a very expensive game in general.”

Choe said the cost of equipment doesn’t present a barrier for him. But he said W&L could do more to relieve financial pressure for some of its student-athletes. “In terms of the school funding, there isn’t much. I mean, we get a nice discount for our golf shoes. We get about $120 for those shoes. We get a lot of gear—shorts, pants, rain jacket—for free,” he said.

It’s different for baseball players, sophomore Zach Senders said.

“We aren’t provided gloves. Those are usually around $250 to $370, around there,” he said. “You have to pay for your own cleats, those are usually around $100. We don’t get turf shoes. Those are around the same as cleats. All your underclothing you have to pay for. We don’t play in Florida, so you have to play in long sleeves sometimes. That can run you $30 a shirt. I won’t say it’s cheap.” their own riding boots, which can cost $200 to $1,000 a pair.

She also said athletes need to purchase their own breeches, which cost roughly $100.

“The equipment can be expensive, even though our coaches and the school do help us a lot. So, I think it’s a good thing that DEI is looking into it,” she said.

But some sports cost more than others. Junior golfer Caleb Choe said he has spent thousands of dollars out of his own pocket

Rebecca Hagigh, a junior on the equestrian team, said student-athletes must buy

Stef Chiguluri

Gordon Reistrup, the head coach of the equestrian team, said the university has purchased 10 of his team’s horses and pays for their care. He said the W&L riding team is unique in its affordability. “Unlike most of, if not all of our competitors in our region, we do not charge a fee for our students to participate in equestrian,” he said.

Emily Guyer, assistant coach of the riding team, said student-athletes who ask for help can borrow gear from either her or Reistrup. “We can make sure everyone is provided for. No one goes without,” she said.

For Chiguluri, the key to addressing financial insecurity among studentathletes is to convince them to talk about it with their coaches. “It feels like we are at a school that has the ability to provide the resources if they are communicated,” she said.

But she said it’s not easy. “It’s often something that people don’t talk about here.