All Penn College Athletes to Gain Four-Year Eligibility This Fall

Beginning this fall, all athletes at Pennsylvania College of Technology will have four-year eligibility, and most of the College's teams will compete in Penn State's Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference.

Previously, Penn College athletes participating in men's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, women's soccer, co-ed archery, co-ed bowling and the dance team had four-year eligibility, while athletes on the College's other sports teams were eligible for two years' participation.

This fall, Penn College athletes participating in baseball, women's softball, co-ed tennis, men's and women's cross country, women's basketball, men's soccer and golf also will gain four-year eligibility.

"It's a great opportunity for our students who are in bachelor-degree programs to be able to play for four years. It is the next step in our athletic evolution," said Michael J. Stanzione, Penn College athletic director. "It will help in recruiting, and more athletes will come here if they know they can compete for four years."

Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle, vice president for student affairs, said the impending eligibility changes are of great benefit to Penn College students.

"Athletics and other co-curricular activities play a significant role in the lives of our students, broadening and enriching their college experience and providing for a more well-rounded education," Dr. Boyle said. "The changes being implemented will allow more students to take advantage of such opportunities."

"This opens a whole new world for us," added Chester D. Schuman, golf coach and the College's director of admissions. "Not only do we get to bring some great golfers back, but it sparks more interest now for those students who may have opted to go to another school because it had four-year eligibility, and they wanted to compete athletically. They're going to come here now. This is the icing on the cake."

"I don't think it's going to mean anything but good things for athletics in general at Penn College," said Ronald E. Kodish, women's basketball coach. "But really, for the basketball program, I think it's going to do wonders in our ability to recruit athletes who are really serious about continuing to play basketball beyond high school."

"It will help us in so many different ways," Kodish added, "recruiting, playing a schedule where we might be able to get teams like Lycoming (College), or Corning (Community College), or Keystone (College), or a Susquehanna (University) those four-year schools that will now think about playing Penn College."

At the beginning the 2004-05 academic year, Penn College men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, men's soccer, golf, men's and women's cross country, co-ed tennis and softball teams became members of the CCAC.

While most of the College's teams also are competing in the Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference and Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association this year, starting in the fall, they will compete only in the CCAC. Athletes on Penn College teams in three sports men's volleyball, women's soccer and co-ed bowling will continue to compete in the EPCC and the PCAA, since the CCAC does not sponsor those sports. In addition, Penn College archers, who have had four-year eligibility for a number of years and compete in College Division of the National Archery Association, will not be affected by the changes.

"It will make it easier to understand," Stanzione said. "You're only playing for one title."

As pleased as Penn College is about the moves, so is CCAC Director John Fritz. "It's great for the conference to have Penn College in," he said. "We're just in the transition period where we're going to four-year eligibility in all our sports, and to have Penn College in with all our other teams gives great credibility and balance to our conference."

"Anytime you have a school as strong as Penn College, it makes everybody else stronger," Fritz added. "You play up to your competition, and we found out real quickly how competitive Penn College was last fall. ... It's a plus for everybody."

Fritz noted that Penn College teams claimed CCAC championships in men's soccer and golf, men's and women's cross country, and women's volleyball, and the College had the women's individual-singles tennis champ.

Other CCAC schools are: Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State York, Penn State Worthington Scranton, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Penn State Schuylkill, Penn State Mont Alto, Penn State Hazleton, Penn State Delaware County, Penn State Abington, Penn State DuBois, Penn State New Kensington, Penn State McKeesport, Penn State Beaver and Penn State Fayette.

Complete rosters and season schedules for Penn College athletic teams are available online.