October 31, 2024
Recruitment Begins for Men’s Cross Country; Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field
The Ursuline College Athletic Department announced today the addition of its first three men’s athletic programs to its already impressive NCAA Division II roster. Building on the success of the indoor national championship win of Alaysia Brooks in the 800-meter run, the historically women’s college which has enrolled men since 1969, will add Men’s Cross Country as well as Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field. These three NCAA Division II sports will begin competition in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in the fall of 2025.
“The addition of men’s teams is a major step in the growth of the Ursuline Arrows athletic program,” Athletic Director Cindy McKnight stated. “Men’s Cross Country along with Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field is a wonderful complement to our current athletic and academic offerings. We are excited to bring the Arrows name into men’s sports within the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and I am confident that they will continue our Arrows tradition within the NCAA.”
The College will promote Alaric Best to Director of Cross Country and Track & Field and Joe Caraciolo to Head Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field Coach. Best joined the Arrows’ Athletics Department in 2015 and will continue as the Head Women’s Cross Country and Women’s Track & Field Coach. An Arrow since 2021, Caraciolo will also continue to serve in his role as the Assistant Coach of Women’s Cross Country and Women’s Track & Field, as well as Head Strength & Conditioning Coach.
Best added, “We are excited to continue the growth of Cross Country and Track & Field on Ursuline College’s campus. We have seen multiple NCAA top 25 performances in the past seven years, and we are looking to add men that can work alongside women to build upon our legacy of success.”
Starting this month, the College plans to initially recruit 10 to 15 male students total for these teams for Fall 2025. With the addition of men’s sports as well as Ohio’s first intercollegiate Women’s Flag Football team, announced in May 2024, McKnight notes that she expects the portion of student athletes to remain steady at its current rate of approximately 25 percent of the undergraduate population.
“Men represent currently approximately 10 percent of our overall enrollment,” noted Ursuline College President David King, EdD, “The College would like more men to benefit from its tradition of uplifting and empowering students and helping them find their voices. These new athletic offerings can provide a sense of belonging and community to enhance male enrollment and retention.”
He continued, “These teams provide an incredible opportunity to engage more men in our mission of educating students for service, leadership, and professional excellence through its core values of student focus, spirituality, respect, and collaboration.”
Last month, Ursuline College announced plans to enter a strategic partnership with Gannon University, a fellow NCAA Division II school, where men represent 35 percent of Gannon’s 4,665 students. Gannon offers 10 men’s and 13 women’s athletic programs including Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, but not Track & Field. Recruitment is underway for Ursuline’s new men’s teams.
