Merrimack to Add Women's Crew, Golf for 2011-2012

The following announcement was submitted by Brad Davis at

Merrimack College will add women’s crew and golf, pushing the total number of intercollegiate sports at Merrimack to 22 beginning in the 2011-12 academic year, as announced by President Christopher E. Hopey and Director of Athletics Glenn Hofmann.

“We are delighted to add women’s crew and golf to an already strong athletic roster,” said Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D., president of Merrimack College. “The addition of these programs will not only enhance our athletic program, but it will also enable us to recruit from a more diverse pool of prospective students, nationally and internationally, who can benefit from our academic and athletic excellence.”

Women’s golf will compete in the Northeast-10, giving Merrimack participation in 17 of the conference’s 21 sponsored intercollegiate sports.

“During economic times in which many institutions and athletic departments are forced to cut sports, we are excited that we’ve developed a model that allows us to add more,” said Director of Athletics Glenn Hofmann. “The addition of these programs will provide our student athletes with the opportunity to compete at the highest level in a wide variety of sports.”

The Merrimack women’s crew team will train at the Abe Bashara Boathouse in Lawrence, MA, a facility situated on the Merrimack River and operated by Greater Lawrence Community Boating, Inc. Additional information about the facility and Greater Lawrence Community Boating is available at the www.boatingprogram.com.

Merrimack will offer as many sports as any Northeast-10 school with the additions.

A national coaching search for all sports will begin immediately, and interested coaches should log on to www.merrimackathletics.com for more information.

All prospective student-athletes should fill out the student-athlete questionnaire online at merrimackathletics.com or email crew@merrimack.edu or golf@merrimack.edu for more details.

In just two years, Merrimack has increased its number of intercollegiate sports from 16 to 22 sports.

Men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track were added for the 2010-11 season with plans to compete in distance events only. But beginning this spring with the outdoor track season, Merrimack will have a full-fledged track program, competing in sprint, relay and distance events. 

Since the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign, Merrimack has won over 71 percent of its home games and 60 percent of its conference games, which are the best winning percentages in each category in at least the last six seasons.

Merrimack, which captured the Northeast-10 President’s Cup in 1999-2000, has won two NCAA Division II titles, with the hockey team claiming the national championship in 1978 and the softball team winning the title in 1994. In 2009-2010, Merrimack earned the Northeast-10’s football and men’s lacrosse championships.