PITTSBURGH – Duquesne University Vice President of Athletics Dave Harper has announced the addition of women’s triathlon, women’s golf and women’s acrobatics and tumbling as varsity sports in a move that will bring the University’s total sport count to 20 by fall 2024.
The addition of these three sports, which will occur over the next two years, will attract up to 72 new students and bring Duquesne’s student-athlete population to more than 500.
“Duquesne is strongly committed to achieving both the letter and spirit of Title IX in regard to opportunities for student athletes,” said Harper. “We are adding additional women’s sports to ensure we are balanced with the right proportion of available activities for our campus. Besides creating more opportunity, the sport additions also will support an overall enrollment strategy of growing the undergraduate population with highly-qualified students with strong leadership skills.”
The new sports will be implemented in phases, with women’s triathlon targeted for fall 2023, and women’s golf and women’s acrobatics and tumbling scheduled to compete in fall 2024.
Women’s golf will seek conference affiliation this summer, with the other two sports taking part in association competitions.
The research and selection process for the addition of the three sports encompassed factors such as squad size, availability of facilities and geographic competition, the number of emerging participants, as well as the ability to assure a quality student-athlete experience.
Duquesne will quickly begin national searches for head coaches and hopes to start recruiting student-athletes for the first season of each sport.
“Adding these three new sports provides yet more opportunities for top-notch students to find their way to Duquesne and to benefit from our distinctive, future-focused educational offerings,” said Duquesne President Ken Gormley. “Duquesne’s strong position allows us to not just meet our Title IX obligation but to do so thoughtfully, focused on a quality experience for future Duquesne student-athletes.”
The three sport additions are the first for Duquesne since the debut of the highly successful women’s bowling program in 2016-17. Duquesne women’s bowling, currently in its sixth season, is ranked 10th nationally and earned an NCAA Championship appearance in 2021.
Duquesne University
Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation’s top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and horizon-expanding education. A campus of nearly 8,500 graduate and undergraduate students, Duquesne prepares students by having them work alongside faculty to discover and reach their goals. The University’s academic programs, community service, and commitment to equity and opportunity in the Pittsburgh region have earned national acclaim.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What went into the decision to add sports?
The decision, driven by the University’s desire to meet the letter and spirit of Title IX, was made to ensure that Duquesne’s sport offerings properly reflect the proportion of student enrollment while ensuring a high-quality experience for student-athletes.
What drove the decision-making process?
The 18-month process took into account a number of criteria including squad size, number of emerging participants nationally and regionally as well as the ability to support the new programs with competition venues as well as ensuring a quality student-athlete experience.
When will the teams begin competition?
Triathlon will begin in the fall of 2023, with golf and acrobatics and tumbling set to compete in the fall of 2024.
What is the competitive calendar for Duquesne’s newest sports?
Women’s golf is a spring sport with the NCAA Division I Championship conducted in May. Women’s acrobatics and tumbling compete in six to 14 events between February and April, with the NCATA National Championships held annually in April. Women’s triathlon is a fall sport, and the varsity season includes National Qualifiers followed by the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, typically held in November.
With the additions, what are Duquesne’s sport offerings?
With the addition of the three sports, Duquesne will now sponsor six men’s sports (basketball, cross country, football, soccer, tennis and outdoor track) and 14 women’s sports (acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, triathlon and volleyball).
FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENT-ATHLETES
Click here to access the prospective student-athlete form for women’s triathlon, women’s acrobatics & tumbling and women’s golf.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE NCAA EMERGING SPORTS OF ACROBATICS AND TUMBLING AND TRIATHLON
Acrobatics and Tumbling is a discipline of USA Gymnastics, with all events sanctioned through USA Gymnastics. The sport involves tumbling, tosses, acrobatic lifts and pyramids. Teams compete in head-to-head competition in meets consisting of six events, including Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling and Team.
The sport is governed by the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA). Competition takes place between February and April, with each team allowed to compete in a minimum of six contests and a maximum of 14. The NCATA National Championships are held annually in April on an NCATA member campus with event and team championships.
The NCATA is comprised of members from NCAA DI, NCAA DII and NCAA DIII. As the sport continues to grow all teams currently compete across divisions, though the NCATA schedule prioritizes divisional, regional, and conference competition.
Acrobatics and tumbling, as well as triathlon, is currently classified as an NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. A sport must have a minimum of 20 varsity teams and/or competitive club teams that have competed in a minimum of five contests to be considered for the emerging sports program. The sport must reach 40 varsity programs to move forward to the NCAA governance structure for championship consideration.
The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association currently has 40 NCAA colleges and universities sponsoring the sport. Duquesne is the 41st program nationwide.
The Emerging Sports for Women program has been in existence since 1994. In the past 21 years, several sports have reached championship status, including beach volleyball, rowing, ice hockey, water polo and bowling.
Before the latest additions, the program had three sports: equestrian, rugby and triathlon. Sports have 10 years to gain championship status or make meaningful progress toward that goal in order to remain on the list.
Click here for NCATA frequently asked questions.
Women’s triathlon is a fall sport, and the varsity season includes National Qualifiers followed by the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, typically held in November. The draft-legal races are sprint-distance, featuring a 750-meter open-water swim, draft-legal 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run.
Click here for Women’s triathlon frequently asked questions.
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