TCU is delaying its debut season for this sport amid the coronavirus pandemic
TCU is delaying its women’s triathlon debut by a year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the school’s athletic director Jeremiah Donati said.
“While we remain excited and committed to bringing women’s triathlon to TCU, for financial and practical considerations, we have decided to delay our first competitive season by one year until fall of 2022,” Donati told the Star-Telegram.
The pandemic has created uncertain financial futures for colleges. The NCAA canceled March Madness and its spring sport championships, which lowered its revenue distribution to conferences and schools from $600 million to $275 million.
Schools are also bracing for a potential disruption to the college football season — the sport that generates the most revenue. As of now, the plan is for football to be played as scheduled (or at least have a season in some fashion, even if that means moving it to the spring).
TCU announced it would be adding women’s triathlon in January with plans to compete in the fall of 2021. Now it’s the fall of 2022.
Women’s triathlon will become the university’s 22nd varsity sport.
At the time of the decision, Donati said: “Triathlon checks all the boxes for us. We believe we have an opportunity to immediately compete at the highest collegiate level. Additionally, we will attract new students from across the country and support our goal of providing women with more opportunities to participate in sports.”
By adding women’s triathlon, TCU will continue to meet Title IX gender equity compliance requirements. It will be the third women’s sport added since 2006, along with equestrian (2006) and beach volleyball (2015).
Triathlon races feature athletes competing in a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. The sport has been part of the Olympics since 2000, and was approved in January 2014 as the next emerging sport for women for NCAA Division I, II and III institutions.
The college season includes three regional qualifiers followed by the national championships. As of today, 34 colleges sponsor triathlon programs with Arizona State winning the last four national titles.
TCU will become the first Big 12 school to field a women’s triathlon team.
