National Collegiate Equestrian Association is Launched
National Collegiate Equestrian Association
In effort to further advance equestrian to a NCAA championship sport, the entity formerly known as Varsity Equestrian has established an association to become the voice for the sport of equestrian within college athletics. The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) was founded to be the catalyst for growth of varsity level equestrian competition.
“The transition of Varsity Equestrian to the National Collegiate Equestrian Association is a very positive step that will give us a boost toward our goal of achieving championship status within NCAA,” said Casie Lisabeth, NCEA president and Kansas State University equestrian head coach. “The support of AQHA and USEF has been key in making NCEA possible. This change will help further educate the public about collegiate equestrian and help increase opportunities for young women by adding more universities and growing the sport to NCAA championship status.”
In 1998, Equestrian was recognized as a NCAA emerging sport and since then the sport has been governed by the Varsity Equestrian Steering Committee. The committee was composed of the coaches and administrators from universities sponsoring Equestrian at the varsity level.
As equine industry leaders, the American Quarter Horse Association and the United States Equestrian Federation are working in cooperation to support the development of opportunities for equestrian student-athletes.
Click here to read more on VarsityEquestrian.com
Why is this for “young women” only? I have a USEF hunter rider son who is trying to get collegiate scholarships! Isn’t this a bit sexist and discriminatory?! Not all male riders are ropers!!
One might ask the same of collegiate sporting programs that go broke offering football while the other sports either get cut, or offer fewer options in terms of travel and competition. While the sport of equestrian is a fairly expensive sport, you should look at the schools that offer it. Many are football powerhouses. I am speaking from a Division I perspective . . . It probably isn’t as big a problem for athletes playing in Division III.