Letter to the Editor: We need to work on our diversity in athletics

Makenna+Theissen%2C+Staff

Makenna Theissen, Staff

As an alum of UK, I was happy to see our school rank above average overall in student diversity, according to collegefactual.com.  However, it saddens me to see how that diversity doesn’t extend to athletics, in particular women’s field hockey, lacrosse and triathlon.

Field hockey and lacrosse have been sanctioned NCAA sports for years, and triathlon is currently being considered.  At UK, both field hockey and lacrosse are currently offered at the club level only.  Triathlon isn’t included at any level.

In the state of Kentucky, there are four NCAA field hockey teams and eight NCAA/NAIA lacrosse teams.  University of Louisville offers 12 scholarships for each sport. What am I missing? Why aren’t these sports represented at UK as well?

UK has done an impressive job attracting students from 46 states and 48 other countries, also according to collegefactual.com, and we can be proud of UK’s commitment to diversity. But, let’s extend that spirit of diversity to athletic opportunities!

Let’s add these teams to the wonderful tradition of competitive athletics at the University of Kentucky.  C’mon Cats – Let’s ALL play!