Breaking Music Stereotypes

During the 2004 commencement exercises, comedian Bill Cosby was among the honorees. His address to the audience spoofed on the idea that Berklee is not noted for turning out star athletes. Cosby wore a custom-made Berklee football team shirt inscribed, “Undefeated since 1945.” His gag continued with the premiere of a fight song he composed for the mythical Berklee football team. The bit got lots of laughs.

Just a year later, though, Berklee male and female student athletes began participating in NCAA Division III athletics through a special arrangement that allowed Berklee students to play on Emerson College’s varsity teams. Although Berklee athletes still don’t play football, they compete in soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country, tennis, and more.

“Most people are surprised when they learn that a lot of musicians are avid and accomplished athletes,” says Larry Bethune, Berklee’s vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “Some of our students were champion athletes before they got to Berklee, and this program allows them to continue playing sports.”

Stanford Nance, Emerson’s interim director of athletics, says Berklee’s students have added a spark to the program. “The Berklee athletes have really had an impact on our teams,” he states. “We’ve had some outstanding Berklee men’s tennis players and our men’s tennis team has won three championships in a row. We have seven or eight great Berklee players on our men’s soccer team. They’re from Brazil—and they are very good.”

Nance says that in any given year some 23 Berklee male and female athletes participate on his teams. “Emerson students are arts and communications majors, and the Berklee athletes are generally performers,” Nance says. “Being performers, they’ve been the stars of the team.”

As with any NCAA sports program, the schedule is rigorous, running six days with four practices and two games scheduled each week. “These athletes need to be committed,” Nance says. “They can’t just show up for the games.” Currently Emerson competes in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, which has 14 teams. Games are played throughout New England, with travel to Boston-area colleges as well as destinations as far north as Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, and Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.

In addition to the arrangement with Emerson, Berklee also hosts its own intramural sports teams playing indoor soccer and basketball on Sundays. Sports at Berklee began in 1986, when student activities staff members established clubs for students interested in soccer and basketball. By 1991, two Berklee basketball teams (the Blues and the Cats) began competing against teams at Emerson and Massachusetts College of Art.

“Having the option to participate in sports at Berklee improves the wellness of the individual participant and the Berklee community,” says Jane Stachowiak, Berklee’s director of student wellness and health promotion. “We’ve found that athletics generate positive social interactions, community bonding, ethnic and cultural harmony, and school spirit.”

In the fall of 2013, Emerson will become part of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference or NEWMAC. “Some of the colleges in that conference have won national championships,” Nance says. “So this league will represent a new level for us. We’re very happy with our partnership with Berklee. When we started, we had no idea that the Berklee athletes would have such an impact.”

While there are no plans for the Emerson and Berklee athletes to start playing football, if things should change, Berklee has a killer fight song waiting in the wings.