Peyton Harris, Editor

PHILADELPHIA – Tucked within Wister Woods lies La Salle University, home to the Division I La Salle Explorers. Athletics has played a part in the university’s culture for decades, with student-athletes choosing time and again to don the blue and gold. As the university works on implementing strategies to grow student enrollment, the athletics department plans to play an integral part in those endeavors.  

“It’s a point of pride,” said athletic director Ashwin Puri when recounting what athletics has meant to La Salle. During his time at 20th and Olney, the university has seen the expansion of its sports offerings, with four new sports coming to campus: women’s rugby, women’s acrobatics and tumbling, women’s triathlon and the return of baseball. “In totality, we’re talking about 175 to 200 [new] students,” Puri said. 

Junior communication major, Chris Gress, said, “I think it’ll be fun to see [the number of teams] grow, and what they bring here.” 

“I love being able to go to all of the stuff for basketball. Tickets are free for students, so it’s awesome to be able to go to all that,” said Gress. “They do a pretty good job of making it fun for us.” 

Most recently, completed renovations within the John Glaser Arena have enhanced the fan and student experience. However, plans are being put in motion to further those offerings. 

“We are raising money to renovate our locker rooms. We do not have what I will call a Division I student-athlete locker room experience,” Puri said. He also mentioned changes coming for a sport La Salle has had for years: field hockey. 

“We do not have the proper field hockey field, the proper turf for field hockey. We need to rectify that issue,” he said. In September, the team was caught in-between a shooting during a game held on Temple’s campus.  

“We owe it to those young women, those student-athletes, to deliver the right experience,” Puri said. 

“I would love our university, our athletic department, to mirror the prestige of this university. When people think about La Salle, they think about the Christian Brothers, the teaching experience, the really intimate environment in the classroom and how… transformative that education is,” Puri said, adding, “I want people to view athletics with that same greatness.” 

The university anticipates that these efforts will also help grow the student experience and foster a greater sense of community and camaraderie amongst one another. Puri alluded to the opportunity of being able to catch a baseball game on campus as students walk between classes. 

“You’re walking to and from class, you want to stop and check out a little bit of the game, a couple innings, root on your fellow Explorers; athletics has a really unique opportunity to bring the entire university community together,” he said. 

With plans by the athletics department being put into action, the La Salle community should be expecting new and improved opportunities in the near future. As one part of a broader strategy, athletics plays a key role in shaping the future of Explorers’ experiences.