Concordia baseball team asks donors to step up to the plate
Howie Schwartz, MA 82, has been the heart of the Concordia Stingers baseball club since day one — and they’re now in their 20th year of intercollegiate competition.
To advance the team further, Schwartz is reaching out to the community to raise money through the university’s new in-house crowdfunding platform, FundOne.
“I was there from the first practice in 1995. I’m very grateful that we’ve been selected as one of the pilot projects for FundOne,” says Schwartz.
Before his arrival, Concordia didn’t have an official baseball program. The group has come a long way since 1995 — capturing the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association title in 2009 and this year earning its sixth National Championship berth in the last eight years.
Concordia Stingers baseball team came out on top at the 2009 National Championship | Photo: Concordia Department of Recreation and Athletics
In recent weeks, Schwartz has tirelessly spread the word about his team’s funding drive. With nine weeks left, the campaign has already raised over $1,500 towards its $5,000 goal.
On top of financing training, travel and competition across Canada and the United States, the funds will be used to create awards for Stingers baseball players.
These financial awards will help with recruitment, reward outstanding performance on the field and relieve financial stress — which is particularly important for student athletes because their academic, training and game schedules make it difficult to work a job.
“An incentive program would create a win-win situation — the university will attract quality students and, from an athletic point of view, we are going to get better ball players,” says Schwartz.
While baseball has long been ingrained in collegiate sports culture south of the border, Schwartz finds baseball increasing in popularity at Canadian universities.
Weather and climate are a challenge to the development of baseball in Canada — the season only lasts from August to October — yet he says there has been a noticeable shift during his tenure with the Stingers.
This year, the team joins the newly formed and rebranded Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association, which encompasses over a dozen universities and colleges from the Atlantic and central regions.
The FundOne campaign is not only a chance to raise funds but also a way to raise the team’s profile, says Schwartz.
“We’ve had to prove ourselves over the years and success in the field has given us a lot of credibility.”
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