June 1, 2005

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University is moving men's rowing from varsity to club status, Director of Athletics Lynda Goodrich announced today.

Goodrich indicated that about half of all NCAA schools with rowing programs have men's rowing as a club sport because it is not recognized as a NCAA sport. Women's rowing is a NCAA recognized sport and will continue as a varsity program at Western.

Goodrich indicated that this was a difficult decision which was influenced by the increasing costs of existing intercollegiate athletic programs. The decision will allow reallocation of resources to existing programs and ensure that the men's rowing program can continue to compete at many of the same regattas.

The department of athletics has offered to provide two years of transitional assistance to the program, including the payment of entry fees, use and transportation of equipment and partial budget support.

Club sports are eligible for national competition and many of Western's club sports have demonstrated success at that level. The men's cycling team recently finished 10th overall at nationals and first and second in individual races. The equestrian team finished second in the Northwest zone and sent one rider to nationals, and 17 swimmers competed at nationals, and the mountain cycling team won the conference championship for the second straight year.

Men's rowing has a long history at Western, having been a varsity sport since 1969. With the transitional support provided, it should continue to compete at a top level.

Without men's rowing, Western now offers 16 varsity sports. They are men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball and volleyball.