Albertus Magnus College to Add Women’s Golf as 18th NCAA Division III Sport
From left to right: President of Albertus, Marc Camille, New Haven Country Golf Club President, Frankie Falcon mascot, four student women's golf members, Athletic Director, Michael Kobylanski, and Vice President for Enrollment Management, Brian Fernandes
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 22, 2024 – Albertus Magnus College is excited to announce the addition of women's golf as its 18th NCAA Division III sport, beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year. The announcement was made at the New Haven Country Club.
The College launched its intercollegiate men’s golf program in 2015-16, with plans to bring the women’s program forward shortly after. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the introduction, but the program is now set to begin during the upcoming academic year. Albertus head men’s golf coach, Rick Malafronte, will also serve as the head coach of the newly established women’s program.
"Dating to its founding in 1925 by the Dominican Sisters of Peace as New England’s first Catholic, residential liberal arts college for women, Albertus Magnus College has for nearly a century provided an excellent, holistic education first to women only but now for four decades to women and men, and the addition of women’s golf is another opportunity we’re excited to bring forward,” said Albertus President Marc M. Camille, Ed.D, who also serves on the NCAA Division III Presidents Council. “Albertus Falcons’ NCAA athletics fully embraces the student-athlete model, with our students competing just as hard in the classroom as they do in competition. I suspect the Falcons women’s golf team members will mirror the successes of our men’s golf student-athletes, competing for conference championships and NCAA berths and giving back through service, all while earning their Albertus degrees."
The women’s golf program will join the men in benefitting from the innovative partnership between Albertus and the historic New Haven Country Club in Hamden, which will serve as the home course for both programs. Like the men’s program, the women will fine tune their swings at New Haven’s Alling Memorial Golf Club.
"Strategic enrollment growth is a key priority at Albertus Magnus College,” said Albertus Director of Athletics, Michael Kobylanski. “In evaluating the current and future interest of women’s golf nationally and regionally, it became truly evident that it was time to add this sport to our repertoire. It will be another exciting moment for Albertus Magnus College next fall when our women’s golf team officially competes for the first time."
About Albertus Magnus College
Albertus Magnus College, founded in 1925, is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. As New England's most diverse Catholic College, Albertus' values and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For seven consecutive years, graduating classes at Albertus have achieved post-graduate employment and graduate school success at a rate of at least 95%. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and 11 graduate programs. Proud to enroll a student body where more than half of its students come from minority backgrounds with nearly the same percentage of undergraduates receiving Federal Pell Grants and being first generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor’s degree programs in Game and Computer Arts, General Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Project Management, Public Health, Social Media, and Supply Chain Management; among its graduate programs is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program. Just two years from its historic 100th Anniversary Year, the College is implementing its Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, which articulates an inspiring, bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.