National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jun 16, 2010 8:28:51 AM

The Robert Morris women's rowing team will join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference beginning with the 2010-11 season.

The move helps position the MAAC to receive an automatic bid for the NCAA rowing championship, set to begin using the automatic qualification process in 2013.

"Adding a quality school such as Robert Morris University to the MAAC as an associate member improves both the depth of the MAAC Rowing Championship and the overall competitive balance for the participating student-athletes," said Commissioner Richard Ensor. "I firmly believe that as the NCAA AQ process is implemented that more institutions will consider adding the sport, which is good for rowing as it increases the number of female student-athletes competing in Division I sports."

Robert Morris added women's rowing in 1997, and the team has competed independently for 13 years.

"Our rowing program is very excited to be joining the MAAC," said Robert Morris coach Midge McPhail. "Joining a conference has been one of my goals since I began my tenure at Robert Morris University, and I think the MAAC is the perfect fit for our program. Joining the MAAC gives our student-athletes a chance to be part of a great conference as well as compete for conference championships."

Robert Morris is a member of the Northeast Conference for most sports.