SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific University Athletics has decided to postpone the addition of women's golf until the fall of 2024. Once added, the women's golf program becomes the 13th sport offered by SPU.
"As we are going through some leadership transitions, we have decided to delay the start of our women's golf program for one academic year," Vice Provost for Student Formation and Community Engagement Jeff Jordan said. "Although this is disappointing, we believe that finalizing other decisions first is crucial for this program and others in SPU Athletics."
The program will compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II. The Falcons will join Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's, Simon Fraser, and Western Washington as GNAC members with women's golf.
Since women's golf was added to the conference in 2010-11, six GNAC teams have achieved top-10 regional finishes. Western Washington owns four of those finishes, led by a third-place finish in 2011. That same year, the Vikings placed 11th at the Division II Championships, the highest for a GNAC team.
The Pacific Northwest provides the opportunity to play golf year-round in various conditions. The Falcons haven't found a home course yet. The team expects to play at some of the best courses in the greater Seattle area.
The longtime home for the GNAC Golf Championships, the Coeur d'Alene Resort Course, provides conference players the chance to compete at a supremely unique course. The course includes the famous floating green on the 14th hole, the only man-made floating green in the U.S.
The quality of play in the GNAC has been its strongest in the last few years. Three conference players have earned selection as Women's Golf Coaches Association All-Americans since 2019, including four WGCA Scholar All-Americans.
The SPU Athletic Department plans to build a state-of-the-art indoor golf facility to help the team prepare for the competition. It will be constructed in what's known as the northeast annex of Royal Brougham Pavilion. SPU's goal is to build an indoor practice facility that is one of the best in the conference and the western region.
