Michigan Technological University is adding women’s soccer to its varsity athletic program and will begin intercollegiate competition as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next fall.
Support for the new program comes from Pat Nelson of Kingsford, a longtime supporter of Michigan Tech. Pat and her late husband, Tech alumnus Charles Nelson, have supported numerous Tech initiatives across campus, including the rowing team, the Outdoor Adventures program, EcoCAR, the Summer Reading program and the Peace Corps Masters International program.
“I like helping the students at Michigan Tech, especially the women,” said Nelson. “They’re already getting a great education; they should have some fun too.” Nelson donated 100 percent of the costs associated with starting up the new program, including initial costs for equipment, locker room renovation and first-year coaching salaries.
Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz called the addition of women’s soccer “a strategic decision for the University. It will bolster the number of women on campus and increase the number of student-athletes, who have proven themselves to be great leaders and students here,” he said.
“When I spoke to Pat about the opportunity to support women’s soccer at Michigan Tech, I told her she would be the mother of women’s soccer here,” Mroz continued. “She corrected me, saying that she would be “the grandmother of women’s soccer.”
With women’s soccer, the total number of varsity sports at Michigan Tech is now 14—seven women’s and seven men’s.
“This is a great step for the University and the athletic department,” said Tech athletic director Suzanne Sanregret. “It has been one of my goals since becoming athletic director to add women’s soccer. It’s an up-and-coming sport and a natural fit in the GLIAC.”
Typical roster size for women’s soccer is 25 student-athletes. NCAA regulations concerning soccer call for a maximum of 20 regular season contests to begin no earlier than the Thursday prior to Aug. 30 (which is Aug. 26 in 2010). The GLIAC Tournament, for which Tech would be eligible immediately, is played in early November.
Michigan Tech’s home soccer facility will be Sherman Field, which was set up for soccer when the synthetic turf was installed summer 2008.
Michigan Tech will post the head coaching vacancy in early November, hoping to bring someone on board by Jan. 1, 2010. A part-time assistant may also be hired. Scholarships will be available for women’s soccer student-athletes, and a tryout will be held for current Tech students to fill out the roster for the first season.
Tech’s 2010 women’s soccer schedule is still being finalized, but there will be at least 14 GLIAC games with seven of those to be played at Sherman Field.
Women’s soccer is the first sport to be added to the Michigan Tech varsity lineup since Nordic skiing was bumped up from club status in 1989-90.
Photo Credit: Michigan Tech
