University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (D3) Adds Women's Lacrosse

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – UW-Stevens Point athletics will expand to 25 varsity sports with the addition of men's volleyball and women's lacrosse. Additionally, Philippe Abiad has been named head men's volleyball coach as the program will begin competition in the 2023-24 academic year. 

"Women's lacrosse and men's volleyball are natural next steps in the growth Pointers Athletics," stated UWSP Director of Athletics Brad Duckworth. "Chancellor Gibson has outlined increasing enrollment and growth as a strategic imperative. These additions fit firmly into Chancellor Gibson's imperative. Pointer student-athletes strive for competitive excellence, academic rigor and exploration, and community service and impact. We are all thrilled to provide the Pointer experience to even more student athletes with these additional sports." Abiad comes to UWSP after serving as club director for Wisconsin Flight and was the club director for One Wisconsin Volleyball Club from 2018 to 2022. 

Prior to that, Abiad spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach for the women's volleyball program at Cleveland State University. There, he helped CSU win five Horizon League Tournament and five Horizon League regular season titles. Under his tutelage, Abiad coached seven All-Americans while at Cleveland State. The Vikings had 13 all-region selections and 19 first-team all-conference selections.

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Posted in: Division III,Wisconsin

Elms College (D3 MA) Adds Men's Lacrosse

CHICOPEE, Mass. - Men's Lacrosse is being added as an NCAA Division III varsity sport in the 2023-2024 academic year at Elms College, and Robert Cross has been selected as Elms' first-ever head coach in the sport.  The native of Black River, NY, Cross graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) receiving his B.A. in Sociology. As a STUDENT-athlete, Cross earned three varsity letters and was a two-year starter for the Retrievers. He appeared in 34 games with 15 starts for UMBC totaling 15 goals and 5 assists. After graduation, Cross began coaching and shortly started building quite a resume. Cross previously served as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst University, UMBC, Harvard,
Rutgers, University of Delaware, and Siena College. 

In addition to his vast experience at the collegiate level, Coach Cross was head boys lacrosse coach at Northfield Mount Herman School and currently serves as an assistant coach at the professional level for the Premiere Lacrosse League Waterdogs.

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Posted in: Division III,Massachusetts

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (D3 PA) Adds Lacrosse

Bradford, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has announced that it will add men’s and women’s lacrosse to its varsity sports program. They will be the first programs added since Wrestling became a varsity sport offering in the 2018-19 academic year. 

"We're looking forward to having lacrosse teams as well as a new turffacility, which will provide new and enhanced opportunities and facilities for our student-athletes as well as for our fans," said President Rick Esch. The teams will compete in the NCAA with conference affiliations still to be finalized. The men’s team will function as a club sport for the 2023-24 academic year and begin intercollegiate varsity competition in 2024-25. The women’s team will function as a club team in 2024-25 and as a competing varsity team in 2025-26.

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Posted in: Division III,Pennsylvania

UMass Boston (D3) Adds Women's Lacrosse

BOSTON, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Vice Chancellor of Athletics and Recreation Dr. Jacqueline Schuman are proud to announce that the University will be adding women's lacrosse to its line-up of NCAA Division III varsity programs.   

"We are thrilled to be adding a women's lacrosse program as this has been a priority for UMass Boston," stated Chancellor Suárez-Orozco. "And our timing could not be better – while we add another women's program to our successful athletics department, we continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX."   With the addition of women's lacrosse, UMass Boston now offers a total of 19 intercollegiate programs that compete at the Division III level. The team will compete in the Little East Conference, with the first varsity season set for 2024.   A national search for the program's first coach will be underway in the coming weeks.   

"As we envision the future of our Athletics and Recreation program at UMass Boston, women's lacrosse is an incredible addition as it increases opportunities for women in a college sport that is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation," said Vice Chancellor of Athletics and Recreation Schuman. "Given the great success we have had with our men's lacrosse program, we believe that the addition of the women's program will reap similar rewards and strengthen the future success of both programs. While there is great work to be done to build a new program, the goal is that as the only public research institution in the city of Boston, we will attract talent that will grow our program to be one of the best in the nation."

