Florida State University Adds Women's Lacrosse

 Florida State University will add women's lacrosse as a varsity scholarship program, Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford announced on ­­­Tuesday, October 3. FSU women's lacrosse is projected to begin competition in the 2025-26 academic year. 

"We are excited to add women's lacrosse as a varsity scholarship program at Florida State," said Alford. "Lacrosse is the fastest growing college sport nationally and it is evident that our culture and community will enthusiastically embrace it. Lacrosse provides another opportunity to compete at a championship level." With this decision, FSU becomes one of 118 Division 1 NCAA women's lacrosse programs spanning 16 conferences. The Seminoles also embark on competition in one of the nation's premiere women's lacrosse conferences in the ACC, which has produced 17 NCAA women's lacrosse national champions and has placed a team in the national title game in 13 of the last 14 seasons. "As a club team at FSU, women's lacrosse has a proven culture of excellence and achievement," said Alford. "In hearing from both current and former players, their passion and input throughout this process was constructive and helpful in our decision making. I am thankful for their participation in the process and looking forward to an exciting future." 

"We are thrilled that Florida State will begin sponsoring women's lacrosse and we look forward to welcoming the program in 2025-26," said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. "There is no shortage of ACC women's lacrosse successes, and this is another example of our league's continued commitment to maximizing the educational and athletic opportunities for our student-athletes."

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Posted in: Division I,Florida

Dominican University (D2 CA) Adds Lacrosse

 SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican University of California is pleased to announce that both the men's and women's lacrosse teams have been elevated into the NCAA and will be joining the rest of its Dominican counterparts in participation at the NCAA Division II level, effective immediately. This will be the first NCAA Division II women's lacrosse program and the second NCAA Division II men's lacrosse program in California, with student-athletes joining the teams from throughout the United States.

"Both the men's and women's programs have been led by two exemplary leaders in coach [Samuel] Vogel-Seidenberg and coach [Joseph] Manna," Dominican Athletics Director Amy Henkelman said. "Coach Vogel-Seidenberg had a clear vision for the men's program and has done a great job of championing the sport and its development. I'm very excited for the future of both programs. The young men and women of both programs have done everything we asked of them and have been a great addition to the Dominican community, campus and department."

The Dominican men's lacrosse team has been participating at the club level as a member of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL) conference since 2015 while the women's team spent its inaugural season in 2023 the Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL) conference of the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (WCLA). The two teams will play as independent programs, void of any conference. 

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Posted in: California,Division II

Geneva College (D3 PA) Adds Women's Lacrosse

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Geneva College announced today that it will launch a women's lacrosse program for the 2024-25 academic year with the spring of 2025 being the first year of competition within the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Geneva College will become the 11th member of the PAC to field a women's lacrosse program. 

"The PAC is thrilled that Geneva College has unveiled plans to add the 11th varsity women's lacrosse program to our conference," states PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko. "From a standing start less than 10 years ago, the PAC has grown and developed into now having all full conference members sponsor this growth sport at the varsity level. Under the leadership of President Calvin Troup and Athletic Director Van Zanic, I am confident the Golden Tornado women's lacrosse program will quickly become competitive and represent the school and conference extremely well, both on the field and in the classroom." 

Women's lacrosse will become the 20th varsity sport that Geneva's student-athletes can compete in. It is the seventh new varsity program for Geneva College in the last 10 years following men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's golf, men's tennis, and men's volleyball.

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Posted in: Division III,Pennsylvania

Recapping 2023's Inaugural Year Programs

  

College of Saint Benedict
Division 3 (W)
Minnesota
W – 2023 Record 11-3

University of Bridgeport
Division 2 (M)
Connecticut
M – 2023 Record 1-12

St. Thomas University
NAIA (W)
Florida
W – 2023 Record 4-10

University of Wisconsin - Stout
Division 3 (W)
Wisconsin
W – 2023 Record 0-14

University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy
NAIA (W)
Missouri
W – 2023 Record 0-7

Anderson University
Division 2 (W)
South Carolina
W – 2023 Record 9-8

Clemson University
Division 1 (W)
South Carolina
W – 2023 Record 12-6

Daemen College
Division 2 (W)
New York
W – 2023 Record 7-9

Xavier University
Division 1 (W)
Ohio
W – 2023 Record 4-10

Thomas More University
NAIA (M)
Kentucky
M – 2023 Record 6-10

Malone University
Division 2 (M)
Ohio
M – 2023 Record 7-8

Fairleigh Dickinson University
Division 1 (W)
New Jersey
W – 2023 Record 9-9

Posted in: Connecticut,Division I,Division II,Division III,Florida,Kentucky,Minnesota,Missouri,NAIA,New Jersey,New York,Ohio,South Carolina,Wisconsin

Pacific Lutheran University (D3) Adds Women's Lacrosse and Five Towns College (NY USCAA) Adds Lacrosse

TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University Athletic Department will expand its varsity sport offerings for the first time since 1996, elevating women's lacrosse to varsity status for the 2024–2025

academic year. Already an established club program on campus, the women's lacrosse program will remain a club sport next academic year before gearing up to make the jump as PLU's 18th varsity sport for 2024–2025. "PLU has a rich tradition of varsity sports," said President Allan Belton.

