When Dan Arseneau told his professor he would be missing class for an away game for the SUNY-ESF men’s soccer team, the professor wasn’t buying it.

The reason had nothing to do with whether or not she believed Arseneau was on the State University of New York of Environmental Science and Forestry team. And it wasn’t a question of whether or not the Mighty Oaks actually had an away game that would force him to skip the class.

This professor simply had no idea athletics existed at ESF.

‘She didn’t even know that there was a soccer team,’ Arseneau, a senior forward said.

But in fact, there is a men’s soccer team, along with a women’s soccer team, men’s and women’s cross country teams and a men’s golf team that all have reached the varsity level. All five teams ascended to the Division-III level just a year ago in 2010.

And even though five teams have reached the varsity level, athletics at ESF remains a relatively unknown commodity around campus in the school’s 100th year of existence. Especially since it’s only been a few years that athletic programs have been around at either the club or varsity level.

‘If you think about it, for a school that is that old and most of the faculty and most of the professional staff have been there a long time, it’s a new thing. It’s a very new thing,’ said Daniel Ramin, coordinator of college athletics for ESF and head men’s and women’s soccer coach. ‘It’s going to take time to get the word out to everybody.’

***

Kyle Kolwaite walked into ESF President Neil Murphy’s office with a proposal and left with about $2,500. With the school providing the money, club soccer was born at ESF in 2003.

Kolwaite, then an undergraduate at ESF, and his friend, Jacob Milea, went into the meeting with Murphy and outlined the cost of equipment and uniforms. They gave Murphy an estimate of how much it would cost to get the team on its feet.

So how did Murphy respond to something new to an institution that for the most part had only intramural sports and woodsmen competitions throughout the school’s history?

‘He basically said, ‘No problem,” Kolwaite said. ‘They gave me a little money around here to play with.’

From there, Kolwaite fielded a team of guys he had played soccer with on the ESF’s grassy Quad and guys who were on Kolwaite’s floor.

‘I knew that there was an interest, it was just a matter of getting things organized and written and starting that process,’ said Kolwaite.

For Kolwaite, the goal was just being able to play the game competitively, regardless of the circumstances.

And the circumstances weren’t great.

The team didn’t have a solid practice field to use on a day-to-day basis. Some days they would play on ESF’s Quad, which hardly resembles a real soccer field. Other days the team would play at Barry Park, a half-mile from campus, or even up at fields on Skytop.

Eventually, all that roaming around led to time on Lower Hookway Field, where the Syracuse soccer teams also practice.

Interest has only grown since the humble beginnings eight years ago. Kolwaite credits that to having a professional staff just for athletics, with Ramin at the top. He’s in charge of various responsibilities like recruiting and organizing all games and practices.

Before Ramin, it was all up to Kolwaite and Milea to handle those duties, which he said wasn’t easy for the students considering they also had to worry about classes.

Now, with personnel fully dedicated to just athletics, the program has grown to heights Kolwaite never thought he would see in such a short time.

‘It’s gone a lot farther than I ever thought it would,’ Kolwaite said. ‘I’m interested to see where it goes in the future.’

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What Kolwaite found impossible less than a decade ago has become a reality. And it isn’t just men’s soccer anymore either.

Sports like women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country and men’s golf have also begun to blossom at ESF.

‘I’ve seen it grow where I’ve seen students really, really enjoy it,’ Ramin said.

Athletics at ESF have become another attraction to a tiny school that specializes in a specific curriculum and is oftentimes overshadowed by the much larger, higher-profile school with which it shares a campus.

John View, head coach of the men’s cross country team, said when looking to recruit quality students to come to the environmentally focused school, athletics is just another thing he can dangle at prospective students.

‘One of the logical questions for a student would be, ‘Do you have a sports program?” View said. ‘Used to be, ‘No, you can play intramurals.’ Now the answer’s, ‘Yes, this is what we have to offer.”

Robert French, vice president for enrollment management and marketing said when he talked with prospective students, they were intrigued by the academics ESF had to offer, but they still wanted to participate in athletics as well.

That’s one of the reasons French believes competitive sports are a critical part of any university.

For now, sports are funded at the college by an implemented intercollegiate fee students pay to help support the teams on campus. The Mighty Oaks also have support from their neighbors to the northeast, the Syracuse Orange.

Although the gate to Upper Hookway Field states, ‘For SU athletic dept use only,’ ESF’s soccer programs are welcome to use it when it’s available.

Ramin commends the use of that field as one of the reasons the team has had success in recent years.

Also, in conjunction with the SU cross country team, the ESF team now runs on a brand-new trail on Skytop that provided a more concrete place for runners to train.

That support is something Ramin is more than grateful for.

‘They’ve supported us tremendously. Absolutely tremendously,’ Ramin said. ‘I can’t thank (SU Athletic Director) Dr. (Daryl) Gross enough.’

And Gross has been happy to help.

‘We’re neighbors, why wouldn’t we?’ he said

***

In his four years with ESF, Ramin has seen a program grow from infant stages to something he’s proud to be a part of.

And as the years go on, he looks forward to more support and interest to spring up from every corner of the campus — even if it takes some time.

To get the word out, fliers are posted around campus for upcoming athletic events. The program has its own website and Facebook page, updating fans on how the teams are doing. The athletes for each sport act as walking advertisements, making sure to wear warm-up gear around campus when they have a game coming up.

For Nick Hlat, a sophomore midfielder on the men’s soccer team, as long as the teams keep churning out successful seasons, everyone will know the name Mighty Oaks goes beyond a standstill nickname.

It represents a school that has intercollegiate athletics, with players who are proud to wear the ESF green.

‘I feel like we’re not as well known as we should be, but I feel like that’s going to change,’ Hlat said. ‘The more and more our soccer program becomes legitimate, the more awareness and the more people will know about it.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on September 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm