October 2, 2019
Contact: Ted Harshbarger, Director of Sports Information, 402-872-2380
(Peru, Neb.) – After recruiting its largest freshman class in at least 30 years, Peru State College will add four varsity athletic programs and one junior varsity athletic program to begin competing in the fall of 2020. The new athletic programs are planned to continue the growth of on-campus opportunities.
The College will add men’s bowling, women’s bowling, men’s cross country, competitive dance, and junior varsity women’s volleyball. Hiring of coaches and recruitment will begin immediately.
The President of Peru State, Dr. Dan Hanson, said, “We know many students choose Peru State to become involved in teams, clubs and other organizations. They want to train and improve, compete, volunteer and engage in our communities.”
“As we expand opportunities, Peru State has a tremendous foundation to build on – from the perfect score on our most recent Champions of Character designation to the personal and engaging education our students receive.”
“I am excited to grow as a campus and to better share Peru State with the region.”
The Bobcat’s Athletic Director, Wayne Albury, noted careful research went into the plan to offer additional sports, “This decision was not made without a thorough review of the College’s resources and needs.”
“We are confident the addition of these programs – and the opportunities they represent – will better serve the current and future needs of our student-athletes.”
The College credits much of its recruitment success this year to adding four junior varsity athletic programs and competitive cheer. More than 70 freshmen were added to junior varsity teams and the competitive cheer team. In addition, at least 15 students transferred to Peru State for one of these athletic opportunities.
By adding the four varsity sports, the College will now have a total of 13 programs competing for conference and national championships. Presently, Peru State offers football, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, and competitive cheer. All of the programs compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
While three of the varsity sports are completely new, the men’s cross country program is actually being re-established. The program was discontinued in the early 1980’s after many years of success including six top-ten national finishes and ten All-American citations.
With the addition of the junior varsity women’s program, that will bring the College’s junior varsity offering to five. Junior varsity programs new this fall were men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, and softball.
Current head volleyball coach Laurie Felderman is excited to begin recruiting for the junior varsity component for her volleyball program, “Watching the very competitive practices of the newly-added varsity programs proves to me that this will strengthen our entire volleyball program at Peru State.”
At Peru State, student-athletes may compete at both the junior varsity and varsity levels. NAIA guidelines allow for cross competition within scheduling limitations.
Peru State competes in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) against member schools in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. In addition to playing Heart schools, the new programs will also look to play against other NAIA schools in Nebraska and regional junior college athletic teams.
Heart Commissioner Lori Thomas was pleased to learn of Peru State’s decision to add programs, “Congratulations to Peru State as they expand their sports offerings and student-athlete experience.”
“With the addition of men’s and women’s bowling, the Heart will gain a national championship automatic berth; and competitive dance will bring the conference up to ten sponsoring institutions, the largest participation out of all NAIA conferences. It is great to see when an institution looks not only at what makes sense to their campus but also a great fit for the conference.”
Potential students interested in athletics at Peru State are encouraged to visit www.pscbobcats.com, speak with an admissions representative or coach. To express an interest, potential athletes can also complete the College’s inquiry form at http://my.peru.edu/athletics/inquiryform
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This release was originally released from Peru State Athletics.