UCCS adds women’s golf as 14th NCAA sport

UCCS will add women’s golf as the 14th intercollegiate varsity sport for the 2013-14 academic year. The program will begin competition in the fall and be eligible for Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II championships.

“We’re excited to be moving forward as a department in continuing to add opportunity for participation,” Steve Kirkham, director, Athletics, said. “Our expectation is that the women’s program will eventually compete at the same level as our highly successful men’s program. We’ve had tremendous community support for our men’s program and would anticipate similar support for our new athletes. Fall 2013 promises to be more exciting than 2012.”

Phil Trujillo, currently the head men’s golf coach, will become the director of golf operations in addition to his coaching responsibilities. He will oversee the women’s program and a part-time head coach.

“I’m very excited about adding women’s golf here at UCCS. It’s another great step for our athletic department,” Trujillo said. “Women’s golf is quickly growing and the timing is perfect for us.  We look forward to the challenge of building a strong competitive program and competing on a national level.”

Trujillo is in his 13th season as the head men’s coach at UCCS. He is a four-time RMAC Coach of the Year and five-time Regional Coach of the Year. The Mountain Lions have won seven RMAC championships and qualified for the national championships four times. UCCS won the Division I Falcon Invitational in 2010.

The Mountain Lions will join the RMAC as the ninth institution with women’s golf, along with Adams State, Black Hills State, Chadron State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Colorado State-Pueblo, Regis and Western New Mexico.

Women’s golf will be the first sport added to the NCAA lineup since women’s soccer in 2008. UCCS also fields teams in volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s golf, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field.

A search for the head women’s coach will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.