Notre Dame Adds Two New Sports for 2006-07 

South Euclid, OH - December 22, 2005 - Notre Dame College announced on Thursday its plan to offer two new sports beginning with the 2006-07 academic year, including men's wrestling and women's swimming and diving.

The two new offerings will give Notre Dame's athletic program a total of 17 varsity teams, each affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The additions will compete within the winter sports season along with men's and women's basketball.

"The decision to add wrestling and swimming and diving was a very logical one for the College," said NDC Director of Athletics Sue Hlavacek.

According to the 2004-05 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), wrestling was the sixth most popular boys sport in the country with 243,009 male participants. Swimming and diving was the eighth most popular girls program with 148,254 female participants.

With the additions, Notre Dame College will offer five of the top six most popular boys programs and seven of the top eight most popular girls programs.

"Both of the sports we're adding are very popular in Ohio," said Hlavacek, "especially in the northeast. Notre Dame is looking to offer those talented student-athletes a way to continue their participation at the collegiate level, while at the same time offering them an opportunity to receive a quality education." 

In the sport of wrestling, Ohio has 249 high schools that participate in the sport, according to figures tallied by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), while the sport of girls swimming and diving has 398 high schools participating. 

Scholarships are available to student-athletes interested in participating in any of Notre Dame's athletic programs.

The process of hiring coaches for the new programs will begin in January.