GAMBIER, Ohio -- Following recent approval from the Kenyon College Board of Trustees, women's golf will be added to the slate of Owls varsity sports. The announcement was made Wednesday by Jill McCartney, Kenyon's Director of Athletics, Fitness and Recreation.

"We are excited about the opportunity to add women's golf to our varsity sports programs at Kenyon. It's something we've discussed for a while, so it's wonderful to see those conversations become a realization," McCartney said. "With the addition, we are expanding opportunities for women, as well as offering the full complement of championship sports in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)."

With preliminary planning and operations already underway, the new program will launch its first season beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. Kenyon, an inaugural member of the NCAC, will join women's golf championship competition against teams from Denison University, DePauw University, Hiram College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster. John Carroll University, which is joining the NCAC in 2025-26, will bring the conference's women's golf championship field to eight teams.

"I've watched the growth and success of men's golf at Kenyon and I'm excited for similar opportunities for women's golf student-athletes," Keri Alexander Luchowski, Executive Director of the NCAC, said. "The addition of another strong women's golf program solidifies the sport in our conference and ramps up the level of competition in exciting ways." 

With a national search for a head coach getting underway before the current academic year comes to a close, plans for the program are moving forward quickly.

"Our goal is to have a head coach hired this spring and in place by August 1 so that the coach can take full advantage of the academic year to recruit and plan for the 2025-26 season," McCartney explained. "We want to be sure that we provide enough time to create an optimal competitive experience for the young women who choose to be part of the inaugural class of women golfers at Kenyon." 

With the addition of women's golf, Kenyon offers 23 varsity sports, including 12 women's sports and 11 men's sports. Prior to women's golf, the last sport added to Kenyon's athletics offerings was softball, which started its first season in 1998-99.