They are dedicated to the game of hockey, making weekly trips off campus just to practice, and they compete regularly against nationally ranked rivals like Boston College, Northeastern University and the University of Connecticut. In fact, they often defeat high-powered club teams who receive funding from their schools for transportation, coaching and other costs.

But the Boston Red Dogs are not recognized as a Boston University-affiliated hockey team &- at least, not yet.

BU’s policy is that the school does not field club teams in sports where a varsity team already exists. The reasoning behind this is mainly financial. In the case of the Red Dogs, the last remaining obstacle between them and official club team status is that the school is unable to pay a full-time athletic trainer for the team.

“We proposed the idea of student interns working with us, but understandably, they’re really strict and believe that they need a full-time trainer to follow us around,” said Red Dogs sophomore forward Derek Pastuszek. “They said more fundraising would help on our end, but otherwise, we’ve been meeting every standard they have for a club sport. Right now, it’s just not a good time for them to think about it.”

Pastuszek, who played varsity hockey for Strath Haven High School in suburban Philadelphia before coming to BU, said many of the rival school-affiliated teams have been impressed with how competitive the Red Dogs competitive despite having fewer practices than most other teams and no school funding.

“If we were affiliated, we would absolutely be one of the premier teams in the nation, competing to bring yet another national championship for men’s hockey to Boston University,” Pastuszek said. “We have the skill, talent, heart and character to represent BU on a national scale, and all we need is the support from our school with their recognition of us as an official club sport.”

Senior team captain Neville Graham said that in the four years he has been playing for the Red Dogs, the team has progressed toward recognition by the school as well as toward a more competitive program.
“The list of reasons we’re not affiliated has gotten shorter,” Graham said. “We’ve been playing more teams and made a name for ourselves, and for the school, and as far as the number of kids that come out for tryouts, that’s all increased.”

The Red Dogs began as the brainchild of brothers Clifford and Griffin Nash in 2006. The brothers, with the help of their father and their teammates, established the team as a business, planning out financial matters, scheduling games and organizing tryouts to ensure that the team would be as strong as possible.

Around seventy-five showed up for the first tryout that year, making clear from the start that there are plenty of BU students who want the chance to play competitive hockey outside of the brief intramural season.

The team plays its home games at Walter Brown Arena, also home to the women’s varsity hockey team. The rink’s capacity is 3,806, about half the size of Agganis Arena, and though the Red Dogs have never drawn a crowd of quite that size, Graham said he believes the team’s on-campus following is growing.

“Our senior night this year was the most fans we’ve had,” Graham said. “I’d say we had 200 to 250 people there, which was fun, and they were loud, and we were playing UConn, which is one of our bigger rivals. Usually, for an average game, we’ll get 50 to 100 people.”

Pastuszek said fans have consistently traveled to nearby away games to show support for the team, and that students, faculty members and even Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore have stood behind the team’s quest for recognition.

“In many BU students’ minds, we are the club hockey team, whether our jerseys read “Terriers’ or “Red Dogs,” he said.

In the spring, the team is organizing various fundraising events and promoting them through a Facebook page as well as flyers and advertisements around campus.
Pastuszek will assume a leadership role on the team next year as a junior, and said he believes that with some increased effort from both the team and the university, the Red Dogs could be an official BU team within a few years.

“If the right people want it to happen, and if we work hard enough and show pride in our school like we have been, I think it can happen soon” he said.