There are going to be some real changes in the athletic department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Dr. Cory Schwartz, UAF Director of Athletics, announced today that the university will add women's swimming as a collegiate varsity sport for the 2005-06 season. The formal selection process began almost three years ago.
"We're pleased about the addition of women's swimming," said Dr. Schwartz. "The goal of our efforts at UAF is to provide opportunities for student athletes to grow and develop in every way possible. Adding swimming to our lineup of varsity sports is another way of meeting those goals. I also thoroughly appreciate the support of the swimming community on a local and state-wide level. That support will be crucial to the success of our new program."
The timetable set up for the swimming program includes hiring a coach in 2004 with a competitive schedule set to begin in the Fall of 2005.
Phil Shoemaker, head volleyball coach at UAF, headed up the investigative committee that researched the multiple options facing the university in their selection of a new sport.
"The NCAA minimum for Division II sports has increased," Shoemaker said. "We looked at a lot of different options including swimming, women's ice hockey, gymnastics, soccer and even bowling. Since UAF has its own pool, swimming was the best answer for everyone involved. Our main objective behind all this was to select a sport where we could field a competitive program."
As the committee explored each option, Shoemaker said it was difficult because each tentative sport had good points and bad points. The coach pointed out that a lot of things have to be discussed before beginning a sport. He mentioned things like hiring a coach, traveling, facilities, scholarships, etc.
"Swimming just seemed to be the best option for the university as a whole," Shoemaker said. "There is a large swimming community in Fairbanks and the more we studied the different options the more swimming seemed to distance itself from any other option we had."
-30-
