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Hartwick board votes to maintain DIII and DI sports

Hartwick College’s board of trustees has voted to continue its support of both NCAA Division I and Division III athletics at the college. The decision is an endorsement of a recommendation to the board made earlier by college President Margaret L. Drugovich.

Hartwick maintains most of its athletics program at the Division III level (men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s equestrian, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball). The school also sponsors men’s soccer and women’s water polo at the Division I level, which is allowed under NCAA sports-sponsorship rules.

“Hartwick has a distinguished tradition of competitive athletics that complements the educational intent of our academic mission,” said Drugovich. “About 35 percent of our students compete on varsity teams, and an even larger number compete at the intramural, club and individual sport level. All of these activities provide the prospect of personal growth and development, and it is clear that these opportunities are very important to our students, alumni, and community.” 

The board endorsement comes after the trustees in February 2008 tabled the question of retaining both Division I and Division III sports, pending the arrival and review of the issue by then newly appointed Drugovich, who began her duties in July 2008.

In the second year of her presidency, Drugovich appointed an Athletics Review Task Force charged with explaining how the intercollegiate athletics experience at Hartwick relates to the life of students at the college. The Task Force also was asked to identify an approach that best aligns resources to support an athletics model that best fits Hartwick’s mission.

The task force included 25 students, alumni, faculty, staff and trustees. The group used surveys, focus groups and forums to gather input from Hartwick athletics stakeholders. The Task Force also reviewed data analysis from consultants representing the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, who reviewed Hartwick’s athletics program through benchmark studies of programs at other liberal arts colleges.

Both groups submitted final reports and recommendations to Drugovich earlier this summer.

“The work of the Athletics Review Task Force informed and shaped my perspective on the Division I program, on the level of support the college provides to sports in both divisions and on the opportunities to strengthen our program,” she said.

“The Board has carefully considered this matter at several intervals in recent years, and we believe that the decision to retain both Division I and Division III programs brings appropriate closure to this question,” said James Elting, chair of Hartwick’s board of trustees. “These sports have long been a point of pride for the college, and they will continue to be.”

Hartwick’s NCAA Division I teams have been at the forefront of the college’s competitive athletics success. Since its inception, Hartwick men’s soccer has won an NCAA national championship and made 23 NCAA tournament appearances.

In its 10 years of competition, Hartwick’s Division I women’s water polo has made three NCAA tournament appearances, won three Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Conference championships, and won 10 consecutive division championships.