GC Students Participating on Athletic Teams Soars to All-Time High
Published: April 13, 2021
GREENVILLE, Ill. -- The beginning of the 2010 fall semester brought an increased number of student-athletes to Greenville's campus. Last winter, the institution decided to boost enrollment through an emphasis on the establishment and growth of junior varsity programs. Coaches took the request to heart and produced results exceeding expectations.
Starting with the 2010-11 academic year, Greenville College is sponsoring full junior varsity schedules in football, men's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball.
The concept of junior varsity programs is not new to the campus as several teams have sponsored junior varsity teams when the number of participants permitted it. However, the increased focus on promoting these programs during the previous year has led to an all-time high in the number of student-athletes attending Greenville College.
At last count, approximately 50 percent of all new freshman students plan to become student-athletes. When transfers and re-admitted students are added, over 40 percent of the new students on Greenville's campus this fall have plans to participate in athletics.
"The growth in students that Greenville College has witnessed this fall is a testament to prayer and the tremendous efforts of our coaching staff and admissions personnel," said athletic director Doug Faulkner. "We are thankful for the role that we have played in helping the college regain its student enrollment and are looking forward to seeing these new student-athletes engaged in our community and on the playing fields."
"The coaching staff at Greenville is an extraordinary group of men and women who labored diligently in their recruiting efforts to help fulfill the expectations of increased student enrollment."
This fall over one-third of traditional students are participating in athletics. The coaching staff has grown as well. Greenville College added full-time and graduate assistant coaches to accommodate the increased number of students that the athletic programs service on a daily basis.
A full season schedule for junior varsity football, men's soccer, and volleyball is already underway. Games will also be contested at the junior varsity level in women's soccer. The men's basketball team has added a freshman team schedule to its previously existing junior varsity schedule, and the women's basketball and baseball teams will play a full season schedule. In many cases, practices for varsity and junior varsity are held independently of each other due to the number of student-athletes requiring training.
The Greenville College athletic department sponsors teams in men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball in the fall. The men's and women's basketball and indoor track and field teams compete throughout the winter. The spring schedule brings baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's outdoor track and field.
