DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Embry-Riddle University Director of Athletics Steve Ridder announced Tuesday, January 27 that the athletic program will be adding men's and women's track and field beginning competition in the spring of 2005. "We're thrilled that the University administration has given us this opportunity to expand and improve the Eagle athletics program with the addition," Ridder said enthusiastically.
Current Eagles' cross country coach Mike Rosolino will relinquish his responsibilities as assistant director of the Braddock Education Success Team to head both the cross country and track and field programs.
"I am excited that coach Rosolino is going to be taking the helm of the track and field program, in combination with his role as our cross country coach," Ridder added. "He brings a great wealth of talent and experience to the position and I am confident that he is going to do a great job of building another successful program for us."
Plans are underway for constructing an on-campus state-of-the-art track and field facility to be utilized by the team, as well as the entire Embry-Riddle community.
"The addition of track & field as a varsity sport is going to greatly enhance the quality of student life on our campus, especially when the track facility is constructed on our campus," Ridder said. "Not only will the men's and women's track and field teams get to practice and compete in a top-quality facility, the entire University community – students, faculty, staff, ROTC programs, alumni and others – will have access to this much-needed facility."
Rosolino is excited about the opportunity of building a program and also believes the addition of track and field will benefit the cross country program. "This is a great day for Embry-Riddle athletics as we add a track and field program," Rosolino said. "I look forward to beginning the process of putting together a top-rate track team that is as successful as our other programs, which means that we will compete against the best teams in the nation.
"I feel that our team will be competitive from year one because we have a strong base of distance runners that have been running cross country and they are looking forward to the addition of a track team. It will make us a better cross country team as well."
Recruiting of future student-athletes for the program will begin immediately and prospective student-athletes can contact Rosolino at michael.rosolino@erau.edu "We have already begun the recruiting process and look forward to bringing several impact players that will help us create a national-caliber team," Rosolino added. "The weather in Florida makes this an ideal training area for track, since you can train and compete outdoors year round."