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Hobart and William Smith Colleges will add 12 sports over the next five years, six for men and six for women, according to a press release the institution issued Thursday. Some sports will be new to the institutions, while others have been reinstated.
The colleges, which are part of an independent two-college system in New York, plan to offer baseball, softball and men’s and women’s volleyball, Alpine skiing, and both indoor and outdoor track and field. Hobart and William Smith will also have women’s bowling and men’s swimming and diving, in addition to the varsity esports team launching this fall.
The new athletic options are expected to increase the number of student athletes from about 575 to 750, the colleges estimated. Hobart and William Smith will offer 35 sports in total.
Joyce P. Jacobsen, the colleges’ president, noted that other colleges and universities are “pulling back on sports or even dropping programs” in the wake of the pandemic and its financial hardships.
“We are doubling down on our commitment to athletics and the experiences our students have as athletes,” Jacobsen said in the release. “These new and revived sports, and the coaches and students they will attract, will add to the vitality of our already thriving athletics program and to our campus community.”
