December 16, 2022

Forsyth Tech continues to innovate to meet our students where they are and provide holistic support outside of the classroom; the college is also embarking on an exploratory endeavor related to student life: athletics!

The college is in the early exploratory stage of determining all the details, budgets and needs for an intercollegiate athletic program. Forsyth Tech has had active intramural athletics periodically and recently participated in an intramural soccer club tournament.

From a national level, approximately 50% of two-year colleges have intercollegiate athletic programs, and within the next several years, that number is expected to climb to 65-70%. Student-athletes are also 11% more likely to graduate than the student body as a whole, and the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) shows that 30% of their competitors are first-generation students. Forsyth Tech believes that the potential for an athletics program will increase the college’s ability to foster more student success, strengthen and exemplify the already diverse student body and create an even stronger sense of belonging and inclusivity.

During this exploratory phase, the college plans to research other intercollegiate athletic programs (including e-sports) for best practices, staffing models, costs and other resources. No state dollars will be used for this exploratory research or future athletic programming, making fundraising a critical piece to this process. Community involvement and student input will be critical in determining the direction of this exploration, and Forsyth Tech intends to use surveys and other research methods to gather information from the community, K-12 partners, students, faculty and staff.

“For as long as I have been the President at Forsyth Tech, I have had students, faculty and staff come to me and mention their desire and passion for athletic programming,” said Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, President of Forsyth Tech. “We are now ready to fully explore if we can add athletics to the list of trailblazing student life and engagement activities that we provide.”

As stated, the college is in the early phases of planning, but anyone who would like to provide comments or ask questions may do so here: https://short.forsythtech.edu/athleticsexploration.