Varsity Women's Soccer Comes to Michigan Tech
Release courtesy of Wes Frahm at the MTU Athletics Communications and Marketing Department
HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Technological
University is adding women's soccer to its varsity athletic program
and will begin intercollegiate competition as a member of the Great
Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next fall.
Support for the new program comes from Pat Nelson of Kingsford, a
longtime supporter of Michigan Tech. Pat and her late husband, Tech
alumnus Charles Nelson, have supported numerous Tech initiatives
across campus, including the rowing team, the Outdoor Adventures
program, EcoCAR, the Summer Reading program and the Peace Corps
Masters International program.
"I like helping the students at Michigan Tech, especially the
women," said Nelson. "They're already getting a great education;
they should have some fun too." Nelson donated 100 percent of
the costs associated with starting up the new program, including
initial costs for equipment, locker room renovation and first-year
coaching salaries.
Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz called the addition of
women's soccer "a strategic decision for the University. It will
bolster the number of women on campus and increase the number of
student-athletes, who have proven themselves to be great leaders
and students here," he said.
"When I spoke to Pat about the opportunity to support women's
soccer at Michigan Tech, I told her she would be the mother of
women's soccer here," Mroz continued. "She corrected me,
saying that she would be "the grandmother of women's soccer."
With women's soccer, the total number of varsity sports at Michigan
Tech is now 14-seven women's and seven men's.
"This is a great step for the University and the athletic
department," said Tech athletic director Suzanne Sanregret. "It has
been one of my goals
since becoming athletic director to add women's soccer. It's an
up-and-coming sport and a natural fit in the GLIAC."
Typical roster size for women's soccer is 25 student-athletes. NCAA
regulations concerning soccer call for a maximum of 20 regular
season
contests to begin no earlier than the Thursday prior to Aug. 30
(which is Aug. 26 in 2010). The GLIAC Tournament, for which Tech
would be eligible immediately, is played in early November.
Michigan Tech's home soccer facility will be Sherman Field, which
was set up for soccer when the synthetic turf was installed summer
2008.
Michigan Tech will post the head coaching vacancy in early
November, hoping to bring someone on board by Jan. 1, 2010. A
part-time assistant
may also be hired. Scholarships will be available for women's
soccer student-athletes, and a tryout will be held for current Tech
students to
fill out the roster for the first season.
Tech's 2010 women's soccer schedule is still being finalized, but
there will be at least 14 GLIAC games with seven of those to be
played at Sherman Field.
Women's soccer is the first sport to be added to the Michigan Tech
varsity lineup since Nordic skiing was bumped up from club status
in
1989-90.
