USA Triathlon Release | Student-Athlete Questionnaire
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Through a grant from USA Triathlon and in conjunction with the NCAA, Black Hills State University will add the emerging sport of women's triathlon beginning in the fall of 2015.
"We feel that this is a unique opportunity to support an up-and-coming sport that is a natural fit in the community of Spearfish and the Black Hills area," BHSU President Tom Jackson, Jr., said. "We are looking forward to seeing this sport grow and foster at our university in the coming years and provide additional opportunities for women who wish to compete at the NCAA Division II level in the sport of triathlon."
Jackson praised Director of Athletics Jhett Albers and his staff for proactively pursuing and obtaining grant funds to establish a women's triathlon program at BHSU.
"We are excited to accept the USA Triathlon Grant to establish a women's triathlon team as an emerging sport at the NCAA Division II level," Director of Athletics Jhett Albers said. "We feel that the area in and around Black Hills State lends very well to the training program that will be required of our student-athletes competing in the sport of triathlon."
The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics identifies emerging sports to be recognized by the NCAA and is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women, more sport sponsorship options for institutions and help that sport achieve NCAA championship status.
"We're pleased to work with USA Triathlon and believe the grant program will provide some NCAA schools with additional support for women who want to compete in the sport and will also help in the promotion of triathlon as it continues to grow," said Tim Hall, chair of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and director of athletics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. "As triathlon becomes more widespread in collegiate athletics, the sport will also provide more women with an opportunity to get an education."
To help fund the grant, USA Triathlon committed nearly $1 million through a multi-year Women's Triathlon Emerging Sport Grant to help the establishment of NCAA women's varsity triathlon programs. This funding – the first of its kind ever offered to an NCAA Emerging Sport – will see nearly $500,000 this year alone. The three-year grant provides funding for Division I, II and III institutions to help implement and grow women's triathlon programs at the NCAA level.
A total of eight institutions will receive the grant to help start a women's triathlon program including Arizona State University and East Tennessee State University from NCAA Division I. The Yellow Jackets will be joined by Drury University, Queens University of Charlotte and the University of West Alabama in NCAA Division II. Concordia University Wisconsin and North Central College will sponsor the sport in NCAA Division III.
Triathlon joins women's soccer as recent additions to the Yellow Jacket athletic department. Women's soccer will field its first team in the fall of 2016. With triathlon and women's soccer, Black Hills State will offer 15 intercollegiate sports, including rodeo which competes in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.
For the most up-to-date information regarding triathlon at Black Hills State, please visit www.bhsuathletics.com.
