February 2007

Sports Corner

On Course for the Future

Pictured: Athletics Director Barry Fried fields questions at a press conference announcing the creation of Viterbo's men's and women's golf program.

Upon his arrival in July, Viterbo President Rick Artman expressed his desire to ­expand the athletics program. In November, Viterbo University Athletics Director Barry Fried announced the addition of varsity men’s and women’s golf teams in time for the 2007–08 school year.

“Adding golf has been a vision of mine for some time now and to finally have it happen is very rewarding,” commented Fried, who indicated the La Crosse Country Club would be home to the V-Hawks. “I believe that Viterbo will now be a great option for prospective students who want to continue their golf career in college.”

Men’s and women’s golf will become the eighth and ninth varsity sports at Viterbo. They will join men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, and softball. Golf is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship sport that runs in the fall and spring months. Currently, there are 165 men’s teams and 125 women’s in the NAIA. The conference and regional tournaments are in the fall season while the national championships are in mid-May. Like Viterbo’s other sports, the golf teams will be a part of the Midwest Classic Conference (MCC). Currently seven schools sponsor men’s golf and six sponsor women’s golf.

In related news, the athletics department also announced the new Jack Knothe Family Scholarship, which will benefit a golfer on the men’s and women’s team each year. The scholarship is named in honor of the late Jack Knothe, who was an avid golfer and a prominent member of the community.

“Golf was an important part of Jack’s life,” said his widow Eileen Knothe. “And as a family, we are delighted to help launch the ­Viterbo men’s and women’s program by creating the scholarship in his name.”