Weber State's baseball players will celebrate their national championship by telling everybody they can about it.
Then they might ask for a donation.
The Wildcats owe the university in Ogden about $5,000 for some last-minute funding that sent them to the National Club Association World Series, which they won this week.
"Now it's just time to finish the deal," said second baseman and club president John Huchel. "They said, 'Go down there, we'll worry about it when you get back.' "
Weber State's athletic department does not field a varsity baseball team. Instead, the team is a club that receives about $6,000 annually from the school. It's up to the team to come up with the rest of its funding.
Clubs compete against teams from other schools, but not at the varsity level, in games that aren't sanctioned or governed by the NCAA.
Weber State won the tournament Monday with a 4-0 win over Texas A&M's club. A&M's varsity team is competing in the NCAA tournament this weekend.
"That was a great experience. For some of these kids, they're not going to experience something like that sportswise," center fielder B.J. Misik said. "It was just an awesome feeling."
Weber State qualified for the eight-team tournament in Bradenton, Fla., by clinching its region in early May with two wins over Utah State.
But the Wildcats were well short of the money needed for the trip. Players, who paid $600 each at the beginning of the season just to play on the team, got $3,000 from a fund set aside for school clubs that qualify for such trips. Then they got the school's Office of Campus Recreation to approve $13,000 more — provided the team agreed to pay it back.
"I guess the results certainly do speak for themselves," school spokesman John Kowalewski said. "Win or lose, the opportunity to represent the university on a stage like that really is a priceless opportunity."
So far, the players have raised more than $8,000, with more trickling in, assistant coach Garrett Clark said.
"We still owe the university about $5,000. They set a tentative date toward the end of the month, but they're being flexible," said Clark, who coached first base this season after three years of playing for the Wildcats.
The players got most of what they raised before even heading to Florida, hitting up local businesses and getting a bit from individual donations. Having won, they hope raising the rest won't be a problem.
"Anybody that wants to give us money, we'll take it," Misik said. "Even if it's $20, whoever's willing to sponsor us is who we have to go with. It's hard, just takes a lot of time and a lot of effort."
Clark said the team might stage a golf tournament to help raise the remaining cash. Players say they're trying to get a permanent sponsor for the club.