On Saturday, October 3, the officers of the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) held a teleconference with Mr. Phil Herring of United States Collegiate Taekwondo (USCT) to discuss the USCT’s plans to apply for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognition for the sport of taekwondo. In attendance were NCTA President Russell Ahn, NCTA 1st Vice President Rex Hatfield, NCTA Vice President Chun Jae Park, NCTA Secretary General Dan Chuang, NCTA Advisor Tim Ghormley, NCTA Treasurer Jacky Baik and USCT board member Phil Herring.

Mr. Herring described his efforts and plans to date, which included applying for recognition through the NCAA division of Sport Diversity and Emerging Sports first for female athletes, with plans to expand that recognition to the male athletes in 18 months. He also described his desire to move forward with the cooperation and input of the NCTA as well as the 4 regional collegiate taekwondo leagues.

The NCTA officers were appreciative of Mr. Herring’s efforts and desire to achieve NCAA recognition for taekwondo. There was discussion about how to best proceed with the process and how each organization might be involved. It was agreed that further discussion would be both welcome and necessary, and NCTA Vice President Chun Jae Park will meet with Mr. Herring in person to discuss further.

The NCTA and President Ahn has been pursuing its own efforts towards NCAA recognition, including working with the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and will continue to promote collegiate taekwondo and develop the collegiate and high school athlete pipeline. President Ahn created a committee to oversee NCTA’s efforts towards NCAA recognition, chaired by NCTA Advisor Tim Ghormley and including President Ahn, 1st Vice President Rex Hatfield, Secretary General Dan Chuang, and Tournament Committee Chair Alex Antipa.