William W. Sellers, President of Wentworth Military Academy & College in Lexington, MO., announced major additions to the College Athletic program today. The programs will launch in the fall of 2011. Sellers also announced renovations to the Athletic facilities to be completed by opening of the fall 2011 semester.
Wentworth will add Women’s Volleyball, Men’s Soccer, and Men’s Basketball. A national search is underway for coaches in Volleyball and Soccer. A coach has been selected to lead the Men’s Basketball program and he will be announced in the coming weeks. Other new programs that will make their debut in the spring of 2012 are Men’s and Women’s Tennis, and Men’s and Women’s Golf.
Sellers indicated an increased emphasis will be placed on existing Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Wrestling, and Men’s and Women’s Track programs, enabling them to be more competitive.
In announcing the new programs, Sellers said, “These new athletic programs are part of our effort to revitalize the college experience for our students. Wentworth has not had a full range of college athletics since 1994. As we have talked with our current students in the military college as well as those in the private community college serving the local region, we realized the need to enhance the options for Wentworth students. Because we are a military college, athletics and physical activity are an essential part of our educational experience. Reintroducing College Athletics was a natural next step.”
“We will be recruiting student/athletes nationwide to build a quality athletic program,” Sellers said. “I want to emphasize that we will also seek out local students who attend our private community college and want to continue their athletic careers in college.”
Wentworth is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association and competes in the NJCAA’s Region 16 (Missouri).
Sellers also announced extensive renovation to the Athletic facilities. The 65,000 sq. foot Wikoff Athletic Center is the centerpiece of the athletic facilities and will be undergoing a cosmetic facelift. Those changes include renovation to the locker rooms to meet the needs of the expanded athletic programs. Lighting will be added at Alumni Stadium. The Soccer Field will graded and crowned and lights added. A new scoreboard will be added to the soccer facility. Repairs will also be made to the six court tennis complex.
Sellers added, “Wentworth has a long and distinguished athletic history. The school’s first motto was ‘Mens Sans in Corpore Sano’ Â ‘A Sound Mind in a Sound Body’. Through the years, we have counted among our alumni Don Cadle, an Olympic rower, Med Park, who played for the St. Louis Hawks in the NBA, Ben Hoge, captain of the West Point football team, and major league baseball player Beals Becker. We have also had hundreds of athletes who have continued their athletic careers at their transfer colleges. It’s a proud day for us as we bring back this long tradition.”
Wentworth Military College, one of the oldest two year colleges west of the Mississippi, is located in Lexington, Missouri, 40 miles east of Kansas City. The College was organized in 1923 as an outgrowth of Wentworth Military Academy, which was established in 1880. Wentworth College offers high school graduates the same courses in liberal arts and science that are available in the leading universities and colleges throughout the United States. Wentworth Military College is a private, co-educational boarding and non-boarding two- year college. A small group of students are additionally enrolled in Wentworth’s highly regarded United States Army ROTC Early Commissioning Program, one of only five such programs in the country where college students can earn a Second Lieutenant’s commission in the U.S. Army after their sophomore year.
Wentworth is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
