[Kutztown Press Release] KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY TO ADD WOMEN'S LACROSSE, WOMEN'S BOWLING AS VARSITY SPORTS

[Josh Leiboff]

Feb. 15, 2007

 

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY TO ADD WOMEN'S LACROSSE, WOMEN'S BOWLING AS VARSITY SPORTS

 

KUTZTOWN, PA - Kutztown University President Dr. F. Javier Cevallos has announced that women's lacrosse and women's bowling will be added to the school's roster of intercollegiate varsity sports beginning with the 2007-08 school year.

 

            The sports will bring the number of varsity sports at Kutztown to 23.  They are the first additions to Kutztown's intercollegiate athletics department since the 2000-01 school year when women's golf was offered.

 

            "We feel that participation in intercollegiate athletics has a beneficial effect on students - in the classroom as well as the field of competition," Cevallos said.  "We are delighted to be able to make this opportunity available to more of our students." 

 

            Women's lacrosse is currently sponsored by 40 NCAA Division II institutions, including eight members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), with Slippery Rock joining the league this season.  The sport will be returning to KU after a 16-year hiatus.  The program was sponsored at Kutztown from 1975-90 and was responsible for the first women's championship in school history, winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title in 1982.

 

            The team will play a non-conference schedule before competing in the PSAC beginning in the spring 2009 season.  The team is expected to play its home games on KU's campus.

 

            "We're excited to bring women's lacrosse back as a varsity sport at Kutztown," Kutztown University Director of Athletics Greg Bamberger said.  "We hope that the success the program experienced will help us re-establish women's lacrosse at KU."

 

            Women's bowling will be new to Kutztown.  The sport, which traditionally competes in the winter season, is sponsored by 50 institutions in the NCAA, including 17 predominantly Division II institutions.  Cheyney University is the only other school in the PSAC to currently offer the sport on the varsity level.

 

            The team will compete as an independent in the NCAA.  The women's bowling championship is not divided into divisions, so teams compete for the opportunity to qualify for the Women's National Collegiate Bowling Championship.  The team's practice facility and site for home events are still to be determined.

 

            "Women's bowling is an emerging sport on the collegiate level," Bamberger said.  "With the number of local high schools that offer girls bowling, especially in Berks County, it was clear that adding this sport will address the interests of our students."

 

            The addition of women's sports are necessary to assist in Kutztown's efforts to comply with Title IX.  More specifically, Kutztown addresses the second of the Title IX three-prong test of compliance, demonstrating a continual expansion of opportunities for the under-represented gender.

 

            Kutztown University's most recent (2005-06) gender breakdown saw a 58.9%-41.1% female-male full-time undergraduate ratio, but a 56.6%-43.4% male-female ratio of unduplicated student-athletes.  

 

    "It is estimated that the new sports will add roughly 40 new opportunities for females, bringing Kutztown's female-to-male student-athlete numbers more in line with the female-to-male undergraduate population," Bamberger said.

 

            With the addition of the new sports, Kutztown will now offer 23 varsity sports, including 13 women's sports (basketball, bowling, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field,  volleyball) and 10 men's  sports (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, wrestling).  Kutztown is projected to join West Chester University, which also sponsors 23 varsity sports, as the largest athletic department in the PSAC.

 

            National searches for head coaches of the two sports will begin immediately.  

 

            Funding for the new programs will come from Student Government Association, KU Foundation and University budgets.  Individuals who are interested in either participating or coaching, should contact the KU Athletic Department at (610) 683-4094.  

 

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Josh Leiboff
Kutztown University Sports Information
Phone: (610) 683-4182
Fax: (610) 683-4676
Email: leiboff at kutztown.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.kutztown.edu/pipermail/press-release/attachments/20070215/44bd57a2/attachment.html