Even as colleges nationwide slash the budgets of varsity sports teams, club sports — adopted by students eager to compete outside a high-stakes, semi-professional arena — are on the rise, The New York Times reported.

The estimated two million students who play club sports don’t have the luxuries that varsity athletes may be used to: They have to schedule their own games, must raise much of their own money, and don’t have access to many of the facilities that varsity athletes enjoy.

But club athletes and athletics officials interviewed by the Times said the informal, entrepreneurial spirit of club teams — which they say attracts students who compete for the love of the sport rather than for fame or fortune — more than makes up for the drawbacks.

“If you look at it in economic terms, varsity sports are like a high-regulated industry with restrictions, caps, and incentives,” David Gerstle, a member of Yale’s club water-polo team, told the Times. “But club sports eliminate the barriers and let anyone in, much like libertarian economics. It raises the level of competition because it inspires people’s competitive nature. It frees them to want to do it and do their best.” —David Shieh