Women's Squash To Lose NCAA "Emerging Sport" Status by Ted Gross for DailySquashReport.com
July 5, 2011- The NCAA has announced it is removing women’s squash from its list of "emerging sports", effective next month.
The decision was based on a recommendation from the in-house Committee
on Women’s Athletics, which cited a lack of sponsorship growth,
according to Greg Johnson of The NCAA News.
The CWA apparently saw no evidence that progress was being made toward
the goal of 40 squash varsity programs, the number necessary to sponsor
a “championship” in an NCAA sport.
The number of US colleges sponsoring squash as a varsity sport has been
at or near 28 for the last decade, according to the NCAA.
Women’s squash was chosen as one of nine original "emerging sports"
when the classification was created in the mid-1990’s. Of the
original sports, rowing, ice hockey, water polo and bowling have been
promoted to NCAA “championship” status. The sports
currently on the list following the deletion of squash are rugby, sand
volleyball and equestrian.
According to the NCAA, “An emerging sport is a women’s
sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide
more athletics opportunities for women, more sport sponsorship options
for institutions and help that sport achieve NCAA championship
status.”
NCAA regulations require that "emerging sports" for women gain
"championship" status within 10 years or show steady progress toward that
goal to remain on the list.
In 2009, archery, badminton, synchronized swimming and team handball
were removed from the category. As with the squash decision, lack of
growth was cited.