As a fourth-year athlete on LT’s tennis team, I have never been provided an appropriate jersey for matches. Instead, my team and I had to purchase jerseys ourselves for full price, plus additional money for a stitched logo for an average of about $70 per player. 

The original jerseys that we had were very outdated, many had stains and missing sizes, so teammates would have to share. As a freshman, I assumed that since this issue presented itself, it would be resolved for the following year. Now, COVID-19 didn’t help since ordering them was challenging, so I understand why we didn’t have jerseys and would need to provide ourselves with tank tops. I’m now into my senior year and still have to purchase my own jersey.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an issue for just the tennis team. Many other teams have to purchase jerseys as well. The upside of purchasing jerseys is that you get to keep it when the season is over, but most athletes would rather be provided with one.

Since most sports at LT don’t have long-lasting jersey material, like basketball or baseball, I feel LT should offer more financial support for jerseys every year so athletes can feel more comfortable and team-spirited. 

In an effort to help with this issue, the athletic department has been talking every four years with each team to see if new jerseys are needed for the program. However, four years can be a long time, especially with jerseys becoming outdated and old very quickly, so asking every year can resolve this issue.

Some teams find fundraising to be a suitable way to raise money for regular season or specialty competition jerseys. For smaller teams with less popularity and support, like tennis, golf and badminton, fundraising can be challenging for those programs. 

As one of the biggest programs at LT, football has even found issues with their practice and game jerseys. Since there are so many athletes on the football team and it is a rougher sport, ripped, mismatched and faded jerseys are seen every year. 

As I near the end of my season and look to graduation, I hope that LT athletes will see better jerseys in their future for every team.