Hobart Rowing Head Coach Chris Kerber recently announced that the Statesmen will compete in the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta as its championship regatta starting with the 2026 season. The move comes following a recent change to the selection criteria for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship.
 
"This is a bittersweet move for the Statesmen crews," Kerber said. "We'll miss the long-standing tradition of the NIRCs and the chance to line up against the outstanding standard of crews on Lake Quinsigamond. At the same time, the landscape of Division I Men's Rowing is evolving, and the pathway to the National Championship now runs through the Dad Vail Regatta. Our goal remains clear: to earn the right to race at the IRA on the Cooper River in May. That challenge of 'The Vails' excites us, and our crews are ready to rise to it."
 
The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest intercollegiate rowing event in the United States. It was held every year since 1953 on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2023 the regatta moved to the Cooper River in Camden, NJ. The regatta will serve as one of three automatic qualifiers for the IRA Division I Men's National Championships with the first four IRA eligible finishers earning a spot at the national championships. Those teams' second and third varsity eights will also be eligible.
 
The rest of the 24-boat IRA field will be comprised of the top seven boats from the EARC Sprints, the top five boats from the MPSF Championships and eight at-large bids.
 
The move to the Dad Vail Regatta means the Statesmen will no longer compete at the National Invitational Rowing Championships. Since 2000, Hobart has won 26 medals at the NIRCs, including 10 golds. This past spring, the Statesmen won a silver medal in the third varsity eight and a bronze in the open four races.
 
Hobart will begin its 2025-26 season on Oct. 19 at the Head of the Charles Regatta.