Release courtesy of Linda Bouvet and the LSSU Sports Information Dept.
SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State University took a step toward improving its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference President's Cup standing and the overall growth of the Laker athletics program by bringing back men's golf and adding a women's golf team.
Laker men's and women's golf teams will compete during the 2009-10 school year, according to LSSU Director of Athletics Kris Dunbar. Fall and spring seasons are offered for both sports, and national championships for both sports are held in May. GLIAC men's teams hold their league championship in the fall and spread three NCAA regional qualifiers throughout the year. Women's teams, meanwhile, hold their GLIAC Championship in late April.
LSSU, which has offered men's golf off-and-on since 1951, last competed in the sport during the 2004-05 school year.
"We've been weighing the pros and cons of adding sports for the past two and one-half years, and adding golf was by-far the best option," Dunbar said. "We want to add something that is popular in northern Michigan, offered by most GLIAC schools and has a relatively low per-player cost. There are plenty of great golf courses within an hour's drive, and golf is something our student-athletes can play for a lifetime."
A total of four full athletic scholarships (two for men and two for women), one part-time head coach and a base operating budget will be provided for the golf programs. The average number of scholarships distributed to GLIAC golf teams is 2.5. Dunbar hopes to bring in 10 students-athletes per team to help boost University enrollment.
Dunbar added that the vast number of quality golf courses in northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula should equate to strong recruiting opportunities and the potential for LSSU to build quality programs.
The addition of golf will strengthen Lake Superior State in the overall GLIAC points race. Currently, LSSU and Michigan Tech rank 10th in the GLIAC in number of men's sports offered with five each, while LSSU, Hillsdale and Northern Michigan are tied for eighth in the number of women's sports offered with seven each.
"The GLIAC is among the nation's premier conferences in most Division II sports, and golf is no exception," Dunbar noted. "Although we expect to need some transition time as we search for a coach and put teams together, our goal is to run programs that reflect positively on the league, our school and the community."