After completion of the second year, an institution may apply for a waiver to bypass the third year and begin the fourth and final provisional year, beginning with the next academic year. It is rare that an institution is granted the waiver.
“We are very pleased to have completed our second year of provisional membership and extremely proud that we were granted a waiver to begin our final year,” said Scott E. Kennell, director of athletics. “None of this could be possible without the extraordinary efforts, hard work and dedication of our coaches and student-athletes and the support of the administration at Penn College.”
Penn College is on track to be eligible for full membership beginning in Fall 2017. As a full member, the college would be eligible for national championships and would have voting rights on NCAA legislation.
In its Four Year Provision Waiver Request, Penn College highlighted its strong involvement in leadership positions within the North Eastern Athletic Conference, participation in community service by student-athletes, and its continuing additions and improvements within the athletics department to enhance the student-athlete experience.
Penn College elevated two coaching positions to full-time status (Ryan Callahan, men’s basketball and Lauren Healy, women’s basketball) and now has six full-time coaches. The college’s student-athletes participated in 2,013 hours of community service, and the college has four athletic administrators in leadership positions within the NEAC.
Penn College has approximately 190 student-athletes in 15 intercollegiate sports and is a member of the NEAC, which consists of 14 institutions (eight private, six public) from New York; Pennsylvania; New Jersey; and Washington, D.C. The NEAC sponsors nine men’s and nine women’s sports and receives an NCAA automatic qualifier in six men’s and six women’s sports.
Penn College had one team (women’s soccer) reach the NEAC playoffs last year, while 14 players were named to their respective sports all-conference teams. Forty-four Penn College student-athletes were honored as NEAC Scholar Athletes.
Twelve of the college’s 15 intercollegiate athletic teams participate in the NEAC: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball, men’s golf, baseball, and softball. The wrestling team competes at the Division III level as an independent, while the men’s and women’s archery team has no affiliation with the NCAA and competes in USA Archery.
