SPARKILL, N.Y. - St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) is proud to announce the addition of Women’s and Men’s Volleyball programs as their 21st and 22nd NCAA sports. The Spartans anticipate beginning the inaugural Women’s Volleyball season in Fall 2023, with the Men’s team beginning competition in Spring 2024.
“St. Thomas Aquinas College has a long and proven legacy of providing outstanding athletic opportunities for our student athletes, who excel both in the classroom – with an ECC-high 90% academic success graduation rate – and on the field,” said STAC President Ken Daly. “As highlighted in our strategic plan, we are passionately committed to the holistic development of our students and are proud to be adding these popular athletic offerings for our student athletes.”
With the introduction of these two new programs, St. Thomas Aquinas College leads the East Coast Conference (ECC) in NCAA sport programs. Along with 22 NCAA sports, the college sponsors club sports including Sprint Football (CSFL), Men’s Ice Hockey (MCHC), Esports, and Cheer and Dance, as well as multiple other club and intramural opportunities.
"The ECC is very excited about STAC's announcement to add the sport of volleyball. The ECC has some of the best women's volleyball programs in our region and adding STAC will be a major plus to our conference,” stated ECC Commissioner Dr. Robert Dranoff. “We are confident the volleyball program will build on the success of STAC’s other athletic programs.”
St. Thomas Aquinas College will immediately conduct a national search for head coaches to lead these programs. The STAC Women's Volleyball team will compete in the Division II East Coast Conference while the men’s program will initially play an independent schedule as future conference affiliations are to be determined.
“We are thrilled to add both Men’s and Women’s Volleyball as we continue to expand our athletic offerings. These additions will strengthen our academic and athletic profile while creating new opportunities for our campus and community,” stated STAC Director of Athletics Nicole Ryan.
St. Thomas Aquinas College is an independent liberal arts college located on 72 acres in Rockland County, NY, which provides education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College’s approximately 2,000 full and part-time students can choose from more than 100 different majors, minors, specializations, and dual-degree programs across four Schools: Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Education, and STEM. The College is recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the Top-Tier for Regional Universities, by Colleges of Distinction in both its New York and Catholic editions, by Affordable Colleges Online as a Top College in New York for Return on Investment, and is included as a Military Friendly School®. St. Thomas Aquinas College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; its School of Education is a candidate for accreditation by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), and its School of Business is accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE). For more information, visit www.stac.edu.