Search for Head Coach Underway

KINGS POINT, N.Y. , Feb. 13, 2020 – U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Superintendent, Rear Admiral Jack Buono announced today the addition of a Women’s Soccer program to the NCAA Division III athletic offerings at the Academy. 

“The addition of women’s soccer will increase athletic opportunities for those applicants considering USMMA for their college experience,” said Buono. “It will also likely increase potential attendance by women at the Academy, who currently represent about 25% of the roughly 1,000 members of the Regiment of Midshipmen. 

In a phone call, Buono told reporters, Mariners’ Women’s Soccer will begin play this coming fall, as a club team, and after a two-year NCAA-required transition period, as a fall of 2022 NCAA Division III varsity team in the local Skyline Athletic Conference. 

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy athletic department currently offers 18 varsity programs, seven of which are exclusively for women. They are: Basketball, Lacrosse, Cross Country, Track and Field (indoor and outdoor), Swimming and Diving, and Volleyball. This announcement will increase the number to 19 varsity level programs with eight offered to women. 

Athletic director, Kristofer Schnatz is currently in the midst of a nationwide search for the program coaching staff. Preparations to welcome the new team are well underway as renovation and upgrade of one of the athletic fields at Kings Point nears completion. The new complex will serve as the primary home for practice and competition for the new team.  

“While we were well within the requirements of the Title IX equal play guidelines, when we considered the totality of the women’s sports offerings, and considering recent feedback from applicants during the admissions cycle, Women’s Soccer had significant potential as an addition to our athletic portfolio,” said Buono. “We believe there is enough interest to make this program a success and we look forward to welcoming female soccer athletes to the NCAA sports program at USMMA.”

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ABOUT USMMA

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, located in Kings Point, N.Y, educates and graduates leaders of exemplary character who are inspired to serve the national security, marine transportation, and economic needs of the United States as licensed Merchant Marine Officers and commissioned officers in the Armed Forces. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Academy, which was established under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1943. It is administered by the Maritime Administration under the auspices of the Department of Transportation.

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