BENTON TOWNSHIP — Lake Michigan College will add mens and womens soccer to its intercollegiate sports programs it voted at the September meeting of the Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees.

The additional sports bring LMC’s total number of sports to seven.

“A well-rounded, vibrant student life environment is one that includes intercollegiate athletics,” LMC Vice President of Student Services Clint Gabbard said. “By adding mens and womens soccer, we will not only increase the number of student athletes on campus, but will give all of our students more opportunities to be a part of a college atmosphere that encourages school spirit and participation in activities outside the classroom.”

According to LMC Athletic Director Jason Cooper, both teams will begin competition during the 2013-14 season. Each will follow a split season, running from early August through mid-November with play resuming in early February and running through late April. Annually, each team will compete in 22 games and scrimmages against nine other community colleges in the Michigan-Indiana-Ohio region, as well as against junior varsity teams fielded by four-year colleges.

“The value of having intercollegiate athletics at the community college level enhances the college experience and to the community,” Cooper. said “It can provide local students who excel in athletics an opportunity to move on to the next level of competition and personal development. It can also open doors to being recruited to play sports at the four-year college level.”

The soccer teams will be based on the Napier Avenue Campus, with a soccer field located within the current sports complex area near the baseball and softball fields. Work will begin in the spring to make the current field competition ready and to create a practice field. Soccer scholarships will be available for both male and female student-athletes, consistent with the other intercollegiate athletic programs already on campus.

LMC is a member of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association and the National Junior College Athletic Association.

In addition to the new soccer teams, the college fields teams in women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, and softball. The college currently has approximately 100 student athletes.