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Posted in: Division III,Massachusetts

Northwood University (D2 MI) Adds Lacrosse

MIDLAND, MICH. – Northwood University Athletics is excited to announce the addition of men's and women's lacrosse as varsity sports. With the addition of both teams, Northwood University Athletics will feature 20 NCAA Division II varsity programs. All will compete in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). 

"Lacrosse is more than catching, cradling, and scooping. It requires level-headed players

who exhibit confidence, leadership, perseverance, and dedication — traits embodied by all of our students at Northwood University," stated President Kent MacDonald. "We pride ourselves on developing free-enterprise leaders who want to live and learn in a community rich in academic and athletics offerings. The addition of lacrosse in our athletics portfolio exemplifies that commitment." 

 A national search for the head coaches for both programs will get underway immediately. They will spend the 2023-24 athletic year recruiting and filling out each team's roster. The teams will compete in scrimmages and exhibition games in the 2023-24 season, with the regular competition scheduled to begin during the 2024-25 seasons. While this marks the first time in school history Northwood will have a varsity women's lacrosse program, it is the second time varsity men's lacrosse will be on the roster. The men's lacrosse team competed at Northwood from 1992-2000.

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Posted in: Division II,Michigan

The College of DuPage (NJCAA IL) Adds Lacrosse

One of the fastest growing sports in America will be coming to College of DuPage. Director of Athletics and Recreation Ryan Kaiser has named long-time Chicagoland lacrosse prep coach Bill Sanford as the Chaps' men's head coach. The sport begins play in 2023-24, allowing Sanford a full year to recruit the sport. "We're thrilled to have Bill lead our efforts as we begin the process of building the men's lacrosse program here at COD,'' Kaiser said. "It was very clear from the beginning that Bill understands our vision. He wants to win and that vision mirrors one another in making COD the preeminent power in junior college men's lacrosse.'' 

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Gary Cope, who helped originate girls lacrosse at Lockport High School, has been named head women's coach for the Chaparrals. Both men's and women's lacrosse will be added in 2023-24, bringing the total number of athletic programs available to 21. "The ability to build a program from the ground-up is what interested me from the beginning at COD,'' said Cope, who is on staff at Lockport HS as a para-professional in special education. "I want to lean on my experience from Lockport. It's an honor to be a part of the Midwest's first community college lacrosse program.''

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Posted in: Illinois,JUCO,NJCAA

Nova Southeastern University (D2 FL) Adds Lacrosse

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University President and CEO Dr. George Hanbury, and Director of Athletics/Associate Vice President for Advancement Michael Mominey announced the addition of men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse as its 18th and 19th intercollegiate athletic program offerings. Both sports will begin competition in the 2024-25 academic year. 

"The addition of men's and women's lacrosse teams will expand NSU's NCAA intercollegiate sports teams to 19. These athletic programs offer students the opportunity to pursue their passion in sports while achieving premiere education at NSU," said President and CEO Dr. Hanbury. "We look forward to supporting our student-athletes as they continue to excel both on the field, and in the classroom." "We are really excited to welcome both men's and women's lacrosse to our portfolio of our robust athletic program." said Mominey. "The sport of lacrosse is the fastest and largest growing sport in the nation as well in the state of Florida, hence part of the decision to add the programs. We are looking forward to fielding competitive programs that will not only enhance our athletic program, but we feel that this sport will be a value add for our entire university community."

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Posted in: Division II,Florida

Iona College (D1 NY) Adds Men's Lacrosse

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Iona University president Seamus Carey, Ph.D., and director of athletics Matthew Glovaski announced the addition of men's lacrosse and women's acrobatics & tumbling as its 22nd and 23rd intercollegiate athletic program offerings. Both sports will aim to begin competition in the 2024-25 academic year. 

