Illinois Institute of Technology announced plans to add three varsity sports to its athletic roster beginning with men’s basketball in 2012-13, followed by women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse during the 2013-14 academic year.

“The new sports will create more participation opportunities for current and prospective students, enhance student life and help IIT fulfill the requirements necessary to begin its transition to NCAA Division III membership”, said Enzley Mitchell IV, director of athletics. IIT is currently a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). In fall 2012, IIT will enter the “exploratory” year of transition to NCAA Division III competition.

For more than 50 years, IIT has fielded highly competitive teams at its main campus on the South Side of Chicago. Today, more than 130 men and women compete for the Scarlet Hawks in 10 sports: men’s and women’s swimming and diving, cross-country, track and field, and soccer, as well as men’s baseball and women’s volleyball.

Women’s lacrosse will be making its debut at IIT as varsity sports. Men’s and women’s basketball, programs discontinued in 2009, will return to varsity status. Together, the three new sports will satisfy the NCAA Division III requirement of one team sport per season per gender. The university will conduct searches to hire basketball and lacrosse coaches this fall.

“Athletics has had a strong and proud legacy at IIT and we look forward to continuing that tradition in an association and conference that reflect the institution’s commitment to academic excellence and a dynamic student experience,” says John L. Anderson, president of IIT.

Current or prospective students who are interested in competing in the new sports or any of the other varsity athletic programs currently offered at IIT are encouraged to complete a recruiting questionnaire online or contact Director of Athletics Enzley Mitchell IV at emitche2@iit.edu.