COLLEGE STATION—The nine-time national champion Texas A&M equestrian program has joined the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA), it was announced Tuesday.

The entity, formerly known as Varsity Equestrian for the last several seasons, established the NCEA to become the voice for the sport of equestrian within college athletics, fuel growth of varsity-level competition and to further advance equestrian toward its ultimate goal of being an NCAA championship sport. The NCEA is is comprised of 18 Division I institutions and 23 overall (including Division II programs) in the sport, which was recognized as an “emerging sport” by the NCAA in 1998.

“We are very excited about this re-branding of the sport of equestrian,” A&M head coach Tana McKay said. “We are in the process of hiring an Executive Director, who will oversee the NCEA and will be instrumental in the promotion of the sport to potential schools and to the equestrian world. There are great things in store for our sport.”

Texas A&M began an equestrian program in the fall of 1999, and opened full competition under the varsity equestrian umbrella in the 2006-07 season. The Aggies have seen tremendous success under the new format, winning four national team titles and four national individual championships.

“The transition of Varsity Equestrian to the National Collegiate Equestrian Association is a very positive step that will give us a boost toward our goal of achieving championship status within NCAA,” said Casie Lisabeth, A&M Class of ’05, NCEA president and Kansas State University equestrian head coach. “The support of AQHA and USEF has been key in making NCEA possible. This change will help further educate the public about collegiate equestrian and help increase opportunities for young women by adding more universities and growing the sport to NCAA championship status.”

The sport has been governed by the Varsity Equestrian Steering Committee since achieving emerging sport status in 1998. The committee was composed of the coaches and administrators from universities sponsoring Equestrian at the varsity level.

“It is truly exciting to see increased opportunities for our young riders through the ongoing development of equestrian sport within college athletics,” said John Long, chief executive officer of the United States Equestrian Federation. “There has been tremendous effort put forth by the members of the varsity equestrian steering committee and I congratulate them on the creation of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association. This will be a catalyst to help advance equestrian into championship sport status with NCAA.”

The 2012 NCEA National Championship will be held on April 12-14 at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas. To learn more about NCEA and its mission of advancing collegiate equestrian opportunities visit www.collegiateequestrian.com.