Warren Wilson College to Add Women's Collegiate Triathlon

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, is the latest NCAA program to add women's collegiate triathlon to its varsity collegiate sport offerings. An NCAA Division III program, Warren Wilson will begin competition in the fall 2024 season.

“We are thrilled to see new athletic opportunities for female student-athletes in North Carolina at Warren Wilson College," said Victoria Brumfield, USA Triathlon CEO. "Female collegiate athletes will shape the future of our sport for years to come."

“We are excited about this opportunity to provide our students with a unique athletics program to pursue,” said Robin Martin-Davis, the Director of Athletics at Warren Wilson College. “We hope to be on the forefront as women’s triathlon transitions from an emerging NCAA sport to one in which championship-level competitions are offered. We are also excited to further develop and build a minority presence in the sport of triathlon.”

Martin-Davis said women’s triathlon is a perfect fit for Warren Wilson because the school offers some of the best running and biking trails in the nation. The Warren Wilson cycling team won a national championship in 2016 and has had strong finishes at Nationals since then. In addition, Warren Wilson has announced a new track and field team to begin competing in fall 2024.

“Warren Wilson College Athletics greatly appreciates USA Triathlon’s support, partnership, and commitment to helping us develop a competitive NCAA women’s triathlon program,” Martin-Davis said. “We are eager to provide young women with increased opportunities to excel as student-athletes and grow as leaders in our community.”

Warren Wilson'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 Warren Wilson 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? Inquiries may be directed to Tim Yount, USA Triathlon Chief Sport Development Officer, at tim.yount@usatriathlon.org.

About Warren Wilson College

Warren Wilson College is a vibrant, independent college with an innovative curriculum that purposefully integrates the liberal arts with community engagement and work experiences to prepare students for not only professional success, but also a life of meaning. Visit www.warren-wilson.edu.

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 races and connects with more than 300,000 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 Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

Women’s Varsity Collegiate Triathlon Programs
NCAA Division I (15)

Arizona State University (Tempe, Ariz.)

Delaware State University (Dover, Del.)

Chicago State University (Chicago, Ill.)

Duquesne (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, Tenn.)

Hampton University (Hampton, Va.)

Queens University of Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.)

Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas)

University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.)

University of Denver (Denver, Colo.)

University of Northern Kentucky (Highland Heights, Ky.)

University of San Francisco (San Francisco. Calif.)

University of South Dakota (Vermillion, S.D.)

U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Md.)

Wagner College (Staten Island, N.Y.)

NCAA Division II (15)

American International College (Springfield, Mass.)

Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, N.C.)

Black Hills State University (Spearfish, S.D.)

Cal Poly Humboldt (Arcata, Calif.)

Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, Colo.)

Drury University (Springfield, Mo.)

Emmanuel College (Franklin Springs, Ga.)

King University (Bristol, Tenn.)

Lake Superior State University (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.)

Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory, N.C.)

Montana State University Billings (Billings, Mont.)

Newberry College (Newberry, S.C.)

Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.)

St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.)

Wingate University (Wingate, N.C.)

NCAA Division III (14)

Alvernia University (Reading, Pa.)

Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Mich.)

Central College (Pella, Iowa)

Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

Concordia University Wisconsin (Mequon, Wis.)

Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.)

Greensboro College (Greensboro, N.C.)

Guilford College (Greensboro, N.C.)

Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.)

North Central College (Naperville, Ill.)

Transylvania University (Lexington, Ky.)

Trine University (Angola, Ind.)

Warren Wilson College (Swannanoa, N.C.)

Willamette University (Salem, Ore.)