The Billiards club that was once a part of Marquette’s campus has been brought back by two Juniors Ryan Patterson and Justice Osondu.
The club meets on Sundays at noon in the Brooks lounge on the first level of the AMU. Ryan Patterson, a junior in the College of Business Administration and Justice Osondu, a junior in the College of Communication, are co-presidents of the club.
Patterson and Osondu have been playing the game of pool since they came to Marquette’s campus. They said they noticed the amount of players who enjoyed the game playing in the Brooks Lounge.
Patterson and Osondu said their goal for the club was to organize game play so that there could be more of an established community. The club has been in the works for over a year and now Patterson and Osondu’s work has paid off after getting the approval from Marquette to make the club official.
Their first meeting attracted around eleven players and they hope to bring in more.
“We met last year first semester in Fall 2022. Ryan likes to play pool and I’m a little bit of a pool shark myself. So, we discussed a lot about it during Spring of 2022. We saw the plaques on the wall and the last champion was like 2015 or 2016. So, they’ve had a history of this so why don’t we try and bring it back,” Osondu said.
In the past, Marquette used to have a billiards club where they would host annual tournaments. Patterson and Osondu’s goal is to continue this legacy of past years.
The club is encouraging anyone from all skill levels to participate. They have already had two sessions and they are working on improving the accessibility of their tournaments for players who are newer to the game.
“The end goal would be to have various game modes, tournaments and potentially drills to help all of our players grow and improve at the game we all love,” Patterson said.
Looking into the future, the club is hoping to find a time during the week on top of the Sunday game play. The club has also seen support from other organizations to help with the start up. Alpha Sigma Omega Latina Sorority Inc. is partnering with the club for an 8 ball for charity event on March 2.
Players will pay $10 for a singles game or $15 for doubles. The funds towards the games will be going to the sorority’s as well as “First Steps Milwaukee” in honor of Women’s History month. Game play is open to anyone, and participants can sign up through the QR code on their flyer.
“What I’ve enjoyed the most is people willing to support this. Because it is one thing to just come and play but there is an actual need to host tournaments here,” Osondu said.
The club is also looking ahead into competing with other schools around the area. Even though the club isn’t a registered sport, there are still teams locally that the club can compete with.
Patterson and Osondu looked for teams at schools in the UW system, like White Water, Madison and Milwaukee. However, Patterson and Osondu found that these schools don’t offer billiards club for students anymore. Patterson is currently reaching out in hopes the schools will be inspired to introduce their clubs back onto campus.
By bringing back the club, the two hope to continue to see more members join as the semester progresses. For those who are interested, anyone is able to join the groups meetings on Sunday at noon and there is no sign up required.
“We wanted to breathe a little bit of life back into not only the Brook’s lounge but also create a more established community rather than the loose people floating around playing games. We want to get the people who are really serious and passionate about it a place to play,” Patterson said.
This story was written by Bridget Lisle. She can be reached at [email protected]
