AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College announced today that it has been awarded a $70,000 grant from USA Triathlon and the USA Triathlon Foundation to aid in the establishment of the College's intercollegiate program for women's triathlon.  Daemen, which announced its intentions to sponsor an intercollegiate women's triathlon program last April, is one of 10 colleges and universities to receive this form of grant funding from USA Triathlon this year, including high-profile institutions such as Arizona State University.
 
"It is a huge honor for Daemen to be listed among these well-established NCAA Division I and II institutions as a triathlon grant recipient," said Bridget Niland, Director of Athletics at Daemen.  "Our selection to receive this important funding reflects the enthusiasm that exists for Daemen Athletics at the national level.  As a grant recipient, Daemen will not only grow the sport of triathlon at the collegiate level but will also work in the Western New York community to expand the knowledge of triathlon as a sport.  We are excited to have the support of USA triathlon and to partner with them in growing the sport at the collegiate level."
 
USA Triathlon has led the efforts for the sport to surface for intercollegiate competition.  Triathlon was approved as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women at the NCAA Convention in January of 2014, giving the sport a 10-year window to establish 40 intercollegiate programs.  At the time of the announcement to add a women's triathlon program, Daemen became one of a handful of NCAA Division II schools to sponsor the sport, joining other grant recipients Black Hills State University, Drury University, Queens University of Charlotte and University of West Alabama, among a few others.
 
Daemen is one of two of the latest beneficiaries of the Women's Triathlon Emerging Sport Grant, created to drive the establishment of NCAA women's triathlon programs.  Eight additional recipients were first announced last April by USA Triathlon.  The funding program, the first of its kind ever offered to an NCAA Emerging Sport, is being provided by the USA Triathlon Foundation which will dole out a total of $2.6 million over the next several years.
 
The $70,000 sum awarded to Daemen will be dispersed over the next three years with $40,000 of that coming for the initial establishment of the program in 2015-16.  Amounts of $20,000 and $10,000 will come in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.  The funds will be used to help offset the program's operational and scholarship budgets.
 
"I am humbled and honored to be part of this groundbreaking initiative," said Jon Metz, Head Women's Triathlon Coach at Daemen.  "Women's triathlon is a perfect fit for Daemen College and Western New York.  In addition to the work we are doing to establish an intercollegiate program at Daemen, we have had the opportunity to reach out and assist other schools that are interested in starting their own program.  As an NCAA Emerging Sport, I feel we have an obligation to assist USA Triathlon and the NCAA with the introduction of this new collegiate varsity sport."
 
The Daemen College women's triathlon team will begin its inaugural season by partaking in the Lake George Triathlon Festival on Sept. 5.  As a recipient of this grant funding, Daemen's team has earned an automatic invitation to the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, the second-ever such event, to be held on Nov. 7 in Clermont, Fla.