NEWBERRY — Newberry College President Dr. Maurice Scherrens and Director of Athletics Matt Finley announced on Tuesday the addition of women’s field hockey as the college’s 18th varsity sports program.

“We’re delighted that the board of trustees has approved the addition of field hockey as our 18th intercollegiate sport,” Scherrens said. “The college is committed to building a winning program and excited about expanding our recruiting reach into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.”

“Field hockey is a great addition to our lineup of intercollegiate athletic offerings at Newberry College,” said Finley. “We look forward to welcoming outstanding student-athletes to our campus, and I am glad Newberry College is at the forefront of the sport’s growth into the southern region of the United States.”

The addition of field hockey brings Newberry’s total women’s sports offering to 10 sports and is the second women’s sport added to the lineup in the last two years, joining women’s lacrosse.

The Wolves’ field hockey team will be the 28th program in NCAA Division II and will be the southernmost field hockey team in all collegiate divisions. Newberry is the second field hockey school in South Carolina after Limestone College in Gaffney, which began its program in 2009.

A national search for a coach will commence immediately, with a coach hired in time to recruit students for the 2013-14 academic year, where players will start the Wolves’ first season of competition in the fall of 2013.

Newberry will play its home games at historic Setzler Field, the home of Newberry College football since 1922 and Newberry College women’s lacrosse since the spring of 2012.