Santa Fe College President Dr. Jackson Sasser and the Board of Trustees voted last summer to approve an intercollegiate volleyball team at SF, slated to start competition fall 2014. The addition will give SF five competitive athletics programs: men’s basketball and baseball, and women’s basketball, fast pitch softball, and women’s volleyball.
Saints Volleyball will compete at the NJCAA Division I level as members of the Mid-Florida Conference and provide 12 scholarships per season. SF is joining a recent influx of schools that have decided to add the sport of volleyball. The College of Central Florida added a team in 2011 and Daytona State College began their volleyball program in 2013. (For a full list of teams, please click here)
“We are very excited about the addition of volleyball and would thank President Sasser, Dr. Naima Brown and the Board of Trustees for their support,” said SF Athletics Director Jim Keites. “This sport has been requested for many years by our students and the community and we believe it will be well received.”
President Sasser believes that volleyball is a welcome addition to the Santa Fe College campus.
“The addition of women’s volleyball adds a rich dimension to our college and community,” said Sasser. “The academic and athletic opportunities that this new sport at the college level will provide are innumerable.”
Gainesville is known throughout the state as a hotbed for athletic talent, with some of the best high school club teams in the state calling the area their home. University of Florida head volleyball coach Mary Wise sees this as a tremendous opportunity for Alachua and Bradford counties.
“Santa Fe College is a unique two-year school because of size and location to the University of Florida and my guess is they will be able to track talent very well,” said Wise. “Volleyball is the most popular sport in the state amongst female high school athletes and I don’t think it will take very long to grow the program with of the quality of the academics and the location.”