Courtesy of Eric Brookhouse, SVSU Director of Athletic Media Relations
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- Saginaw Valley State University Director of Athletics Mike Watson has officially announced the addition of women's golf as a varsity sport. The program joins a lineup of 16 current varsity sports that currently compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). There are 12 other members of the GLIAC that currently offer the sport of women's golf. The team expects to begin NCAA Division II competition during the 2016-17 academic year.
"It is my pleasure to announce the addition of women's golf to the SVSU Athletic Department family," said Watson, who will be entering his ninth year as the Director of Athletics at SVSU. "Our men's golf program has experienced a tremendous amount of success over the years and I am confident our incoming women's program will rise and compete at a championship level moving forward."
SVSU Men's Golf Head Coach and SVSU Director of Annual Giving Joe Vogl will assume coaching duties for the women's team and take on new responsibilities in a new role as the lead fundraiser for SVSU Athletics.
"I'm very excited as well as feel honored and privileged that I have been asked to start a women's golf program here at SVSU," stated Vogl. "Our men's program, of which I have been involved with for over 40 years, has had numerous successes and has many established traditions, and it's those successes and traditions that I fully expect to duplicate for the women's program. There is a lot of work to complete before next fall, with the first task of getting the word out and second being getting on the recruiting trail."
Vogl added his take on transitioning to his new role of heading up the fundraising efforts for the SVSU Athletic Department...
"With respect to my other new duties, heading up the Athletic Department fundraising, I again feel privileged and honored. This position is critical to the long range goals of the Athletic Department and in part, to the University as a whole. The success of the Athletic Department is dependent on the many relationships that we currently have with fans, donors, sponsors and advertisers. To solidify and multiply those relationships will be key goals to this new position."
The women's golf program makes it three sports that will be beginning inaugural seasons of competition in as many years. The SVSU women's swimming & diving program wrapped up its first season of competition this spring for the 2014-15 campaign and the newly-minted men's swimming & diving program will begin competition for the 2015-16 season this upcoming fall.
