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Men's Rugby Club member Braden Gutierrez ('27) tosses the ball to a teammate while drilling on the Quad on Jan. 27, 2026. Photo by Patricia Krepel. A decade ago, Willamette University Men’s Rugby Club was ranked among the 50 best small-school teams in the country . But in recent years, the team has struggled with ongoing funding challenges that threaten their ability to compete, recruit and exist as a standalone program, said club President Jack Godsil (’28). Now, the team is

Willamette cheer at a Bearcat Basketball game on Nov. 23, 2024. Photo by Keenan Yoshizawa. In the fall of 2023, the Willamette cheer team disaffiliated from varsity sports, in part due to the university being unable to pay the insurance to be able to do certain stunts, said cheer cocaptain Brooke Busby (’27). Despite the challenges that came with disaffiliation, club leaders say the team has since found a new identity as a club by being able to do more stunts and recruit more

Skiing and snowboarding in the spring 2025 class. Art by Basil Allen. For the past 12 years, psychology professor Mark Stewart has been leading a skiing and snowboarding class open to Willamette students of all levels, run through the local resort Mount Hood Meadows . But this year and last year, the course has been canceled due to low registration numbers. Stewart said the class initially saw 23 students register, higher than last year, but by the start of classes that numbe