MADISON, N.J. (May 12, 2016) – Drew University will add its 19^th and 20^th intercollegiate varsity sports with the launch of men's and women's golf.
 
The Rangers will begin NCAA Division III competition in the fall of 2017—after a year of club play—when Drew joins the Landmark Conference and the Conference starts sponsoring the sport. Golf marks the first expansion of the Rangers' athletic offerings since swimming was added as a varsity sport in 1995. 
 
The Rangers have selected Spring Brook Country Club as their home golf course for practices and tournaments. Spring Brook, located in nearby Morristown, N.J., is an 18-hole championship course that features the infamous Gauntlet: three consecutive par 3's surrounding the breathtaking Armstrong Pond. Click here for a Photo Gallery of Spring Brook Country Club.
 
"I am thrilled that Drew is adding men's and women's golf to its athletics roster, and as a novice golfer myself, I'm excited about attending their events, meeting team members—and maybe picking up a few tips!" said Drew President MaryAnn Baenninger.
 
On the men's side, Drew will join Goucher College and Juniata College as new programs next year that will compete against existing programs from Elizabethtown College, Moravian College, The University of Scranton and Susquehanna University. Women's golf will add Drew, Goucher and Juniata to Susquehanna's existing program. In addition, Elizabethtown, Moravian and Scranton are considering women's teams to complement men's programs.
 
Spring Brook is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, one of only a few clubs in the area to be recognized for its natural habitat, conservation and documentation of indigenous plants and wildlife. It has also been the home to five New Jersey State Open tournaments.
 
Drew has begun a national search for the first head coach of Rangers golf. Once identified, the coach will guide both the men's and women's teams, lead recruiting efforts and hire an assistant coach to prepare for the inaugural season. Drew will sponsor a club team during the 2016-17 academic year to prepare for varsity competition beginning in fall 2017.
 
"There has always been a rich tradition and heightened interest in golf in our area, so it's wonderful that we will be able to give it a home at Drew," said Director of Athletics Jason Fein. "The decision to sponsor men's and women's golf programs demonstrates that our institution is committed to offering a wide range of intercollegiate athletics opportunities for our students. I can't wait to witness the first shot sail out of the tee box in the fall."
 
The University will become just the second Division III school in New Jersey to offer women's golf as a varsity sport, joining the Rangers' cross-town neighbor, Fairleigh Dickinson University in Florham Park. On the men's side, Drew becomes the seventh Division III school in New Jersey to sponsor golf, following Centenary College, FDU-Florham, New Jersey City University, Rutgers-Camden, Stevens Institute of Technology and William Paterson University.
  Drew University, a Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts university, includes the College of Liberal Arts, the Drew Theological School and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. Drew is located on a beautiful, wooded, 186-acre campus in Madison, New Jersey, a thriving small town close to New York City. It has a total enrollment of more than 2,000 students and has 145 full-time faculty members, 94% of whom hold the terminal degree in their field. The Theological and Caspersen Schools offer MA and PhD degrees and the College confers BA degrees in 30 disciplines.
 
Drew is dedicated to exceptional faculty mentorship, a commitment to connecting the campus with the community and a focus on experiential learning. Particularly noteworthy opportunities for undergraduates include the Charles A. Dana Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti (RISE), home of 2015 Nobel Prize Winner for Medicine and Drew Fellow William Campbell, the Drew Summer Science Institute, the Center for Civic Engagement, as well as the Wall Street Semester, Semester at the United Nations, Semester on Contemporary Art and Semester on Communications and Media in New York City and several international semester programs. The University also houses the Center for Civic Engagement, the Drew Summer Science Institute, the Center for Religion, Culture & Conflict, the Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, an independent professional theater, as well as the United Methodist Archives and History Center and one of the country's leading concentrations of materials on Willa Cather.