Ripon College to offer scholarships

Wisconsin's Ripon College announced it will offer cycling as a team sport for men and women beginning with competition in mountain biking next fall. The Red Hawk cycling team will compete at the Division 2 level as a member of the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference against colleges and universities from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.

Ripon is the first college in Wisconsin to offer cycling as an officially sanctioned part of its athletic program and is only one of several throughout the country. Ric Damm will serve as the team's first cycling coach. He brings 10 years of racing experience with him as a regular participant of the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) and various Wisconsin Cycling Association (WCA) road events.

"Hopefully, I can transfer my experiences training and racing into support for our student-athletes who want to push themselves to new levels of competition in a sport that they love," said Damm, who is also Ripon College's director of publications and institutional image. "Cycling is a passion for me, and I plan to build this program with young men and women who share that passion."

For more information on the school's new team, visit www.ripon.edu/athletics/cycling.