"It is our mission to create opportunities at Iona University for students to achieve their highest

potential both inside and outside of the classroom," said Carey. "The addition of these two highly competitive and popular varsity programs will be a tremendous benefit both for our student-athletes, and also for the campus community at large." "As Iona University continues to grow, we are very proud to offer these expanded opportunities for varsity intercollegiate competition to our students," said Glovaski. 

"With the Northeast and in particular Westchester County and the New York Metropolitan Area being a historical hotbed for scholastic men's lacrosse and the rise of acrobatics & tumbling as an emerging sport for women in the NCAA, these programs will integrate themselves seamlessly into the goals and aspirations of the University."

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Posted in: Division I,New York

Alfred State College (D3 NY) and Rider University (D1 NJ) Add Women's Lacrosse

Alfred State College Director of Athletics Jason Doviak announced today the addition of three new varsity sports. Alfred State will add women's wrestling along with both men's and women's Lacrosse. "We are thrilled to announce the additions of women's lacrosse, women's wrestling, and the reinstatement of men's lacrosse to our department," said Doviak. "The balanced number of sport offerings align well with our strategic efforts to provide even more females the opportunity to compete on our campus and support the growth within the AMCC Conference." 

Women's wrestling continues to be a growing presence in the NCAA and Alfred State's program will become the 38th of its kind. The Pioneers are excited to add dedicated female student-athletes to the family. The team is scheduled to start competition in the winter of 2023. 

The men's lacrosse program makes a return to the athletic department. After three years the program is now reinstated, meaning new beginnings in the NCAA for men's lacrosse. Scheduled to begin spring of 2025, preparations are already underway. Women's Lacrosse will be an addition to the department. The program will begin along with the men's program in spring of 2025.

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LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Rider University Athletic Director Don Harnum, has announced that women's lacrosse will be added as Rider's 21st NCAA Division I athletic program with regular-season competition starting in Spring 2024. The Broncs will join current full Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference members Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Mount St. Mary's, Niagara, Quinnipiac and Siena in offering women's lacrosse, becoming the league's 10th program. 

"We are excited to be adding women's lacrosse to our portfolio of sports offerings for women," said Harnum. "Women's lacrosse is a sport that continues to grow and thrive, both nationally and in the MAAC, and fits extremely well into our geographic recruiting footprint."

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Posted in: Division I,New Jersey,New York

SUNY Cobleskill (D3 NY) Adds Women's Lacrosse

 COBLESKILL, N.Y. -- SUNY Cobleskill's Women's Lacrosse team will take the field in Spring 2024 for the first time, representing the College's nineteenth NCAA Division III team. The women will compete in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), featuring eight other schools with established teams. SUNY Cobleskill will begin a national search for a head coach with plans to appoint an individual as soon as possible to begin player recruitment and preparations for the 2024 spring season. The Women's Lacrosse team will utilize training and competition facilities on campus, shared by the Men's Lacrosse team and the Men's and Women's Soccer teams.

"The NAC is such a good home for us, and our teams have thrived in this conference since we joined. We've wanted to get involved in the NAC's competitive Women's Lacrosse, so we are beyond excited that this is now a reality," said Athletics Director Marie Curran-Headley. "Everything is in place for this program to get off to a running start; it's now just a matter of recruiting the right talent to ensure the short and long-term success of Women's Lacrosse at SUNY Cobleskill. The consistent, campus-wide support for our athletics is a great sign that this team will be well-positioned to make a name for itself in Division III lacrosse."

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Posted in: Division III,New York

Holy Family University (D2 PA) Adds Men's Lacrosse

PHILADELPHIA, PA, July 27, 2022— The Holy Family University Department of Athletics is pleased to announce the addition of acrobatics & tumbling and men's lacrosse as its 16th and 17th varsity programs, effective for the 2023-24 academic year. "I join our students in their excitement over the addition to our athletics programs of acrobatics & tumbling and men's lacrosse," said Anne Prisco, Ph.D., president of Holy Family University. 

"We are pleased to provide new opportunities for student-athletes to excel in their sports and the classroom. We know that student-athletes have a higher burden when it comes to balancing sports and schoolwork, so as we grow programs, we also grow resources to ensure we are able to support them in everything from academic support to mental health counseling. Our view is that our student-athletes are students first, so we strive to ensure a holistic and balanced experience. I look forward to cheering these new student-athletes on to victory next academic year." 

