MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's College Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso announced today that the Gaels will welcome back roughly 14 spring-sport seniors next year and will be able to accommodate their scholarships for the fiscal year with no impact on the overall budget.
 
"One of the reasons we are able to provide this opportunity is that we are very efficient with our funding and this is another example. We were able to work within our current allotment of scholarship dollars for the next fiscal year to bring our senior spring student-athletes back," Matoso said. "We also got creative with our own pool of money based on the academic merit success of our student-athlete population to fund this decision."
 
On March 30, the Division I Council voted to allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility. Click here for the full release. Saint Mary's sports impacted by these changes are baseball, beach volleyball, men's golf, women's rowing, softball, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's outdoor track and women's outdoor track. 
 
"Our entire athletic department, including these senior student-athletes are going through an unprecedented time right now. We felt this was in the best interest of the student-athletes involved to offer this opportunity," Matoso said.