Courtesy TheNCATA.org

PITTSBURGH – April 19, 2022 – 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.

“The addition of Acrobatics & Tumbling at Duquesne University is incredibly exciting as the sport continues DI growth at NCAA institutions,” said NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook. “We are honored to be part of their plan to provide meaningful opportunities for women to achieve their athletic and academic goals through intercollegiate athletics participation.

“Duquesne will become the first NCAA DI program in a region that has grown steadily in NCAA DII and DIII, adding more unique opportunities for young women who train in gymnastics and cheerleading to pursue their dreams,” Cook added.

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.