 Holy Family Athletics continues its growth as the University has now revealed the addition of four new varsity programs over the past four months, with recent announcements that women's bowling and Esports will begin competition in the 2022-23 academic year. "With the addition of four new sports by the 2023-24 academic year, Holy Family University Athletics is expanding our athletics programming to develop even more student-athletes that will learn discipline, preparation, strategic thinking, and teamwork in their respective sports with their peers," said Holy Family University Director of Athletics Tim Hamill. "We are looking forward to welcoming our first acrobatics & tumbling and men's lacrosse teams to our campus."

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Posted in: Division II,Pennsylvania

Mount Mercy University (NAIA IA) Adds Women's Lacrosse

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy University has announced that women's lacrosse will become the 19th intercollegiate sport at the university and will open competition during the 2023-24 academic year. The search to hire a head coach to lead the program will begin immediately. 

"Women's lacrosse is one of the fastest growing collegiate sports in the country and was recently added as an officially sponsored sport in the Heart of America Athletic Conference," said Nate Klein, vice president for student success. "We are excited to launch this program and be a partner to help grow interest in lacrosse throughout the community."

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Posted in: Iowa,NAIA

Life University (NAIA GA) Adds Men's Lacrosse

 MARIETTA, Ga. ---- Life University Director of Athletics Jayme Pendergast announced the addition of women's flag football and men's lacrosse for the 2023-24 season Wednesday afternoon. With the growth of new sports within the NAIA, Life University has remained one of the most innovative schools in the country. Women's flag has been identified as an emerging championship sport, while men's lacrosse will soon begin a transition from an invitational to a championship sport. The women's flag football team will join immediately as a member of the Sun Conference.

Pendergast expressed her excitement stating, "We are really excited to add two more sports to the department. There is a lot of due diligence that goes into adding a new sport, so this plan has been in the works and I'm thrilled to be able to make it official. With the new turfed upper field and REP Center, these two sports will have the facilities and field space they need to be successful.  In addition, as sports, they both fit well within our current offerings. Flag Football is a relatively new sport, but I anticipate seeing it take off similar to women's wrestling. I've paid attention to its growth at the local high school level and collegiately across the southeast. With it moving to invitational sport status in the NAIA we are looking forward to being an early adopter of the sport and laying the foundation for long-term success. Similarly, men's lacrosse is huge in our backyard and right on the verge of championship status with the NAIA. With women's lacrosse getting off to such a successful start I anticipate the same on the men's side. Again, we have secured some great facilities and already have some talented lacrosse athletes using our fields from our partnership with Thunder Lacrosse. When we start new sport programs, we want to ensure that the opportunity can lead to championship experiences for our student-athletes and I'm optimistic we can accomplish that with both of these great opportunities."

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Posted in: Georgia,NAIA

University of North Carolina at Charlotte (D1) Adds Women's Lacrosse

 Charlotte 49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill has announced the addition of women's lacrosse, the fastest-growing sport on college campuses, as the 49ers' newest sport. Charlotte will begin competition in women's lacrosse in 2024-25. "We can't wait to start competing in this exciting sport and are committed to building for success," said 49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill. "We were very deliberate in selecting women's lacrosse because of its explosive growth and popularity locally, regionally and nationally. Fans will love watching the Niners lacrosse team play." In order to begin recruiting and building its inaugural roster, the first coaching staff is being hired at this time. 

Of note, the American Athletic Conference sponsors women's lacrosse. The 49ers announced an upcoming move to The American last year. Women's lacrosse will become the 19th sport within the 49ers' NCAA Division I Athletic Department. Charlotte currently has 18 sports: nine male and nine female. This is the second women's sport to be added since the addition of football in 2013. The 49ers added women's golf in 2017-18.

