ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — Augustana College announced that they will be adding two new sports: men’s volleyball and women’s bowling.
These two new varsity sports will start in the 2017-2018 school year, according to the school’s athletic department website. The announcement came Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
The school’s athletic director, Mike Zapolski, said that Augustana will be hiring a coach for each time. The school is looking for a full-time coach for the men’s volleyball team and a part-time coach for the women’s bowling team. Zapolski said those interested in the jobs will have about a three-week window to apply; they expect to start the coaches around July 1st.
The new coaches will be able to use the 2016-2017 school year for recruiting, Zapolski said.
The decision to add these two sports was a collaborative effort by multiple school leaders, including Zapolski and Augustana’s president. Zapolski said they chose sports that would appeal to prospective students in the Quad Cities area, Chicago, and students from further away in places like California.
With the addition of these two sports, Augustana College now offers 25 varsity sports.
“Augustana has a long history of adding programs to meet the changing needs of our students,” said President Steve Bahls, according to the athletic department website. “Men’s volleyball and women’s bowling are both emerging sports in high schools. Adding these sports will allow us to provide new opportunities for competition for the next generation of Augie students.”
The men’s volleyball season runs from January through mid-April and women’s bowling is from October through March.
