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Dayton and Cincinnati alumni organize broomball clubs that allow Miami University alumni to continue playing after graduation.

Alums start local broomball leagues

By: Caroline Briggs

Posted: 4/15/08

Miami University's Intramural Broomball program has been around since the former Goggin Ice Arena was built in 1976, and now alumni that have moved into surrounding areas can take the tradition with them.

In the last year, 2003 graduate Jeff Downs launched the Dayton Broomball Association (DBA) and is ready to expand the league this upcoming summer. He is looking to tap into a base of Miami alumni that have been instilled with the tradition of broomball while at school in Oxford, but who may have moved to the Dayton area after graduation.

"I loved playing broomball at Miami and I wanted to keep doing it," Downs said.

The DBA is expanding in size this summer from two to eight teams. Downs said he is working on signing up students from Wright State University and the University of Dayton, as well as Miami students past and present who are looking for some recreational fun over the summer.

Downs said games will be held Monday evenings at the South Metro Sports Arena in Centerville, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. The summer league is tentatively scheduled to start in late May and run until early August, according to Downs.

"The great thing about broomball is anyone who wants to play just needs to bring themselves," Downs said.

The DBA's Cincinnati counterpart, the Cincinnati Broomball Association (CBA), has been gaining steam since its creation in 1993.

Miami graduate Brian Kaeppner has been president of the CBA for six months and has been assisting Downs with the development of the Dayton program.

"My job is to promote the game of broomball," Kaeppner said. "We don't view (the DBA) as competition, but a great development for the overall sport."

Downs and Kaeppner agreed that the marketing for broomball has been focused on individuals in their 20s and 30s who are looking to have some recreational fun. Kaeppner said most of the people in the CBA are young professionals.

Miami's own club broomball team traveled to Cincinnati this year to participate in the association's competitive league, according to Miami senior and club president Dan Shugarts. The 3-year-old team won the national broomball championship on the collegiate level for USA Broomball in March.

Shugarts said the group of about 25 guys enjoy playing in the CBA because playing broomball with Miami's intramural program can become limiting because of Goggin Ice Arena's half-sheet arena. Shugarts said the CBA and the DBA are both played on a full sheet of ice.

"They're doing fantastic with promotion," Shugarts said. "(The CBA has) the new summer program coming up with Dayton teams coming down to play and fundraisers around the community to promote the league."

With the growing popularity of broomball in the area among young professionals, Downs, Shugarts and Kaeppner all agreed that the tradition of broomball at Miami plays a large role.

"The one thing you need to start a league is good people who know the sport and have experience," Shugarts said. "They are certainly targeting Miami people (at the DBA) because it is obviously a recipe of success in Cincinnati."

Barry Schutte, senior director at the Goggin, said the intramural broomball at Miami is larger than any other school's because almost anyone can play.

"It is an opportunity for those who don't necessarily have great skills on the ice," Schutte said. "It is a lifetime sport that will stick with you."

Cost of becoming a member of a DBA league will run about $40 to $60 per person, according to Downs, with leagues ranging from recreation to competitive. All teams will be co-ed. More information on the league can be found at www.daytonbroomball.org.

More information about the CBA can be found at www.cincinnatibroomball.org.