The GW Department of Athletics and Recreation will add two varsity sports – men’s and women’s diving and track – for the 2014-15 athletic season, the University announced Tuesday.

The Colonials will now count 27 total athletic teams.

“The reinstatement of diving and track directly speaks to one of the initiatives we laid out in our strategic plan, and that is athletic achievement,” Director of Athletics and Recreation Patrick Nero said in a press release.

The move makes GW the sixth program in the Atlantic 10 with a men’s diving program, and the eighth with a women’s team. GW will become the 12th school in the conference with a track program.

“Our primary athletic goal is to compete at the highest levels in our conference and nationally,” Nero said. “These moves will help to ensure that our student-athletes and coaches are given every opportunity and available resource to succeed in competition.”

Current men’s and women’s cross country head coach Terry Weir will take on the additional role of head track coach, and foresees benefits of this decision spilling over to the current cross country student-athletes. The women’s cross country team earned the first NCAA ranking in its history last year.

“By fielding an indoor and outdoor track team that will compete in the winter and spring seasons, not only are we giving our student-athletes additional opportunities for achievement,” Weir said in a press release. “But we’re aiding our training and recruiting efforts in cross country by giving our student-athletes the ability to compete in Atlantic 10 and NCAA championships year around.”

More to come on this story.