BIDDEFORD, Maine – University of New England Director of Athletics Heather Davis announced Friday (June 14) that women's outdoor track & field will be added as a varsity sport, beginning in the 2020-2021 academic year.

UNE sponsors 17 varsity sports, with the most recent additions being football in 2018 and women's rugby in 2016. Women's outdoor track & field will join men's and women's lacrosse, softball and women's rugby as varsity sports which compete during the spring sports season.

"We are pleased to announce the future addition of women's outdoor track & field to complement our current varsity sport offerings," Davis commented. "This will afford additional participation opportunities for female student-athletes in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship sport. I would like to thank UNE's senior administrators for their support of this important initiative."

The Nor'easters finished as runners-up for the 2018-19 CCC Women's All-Sport Trophy. UNE's club women's track & field squad competed as a non-scoring team at the 2019 CCC Women's Track & Field Championship. 

A national search for a head coach and a program implementation plan will announced in the upcoming months.