TOLEDO – The University of Toledo announced the addition of women’s rowing as a varsity sport during a press conference on July 24 at the Glass City Pavilion.
Toledo Women’s Rowing will be the university’s 17th varsity sport. The team will compete at the NCAA Division I level and in the Mid-American Conference, which is adding women’s rowing to its lineup of sports. Competition begins in the 2025-2026 school year.
Toledo will compete against Eastern Michigan and UMass, as well as affiliate members Delaware, High Point and Temple.
A full squad will include approximately 50-60 student athletes.
“Today is about showing an example of an athletic department that’s not afraid to be bold,” said University of Toledo vice president and director of athletics Bryan B. Blair. “We want to be uniquely Toledo and take advantage of all this great community and university has to offer.
“We are going to be adding high-achieving young ladies who will be adding so much to our campus and the vibrancy in our athletic department,” added Blair.
“We have a culture of excellence that we want to extend to this new program, and we have a department that’s ready to embrace the addition of rowing. It gives us the opportunity to pursue a MAC Championship in another sport, which we intend to do like we do in our other 16 sports.”
Toledo Women’s Rowing will practice and compete on the Maumee River and will utilize the Philip LeBoutillier, Jr. Memorial Boathouse in International Park in downtown Toledo. The boathouse is owned by Metroparks Toledo and is operated by the Toledo Rowing Foundation.
A search for the coach is ongoing.
