PERU – The Peru State athletic department will be providing more opportunities for student-athletes to showcase their talents as they will be adding four junior varsity athletic programs starting in the fall of 2019. Recruitment will begin immediately.
Peru State president Dr. Dan Hanson and Athletic Director Wayne Albury announced the college will be adding men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball junior varsity programs.
The college has engaged in a strategic enrollment management process for the past 18 months and determined the addition of junior varsity athletic programs would be among the best use of resources to bolster enrollment.
“Peru State College’s mission includes providing access to higher education -and all it means to provide a personal and engaging education,” Hanson said. “As a former college coach and athlete, I know athletics can be an important part of the college learning experience. Adding junior varsity athletics at Peru State gives more students this experience across Nebraska and the region.”
In addition, Peru State will be moving its cheerleading program to varsity/competitive status next fall as well.
“This decision was not made without a thorough review of the College’s current resources and the ability to adequately fund these additional programs,” Albury said. “We are confident that the addition of these junior varsity programs will also enhance our current varsity teams.”
Peru State competes in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) which has member schools in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. In addition to playing Heart schools, the athletic department will also look to play other NAIA schools in Nebraska, as well as, playing area junior college athletic teams.
