NCAA Division I Program Long Island University Adds Women’s Collegiate Triathlon

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York, is the latest NCAA program to add women's collegiate triathlon to its varsity collegiate sport offerings. An NCAA Division I program, Long Island University competes in the Northeast Conference. The women’s triathlon team at Long Island University will begin competition in the fall 2025 season.

“We are beyond excited to have LIU join the triathlon community,” said Tim Yount, USA Triathlon Chief Sport Development Officer. “Not only will they be a successful triathlon program but will do so in one of the most iconic locations in all the world. They will be providing new pathways for females to excel and contribute to the movement that triathlon is making as it starts the process with the NCAA of moving from Emerging to Championship Sport status.”

Long Island University's addition of women's triathlon as a collegiate varsity sport is made possible through a grant from the USA Triathlon Foundation. The USA Triathlon Foundation Women's Emerging Sport Grant is distributed to NCAA membership institutions to develop, implement, and sustain women's triathlon programs at the varsity level.

The commitment by Long Island University continues the momentum women’s collegiate triathlon has gathered toward becoming an NCAA Championship sport. With more than 40 schools now offering women’s collegiate triathlon, the NCAA Emerging Sport for Women has met the 10-year window to demonstrate sustainability and success at the NCAA varsity level. Women’s Triathlon now has a few more steps to take on its way to being fully managed by the NCAA as a championship event, including committee, council, divisional, and budget approvals.

A fall sport, the women’s triathlon varsity season includes National Qualifiers, followed by the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships. The draft-legal races are sprint-distance, featuring a 750-meter open-water swim, draft-legal 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run.

In the draft-legal format, athletes work together in packs on the bike and make multiple loops on a closed course. The exciting, spectator-friendly draft-legal format is the same format contested in the triathlon competition at the Olympic Games and on the World Triathlon Championship Series circuit.

For more information about triathlon as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women, visit https://www.usatriathlon.org/multisport/ncaa-triathlon.

Interested in helping to identify and recruit the next women’s varsity collegiate triathlon program? Athletes currently competing in the sport and those who come from single-sport backgrounds are invited to compete at the NCAA level. Inquiries may be directed to Tim Yount, USA Triathlon Chief Sport Development Officer, at tim.yount@usatriathlon.org.

About USA Triathlon

USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 3,500 events and races and connects with and supports more than 300,000 unique active members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.