Who We Are

The Ninth Oar is a Non-Profit (501c3) organization that seeks to aid and assist the Sonoma State University Rowing Club with moral and financial support.  Since the clubs inception in 2003 Sonoma State University Rowing has developed an extensive network of Alumni who are spread across California and the United States. Our former members have gone on to be teachers, accountants, financial analysts, attorneys, firemen, businessmen & women, business owners, tradesmen, brewers, and more. As the SSU Rowing Club grows, the Ninth Oar has taken up the responsibility of creating an alumni network and keeping past and present member connected to the team.

The Ninth Oar had been in the making since long before the papers were filed for Non-profit status. The original founders of the organization -- Khoua Moua, Mike Villeggiante, and Dan Kelly -- were then active oarsmen on the Sonoma State University Rowing team. After recognizing that extensive alumni networks are the foundation of successful rowing clubs, Moua, Villeggiante and Kelly sought to create a similar network for Sonoma State Rowing Club. Out of that desire, The Ninth Oar was born; it was finally incorporated in early 2009 and the three founders became the first official board of directors.

Today, the Ninth Oar maintains the Sonoma State University Rowing Alumni database and sponsors the community outreach program to attract a support base for the team. Our goal is to help advance the team, and the corporation, toward continued success. Members are invited to attend all sponsored events and assist wherever possible. Donations are used primarily in pursuit of various financial instruments including endowment, team travel, and equipment purchasing funds, and in the hopes of fulfilling the team’s dream of building a new boathouse on the Petaluma River.

Our name, the Ninth Oar, is taken from the most prestigious of rowing races: the coxed eight -- eight oarsmen, eight oars, one coxswain, one finish line. But as with any team, additional encouragement and support is paramount to success. The Ninth Oar functions an “extra oar” helping to push the Sonoma State University Rowing Club forward through alumni involvement and financial support.