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Posted in: Division I,North Carolina

Tiffin University (D2 OH) Adds Men's Lacrosse

Tiffin University will be adding men’s lacrosse as its 24th varsity sport during the 2023-24 athletic season. A head coach will be hired in summer 2022 with a full year of recruiting ahead of the team’s debut season. Men’s lacrosse will have its first face off in spring of 2024. Men’s lacrosse will compete as a NCAA Division II program and also as part of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). The GMAC currently has seven teams competing in men’s lacrosse including Mercyhurst, Seton Hill, Lake Erie, Walsh, Wheeling, Davis & Elkins and Alderson-Broaddus. Men’s lacrosse will now join women’s lacrosse as a TU sponsored sport, with the women’s program debuting in 2009-10. Both lacrosse programs will compete at Paradiso Fields on a new turf playing field installed during summer 2022. 

“I am very excited that Tiffin University is starting the sport of men’s lacrosse,” said Vice President of Athletics Lonny Allen. “I have loved watching the growth of our women’s program and look forward to watching the process of the men’s program becoming great. I look forward to hiring a coach that shares that same vision, and bringing in another group of amazing student-athletes to be a part of Dragon Nation.”

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Posted in: Division II,Ohio

Virginia State University (D2) Adds Lacrosse

ETTRICK, VA (April 5, 2022) - Virginia State University (VSU) Athletics continues to add to the institutions Greater Happens Here mantra with the addition of three (3) sports programs. The Trojans will add women's soccer, men and women's lacrosse to their list of sponsored sports effective immediately. Men's Soccer will be added in Spring 2023. VSU Athletics currently offers 17 athletic teams; eight for women, eight for men, and co-ed cheerleading. 

The Trojans anticipate beginning the inaugural Women's Soccer program along with Men and Women's Lacrosse programs in the Fall 2022, with competition against outside opponents beginning as early as Spring 2023. Virginia State University's Associate Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Peggy Davis, is actively moving through the search process for full-time head coaches to lead the new sports programs, with anticipated start dates in April and May. 

 The new NCAA regulation soccer field, which can also be used for lacrosse, is currently under construction and is slated to be complete by May 2022. The field will be located on the campus of Virginia State University adjacent to the VSU Multipurpose Center.

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Posted in: Division II,HBCU,Virginia

Lewis & Clark College (D3 OR) Add Women's Lacrosse

PALATINE HILL -- Women's lacrosse and men's soccer teams will soon take the field at Lewis & Clark as the college's 20th and 21st intercollegiate sports. In a notice to the campus community earlier today, Lewis & Clark President Wim Wiewel said he has approved establishment of a women's lacrosse team at the college. Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing collegiate sports.  Wiewel also told faculty and staff that he is reinstating men's soccer, which was eliminated in 1990. The college already fields a women's soccer team. 

"Adding lacrosse and soccer is an investment in Lewis & Clark's future," Wiewel said. "Not only will it attract new students who otherwise might not have come here for college, but we know Lewis & Clark's student-athletes have always been among our most outstanding students."

"This is an exciting time for Lewis & Clark athletics," Director of Physical Education & Athletics Mark Pietrok said. "Our coaches have proven to be recruiters of high-achieving student-athletes. I look forward to welcoming more quality students to our campus to help them reach their potential both in the classroom and the fields while contributing to the vitality of our department and community".

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Posted in: Division III,Oregon

William Jewell College (D2 MO) Adds Lacrosse

LIBERTY, Mo. – William Jewell College Director of Athletics Tom Eisenhauer announced Monday (January 10), the addition of men's and women's lacrosse programs, beginning in the fall of 2023. The programs will become the 25thand 26th varsity sports on campus and will compete at the NCAA Division II level and within the Great Lakes Valley Conference. 

"Lacrosse is an exciting game and we're thrilled to be adding it here at Jewell," said Eisenhauer. "The game has experienced explosive growth in our area and I'm confident these programs will attract talented students to our campus." Jewell has already begun preparations for the new programs as last month the College included a lacrosse field among the additions of new synthetic turf at the baseball, softball and soccer facilities.

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Posted in: Division II,Missouri