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In the weeks after he was hired as the new Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics at New Jersey City University, Shawn Tucker’s inbox received a steady influx of emails.

Shawn Tucker

Students viewed Tucker’s hiring as a chance to campaign for new sports to be added at the Division III school located in Jersey City.

“I heard from some students that felt we could potentially do something more here with tennis,” Tucker said. “There was definitely an interest, and students wanted to have more of an opportunity.”

Tucker took their advocacy to heart.

At a time when many schools are cutting tennis programs, NJCU is adding men’s and women’s tennis programs to its athletic department. The programs will compete at the club level during the 2019-20 academic year and be elevated to full varsity status in the fall of 2020.

Once elevated to varsity status, the programs will join the 10-institution New Jersey Athletic Conference. The women’s program will be the eighth conference member in tennis while the men’s program will be the fifth member. NJCU will practice at Jersey City’s Lincoln Park.