GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport University Director of Athletics Paul Lowden has announced the addition of two athletic programs beginning in 2013-14.  Women's Ice Hockey and Women's Rugby will become the 27^th and 28^th athletic programs that the University will sponsor and the search for a head coach for each will begin immediately.

"Davenport University has been a trend setter in adding both varsity and non-varsity programs for the past 10 years," Lowden said. "The addition of women's hockey and women's rugby falls in line with our strategic initiative.”

Davenport added men's rugby as an official sport three years ago, and the program has won two DI-AA national titles since then. The rugby programs will be non-NCAA< but will be treated as varsity in every other way.

“Men's Hockey and Men's Rugby have been two of our most successful athletic programs at Davenport University with a combined 6 National Championships," said Lowden. "It is a natural fit for Davenport to add both Women's Hockey and Women's Rugby as both of these unique programs will help add diversity to our campus and overall campus life experience.”

The search for a head coach for each of the program's will begin immediately.

Lowden said many key organizations were involved in the decision to start these programs stating, “The Athletic Department, our Athletic Advisory Board and University Leadership were all involved in the approval of the addition of these two programs. Most of our current athletic programs are offered both in men and women. Strategically, it was the right decision to identify Women's Hockey and Women's Rugby to complement our successful Men's Hockey and Men's Rugby programs.”