One Red Wolf Nation. Two new teams.

Indiana University East will add NAIA varsity men’s and women’s soccer programs starting with the 2017-18 school year.

The Indiana University East Faculty Senate earlier this school year approved a resolution to add men’s and women’s soccer programs.

“We’re very excited about the addition of soccer at IU East,” said IU East Athletic Director Joe Griffin. “There is a lot of interest in soccer in this area, and soccer is big in this part of the country.

“It’s a good next step for the university, and another big, positive impact for the athletic department.”

The IU East athletic department plans to have the head coaches for both programs in place before the start of the 2016-17 school year, with the search process already underway.

Information about the head coaching position will be posted at the NAIA and IU East web sites.

The new coaches will focus on recruiting the Red Wolf rosters during the 2016-17 school year. The teams would begin NAIA competition during the 2017-18 school year.

The school estimates 50 total student-athletes will participate in the soccer programs.

IU East’s soccer teams will compete alongside the school’s other athletics teams in what is currently the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The league will be known as the River States Conference by the time the Red Wolf soccer programs kick off their first seasons. IU East will be the league’s ninth men’s team and 10th women’s team.

The addition of men’s and women’s soccer brings the total number of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) varsity sports offered at IU East to 13.

The Red Wolves currently compete in men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. IU East offers more NAIA sports than any other IU regional campus.