On Sunday September 20th, representatives from Midwest college hurling clubs and members of the North American Gaelic Athletic Association community organized a meeting to address the growing interest in the sport on college campuses.  The 1st order of business for the newly created Midwest Collegiate Hurling GAA (MCHGAA) was to elect a board.  The officers are as follows: Chairperson:  Matt Schwertfeger Vice-Chairperson:  Joel Ingebrigtson (Marquette University) Secretary:  Patrick Taylor Jr. (University of Pittsburgh) Treasurer:  Sean Purvines (Purdue University) Public Relations:  Tim Morgan (Indiana University) The new board is committed to the organization of matches and competitions between existing clubs in the Midwest, aid development of existing clubs, and foster new clubs.  Hurling has been played at Midwest colleges since the early part of this decade.  The University of Notre Dame was the first university to have a competitive team until the group was dissolved in 2004.  A year later Purdue University began operations and is currently going strong.  Schools in Wisconsin were the next to start, spurred on by the largest club in North America, the Milwaukee Hurling Club.  To date there are 9 colleges that either have a team or are currently starting one:  Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) Loyola University Chicago Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI) Ohio State University Penn State University University of Pittsburgh Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee University of Wisconsin, Whitewater And, St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa recently held a successful Gaelic sports demonstration.  Matches for a Midwest Collegiate Hurling League are currently being scheduled for the Spring 2010 semester. Anyone interested in learning more information, starting a college club, or providing support to the MCHGAA is greatly encouraged to contact Chairperson Matt Schwertfeger [email protected]) Tweet

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