Published January 16, 2014 07:11PM
The NCAA Division I Legislative Council voted today in San Diego, Calif. to accept triathlon as the an Emerging Sport for Women with 95 percent of the vote.
“Today is a watershed moment for the sport,” Rob Urbach, USA Triathlon CEO, said after the announcement. “After four years of hard work behind the scenes, this announcement represents a huge victory for current and future student-athletes, for the NCAA member institutions that will operate varsity triathlon programs, and for USA Triathlon’s future Olympic success.”
Schools can start fielding a team and competing as soon as August 2014.
As an emerging sport, schools will be permitted to offer scholarships to female athletes in order to meet the requirements of the Title IX gender equality law. The sport will have to earn further approval before hosting NCAA championships.
Only women’s triathlon is being accepted into the NCAA, men are excluded.
Acceptance into the NCAA has the potential to dramatically improve the level of competition in the sport and America’s future chances in the Olympics.
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