Q.U. Announces the Addition of Men’s & Woman’s Track & Field Programs

Quincy University Director of Athletics Marty Bell announced yesterday the addition of men’s and women’s track & field to the University’s sport offerings beginning with competition this academic year. Including indoor (winter) and outdoor (spring) track & field, the University now offers 20 intercollegiate sports.

Second-year cross country coach Darrin Bishop will serve as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s track programs, while also maintaining his role with the cross country teams. Many of the cross country student-athletes will also compete on the new track teams.

According to Bell. “This will allow us the opportunity to bring in more quality student-athletes to Quincy University to raise the academic and athletic profile of the institution. Darrin has been one of the guiding forces in getting the track program off the ground and I’m excited to see where he will take it.” To help with the increase in numbers, the program has added Eric Hoke and Andrea Edgar as assistant coaches.

Quincy is just the third men’s Division II track & field program in Illinois. There are now four women’s programs in the state.  According to the 2014-15 participation survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations, track & field was the second-most popular sport with over one million high school athletes across the country.

The University announced the launch of women’s swimming in May 2014 as the athletic department’s 16^th intercollegiate sport. That program, under Rachel Schlatter, is in its practice season and will begin competition in October. Q.U. will also start competition in women’s and men’s lacrosse in the 2017-18 academic year.