NCAA Division II and III schools followed Division I’s decision earlier in the week to invite triathlon into its suite of intercollegiate sports. Well over 90 percent of the athletic directors voting gave a thumbs up to tri as a scholarship sport.
Triathlon will slot in as a Fall sport and will commence this upcoming August. The competition will be in the draft-legal, Olympic-style format and, like cross-country, will feature both individual honors and team scoring. Triathlon’s status in the NCAA is as an “emerging sport.”
Triathlon’s inclusion in the NCAA is widely viewed as a means to bridge the gender equity gap required by Title IX. Because certain sports, notably football, suck up so many scholarships, scholarship opportunities must be generated for women. Finding vibrant sports where women can be given scholarship opportunities is not always easy.
How many schools will field teams is not known. There is an existing collegiate triathlon national championship, ongoing for years, just not officially recognized by the NCAA. The PAC 12 and Colorado-based schools are always well represented at this championship and it would not surprise if these schools have an early leg up in NCAA competition.
America's best triathletes, both in the Olympic and no-draft formats, overwhelmingly come from NCAA scholarship sports, such as recent rising star Katie Hursey (pictured). But this is the first time a triathlete will be able to compete on scholarship in triathlon rather than as a pure runner or swimmer.
Slowtwitch will continue to cover this, as many questions remain unanswered. Will all teams be women-only? Probably. What about the existing collegiate men’s races and championships? Will these continue? How many scholarships will be given? It seems intuitive that the best scholarship opportunities would be at those schools that grant many scholarships to football players, because they have more female scholarships to make up. But we just don’t know.
The schools will hire their own coaches, and race production, equipment and team apparel, race production, race production services, all seem to be growth opportunities for triathlon’s businesses and stakeholders.
