By Ryan Signorino
Staff Writer
In total, 106 new athletes, including transfer students, came to Bonaventure this fall. Included in that number are 13 new international athletes coming from countries such as Spain, Canada, Georgia and Sweden, according to Bernie Valento, vice president of enrollment.
Valento said the increase in student athletes could be attributed to collaboration with coaches, looking at enrollment numbers and roster space.
“It is part of our strategic plan to strategically increase enrollment. Tim Kenney looked at space on the teams, and was able to increase roster space for teams and expand roster sizes a little bit for some of the teams with more openings,” said Valento.
He said Kenney also showed the desire to bring in the right number of players, not too much but not too little.
This number of incoming students represents the highest-ever class of student athletes by about 20, said Kenney, director of athletics.
“We were able to do some creative budgeting to say to our coaches, ‘Hey, let’s go get some more kids,’” said Kenney. “The issue has always been funding the programs to take care of the student athletes, because that’s always the priority. But with the Adidas deal done, we could shift money around. We’ve been exceeding goals on licensing, ticket sales and fundraising, and we’ve set records on all of that. We’ve been able to take some of that money and shift it over to the teams to accommodate more student athletes.”
Athletic scholarships can help recruit student athletes to a specific school. Of the new student athletes, only 31 did not receive an athletic scholarship, said Valento.
“Many of our scholarship athletes receive small and/or very modest awards that are in addition to other institutional aid,” said Valento.
Although the incoming class of athletes is much larger than it is been, the number of athletes receiving athletic aid only grew from 213 the previous year to 217 this year.
The total number of student athletes on campus is now 291, according to Kenney.
The surge of freshmen athletes means Bonaventure teams are younger and may have less experience, but that does not necessarily mean teams are struggling. So far in the fall sport season, freshmen have had a heavy influence on their teams.
In soccer, on the men’s team, Jacob Dyck is tied for the team lead for goals with two, and Jon-Michael Perkins and Nicholas Mazzola have both started seven games each. For the women’s team, Sydney Cerza and Bella May have both scored two goals through nine games played.
The introduction of a track team meant that cross country could offer both sports to potential recruits instead of just one. Will Delaney has led Bonaventure in all three of the team’s meets thus far and was named Atlantic 10 Men’s Cross Country Performer of the Week and Rookie of the Week, conference officials announced on Tuesday.
For men’s tennis, Lukas Linden Malmberg picked up a consolation bracket win in doubles and won two matches in singles at the Navy Invite from Sept. 23 to Sept. 25.
In golf, Zach Chaddock has been hitting and putting well, shooting a 224 over three rounds at the Patriot Invitational, good for a tie for 44 in the 110 golfer field.
Valento said students don’t only come to Bonaventure for the Division 1 sports, but for club sports as well.
“We have a comprehensive club sports program at St. Bonaventure,” said Valento. “We work closely with the center for student affairs and Rick Trietley in bringing in students who want to be a part of that.”
Kenney said the higher number of student athletes shows that the school is a place where students want to come in order to improve both on and off the field.
“It shows that interest to come to St. Bonaventure to play a sport is high, and it’s growing,” said Kenney. “That’s a testament to the school itself, the culture we have with our athletic programs, the coaches and the staff. That combination speaks volumes. It’s a place where student athletes want to come to compete at the Division 1 level and get an education.”
signorra15@bonaventure.edu
