Recruiting students and schools with a clay target.
In December of 2016, the Executive Director from the Minnesota College Athletic Conference contacted the USA Clay Target League regarding starting a college clay target league as a varsity sport for the MCAC. The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League (a division of the USA Clay Target League) was Minnesota’s fastest-growing high school sport and the MCAC was exploring adding an emerging sport that would recruit and retain student athletes and other two-year colleges.
A handful of MCAC-member schools conducted recreational trap shooting competitions in the Fall of 2017 to measure the level of interest for student athletes.
Due to th popularity of the recreational shoots, in Spring of 2018 the MCAC Executive Committee voted at the MCAC General Assembly to add clay target as a varsity sport in Fall 2018 through a partnership with USA Clay Target League. MCAC became the first college athletic association to offer clay target as a varsity sport.
Since 2018, the MCAC clay target league has grown each year in the number of participating teams, athletes, and participants at the season-ending MCAC Championship in Alexandria, Minnesota.
In addition to increasing participation, clay target is also the safest school sport with no injuries since the League’s inception.