A group of students is looking to start up a wake boarding club on campus. The club is the brainchild of Kyle Happe, freshmen business management major from Houston.

In high school, Happe worked at a wake boarding park in the Houston area where he learned the ins and outs of the sport. When he arrived at ACU, a number of people told him that with his background he should start a wake-boarding club, but he initially brushed them off until the end of last semester.

“I got really bored and it was like my 12th weekend in a row not doing anything so I said alright let’s give this a shot,” Happe said.

Over the past few months, Happe and others have been recruiting potential members and exploring their options for obtaining a boat.

They are meeting with advancement to see if they can have the university purchase a boat for them. Happe said a wake-boarding club would incentivize some students who wouldn’t normally consider ACU to look into attending. Additionally, they are looking into fundraising and possibly getting a loan from a local Abilene bank.

There is a relatively substantial interest in the club, as over 40 students have signed a letter expressing interest in joining. Happe said the goal is to have a boat by the beginning of wildcat week next semester.

Reese Powell, freshmen accounting and finance major from Nashville Tennessee is the groups treasurer. He is planning on getting a boating license this summer in order to operate the boat for the club.

“Right now we’re just planning the financial parts and the different fundraising events we want to have” said Powell.

Happe stressed that anyone can join the group, even if they have never wake boarded before.

“Anyone can join, it doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen water before,” Happe said.

Interested students can email Happe or Powell at kjh16a@acu.edu or rwp16a@acu.edu respectively.