Noah West during an NCAA hockey game on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, in Air Force Academy, Colo.
Bart Young / AP Photo
Robert Morris University cuts men’s and women’s hockey
The move affects 55 athletes and seven staff members.
-
The Associated Press
Bart Young / AP Photo
Noah West during an NCAA hockey game on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, in Air Force Academy, Colo.
(Moon Township) — Robert Morris University is cutting its men’s and women’s hockey programs, effective immediately.
The school made the announcement Wednesday, saying the decision was part of a strategic initiative “intended to position the university to be amongst the most agile and professionally focused schools in the nation as it prepares for its upcoming 100th anniversary.”
The move affects 55 athletes and seven staff members. The school said it will honor the scholarships of those athletes wishing to remain on campus and will assist others who wish to transfer.
Jared Wickerham / AP Photo
Nick Jenny of the Robert Morris Colonials carries the puck during a Robert Morris University and Sacred Heart University NCAA hockey game on Friday, Feb.1, 2019 in Pittsburgh.
Both programs were NCAA Division I members. The men competed in the Atlantic Hockey Conference, while the women were members of College Hockey America.
The cuts drop Robert Morris to 15 Division I sports, which university president Chris Howard said is more in line with similarly sized institutions. The school, located just west of Pittsburgh, has an enrollment of around 4,500.
The Colonials introduced the men’s program in 2004, with the women’s program starting in 2005. The men made their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014. The women reached the tournament in 2017.
Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.
