An anonymous donor came forward with $500,000 to fund the startup of the three programs which is intended to cover the hiring of head coaches for all three teams, development strategies and recruiting student-athletes, GoDanRiver.com reported Thursday.
"We are so very appreciative of this most generous gift that will help us achieve new levels of athletic and academic excellence," school president Tiffany M. Franks said. "Adding these sports will help us to diversify our enrollment pipelines by attracting prospective students from geographical regions outside of Averett's traditionally targeted territories."
With the addition of wrestling and the two lacrosse teams, Averett will now have 16 intercollegiate athletics programs. It comes as part of the school's "Averett 2020" strategic plan to increase enrollment and expand the geographic diversity of its student population.
Averett expects that the teams will generate 90 new students within four years, helping the school toward achieving a goal of having 1,100 traditional students.
"Through the addition of these three programs, Averett Athletics' expansion is an integral part of the university's strategic growth," said Director of Athletics Meg Stevens. "To establish the proper foundation for sports expansion, we have thoughtfully and carefully positioned ourselves well through our comprehensive planning. We've done our research, and these are three in-demand sports that perfectly fit our university profile."
"These are the right sports at the right time," Stevens continued. "This is a great day for Averett, Averett athletics, and for Danville and Southern Virginia. This could make a big impact on our area.
As Averett explained in its announcement, wrestling has seen growth at the Division III level. Six new men's wrestling programs are scheduled to take to the mat for the first time in 2016-17, with three non-NCAA programs scheduled to transition to Division III in the next three years.
Located in the city of Danville in south-central Virginia near the North Carolina border, Averett University describes itself as a four-year, fully accredited, private, co-educational college with a traditional residential campus. Originally founded as a women's college in 1859, the school became co-ed in 1969, and took on its present name in 2001.
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