On Wednesday afternoon, Washington & Jefferson College announced a decision to reclassify its men's and women's water polo programs from a varsity sport to a club sport.  Today, it reversed that decision.  The College expended a great deal of time arriving at this decision.  Consultants, the Collegiate Water Polo Association, and alumni were consulted; research was done.   But recent conversations with passionate students, alumni, and parents have raised new issues, and the College has guaranteed that water polo will remain a varsity sport at least through spring 2020 .
 
"Our commitment to the sport of water polo is not changing" said President Tori Haring-Smith. "We believe that we need to involve more people in determining the alignment of water polo that will create the best possible academic and athletic experience for all our student athletes."
 
Starting this fall, W&J will conduct a review of the programs with input from students, staff, faculty and alumni, as well as the NCAA and the Collegiate Water Polo Association, in order to develop a clear vision of the future of varsity water polo at W&J.  A decision will be reached in time for all recruited water polo players planning to enter the College in the Fall of 2017 to know well in advance about the alignment of the sport at W&J.
 
"It is important to reiterate the factors that led to initial decision to reclassify the sport at W&J," said President Haring-Smith.  "As is our philosophy as a Division III school, we consider the student experience to be paramount.  We carefully weighed the travel demands and competitive championship opportunities for water polo players. When water polo was first offered at the varsity level at W&J, we expected the sport to grow at the D-III level, which has not been the case. However, given the growth of water polo on the club level nationally, we saw tremendous potential for the W&J water polo program in the club arena. The commitment to the sport of water polo was never in question. "
 
W&J has stated unequivocally that they are not considering changing the status of any other varsity sport at W&J.  
 
President Haring-Smith concluded, "When you make a decision and subsequently realize that it would benefit from more deliberation, it is important to act as promptly as possible.  We are doing just that."