Teams will compete as club sports in 2022-23, join Landmark Conference as NCAA varsity teams in 2023-24
June 2022 – Drew University will add men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams to its athletics program.
The teams will compete as club sports in the 2022-23 academic year before joining the Landmark Conference as NCAA Division III varsity teams the following year. With the addition of the four new programs, Drew will now offer 26 varsity sports.
“We are excited to offer additional competitive opportunities for future Rangers,” said Drew Director of Athletics Christa Racine. “We welcome first-year and transfer students for the upcoming academic year to join our club roster prior to its becoming a varsity Division III team in 2023-24.”
“The Landmark Conference is extremely competitive in track and field and we are looking forward to joining the other institutions in 2023-2024,” she added.
Drew Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Head Coach Sean Robinson has agreed to become the inaugural coach of both track and field teams. Robinson brings a wealth of track and field knowledge to the Rangers after a highly-successful coaching career at Morris Hills High School for the last two decades. He was inducted into the New Jersey State Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015.
“I am grateful and humbled to be supported by the entire Drew University Athletics community and our Board of Trustees to attract high-caliber student-athletes that share our vision in the development of NCAA Division III track and field excellence,” said Robinson, who will enter his second season as the Rangers’ cross country coach in 2022.
“Drew University truly is a special place and already offers one of the few indoor track facilities in northern New Jersey to properly build and maintain a dynamic men’s and women’s track and field program. I am looking forward to helping many student-athletes pursue their collegiate-level running, jumping, vaulting, hurdling, and throwing dreams.”
Drew annually hosts a series of high-caliber winter high school meets in the Simon Forum, which will serve as the Rangers’ indoor facility. With a 200-meter track and space for all field events, the Rangers will feature one of the top indoor track and field venues in the Landmark Conference. Drew’s outdoor facility has yet to be determined.
The addition of track and field marks the latest expansion of the Rangers’ athletics program. Men’s and women’s volleyball teams were added in 2021-22, four years after men’s and women’s golf were introduced as varsity sports.
“This is an exciting opportunity for current and future Drew students,” said Colby McCarthy, dean of enrollment management. “It represents yet another way to recruit excellent student athletes to Drew’s classrooms, facilities, and student body.”