"We're proud of our national championships and All-Americans, but we're even more proud of the student-athlete experience we cultivate here, and the leaders our student-athletes grow into. We look forward to extending that experience to women's lacrosse athletes." The Lutes will practice and compete at East Field, home of the Lutes' championship-winning men's and women's soccer programs, and will be members of the Northwest Conference. PLU will be the ninth institution in the NWC to add women's lacrosse.

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Dix Hills, NY – Five Towns College Athletic Director Matt Guercio announced today that the department will expand for the 2023-2024 academic year by adding Men's and Women's Lacrosse to its varsity program. The addition of these two new programs would be the 9th and 10th teams for the performing arts-oriented college. Currently, Five Towns College offers men's and women's basketball, soccer, volleyball and cross-country – although the volleyball and cross-country programs were placed on hiatus during the pandemic and will resume for the 2023-24 academic year as well.

"The addition of men's and women's lacrosse will enhance our athletic portfolio, but more importantly provide additional opportunities for the entire college community," said Guercio. "Long Island has produced some of the greatest players the game of lacrosse has ever seen. It remains the Island's game and competition will now take place at the intercollegiate level in Dix Hills." In making the announcement, Guercio noted that the College will be announcing its choice for both men's and women's Lacrosse Head Coaches shortly, and that student-athlete recruitment for the new teams has already begun. All prospective student-athletes interested in joining the lacrosse team should complete the Prospective Student-Athlete Form or email athletics@ftc.edu.

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Posted in: Division III,New York,USCAA,Washington

Concordia University Irvine (D2 CA) Adds Men's Lacrosse

IRVINE, Calif. – In a span of less than a month, a second club sport at Concordia University Irvine received the green light to move up to the NCAA DII level starting with the 2023-24 school year. The CUI men's lacrosse program has been approved to be a NCAA-sponsored sport next season and will be joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) as an associate member.

The announcement comes just weeks after STUNT was approved to become a NCAA DII-sponsored sport in August of 2023 and scored a victory for female student-athletes across the country. With the addition of both men's lacrosse and STUNT as soon-to-be NCAA-recognized sports, this means that Concordia will now offer 21 NCAA sports. Even before these breakthroughs for men's lacrosse and STUNT, that number was already the most out of all NCAA DII West Region schools ranging from California to Hawaii and Alaska.

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Posted in: California,Conferences,Division II,MCLA

Lawrence University (D3 WI) Adds Lacrosse

APPLETON, Wis. -- Lawrence University announced the addition of two new athletics programs – women's and men's lacrosse. A national search for full-time head coaches is underway with the first season of competitive play scheduled for spring 2025. The addition of lacrosse follows the university's strategic plan to align Lawrence's athletics program with additional opportunities for student-athletes, according to Lawrence Director of Athletics Jason Imperati. Lawrence joins a growing list of NCAA Division III

institutions to offer lacrosse as an intercollegiate sport. More than 200 Division III schools around the nation sponsor intercollegiate lacrosse, including eight schools in Wisconsin. Men's lacrosse has 245 programs at the Division III level, and there are 288 women's teams competing in Division III. 

"The ever-growing popularity of lacrosse across the nation, particularly in the Midwest, extends opportunities for student-athletes who are looking to continue their playing careers while pursuing a quality degree at a leading liberal arts university," Imperati said. "While we have tremendous work ahead, we are excited for the future of both programs and what they will mean for the Lawrence experience and our greater community." "Bringing lacrosse to our university and region speaks to our commitment to our current and future student-athletes and we look forward to welcoming our coaches and these students to our campus," said Lawrence University President Laurie A. Carter. "I am proud of the hard work leading to the addition of these programs to our NCAA lineup of sports."

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Posted in: Division III,Wisconsin

Emory and Henry College (D2 VA) Add Lacrosse

EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Department of Athletics and Vice President for Athletics Dr.

Anne Crutchfield are excited to announce that the College will add women's lacrosse as a varsity sport for the 2023-24 academic year. E&H also has made plans to begin competition in men's lacrosse in the spring of 2025. The Wasps will compete in both sports as members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC).

"We could not be more excited to add men's and women's lacrosse," said Crutchfield. "Lacrosse is currently one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States and interest in our region has increased exponentially. Given the SAC's reputation as one of the premier lacrosse conferences in NCAA Division II, now is the time for Emory & Henry to add lacrosse to our list of athletics offerings."

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Posted in: Division II,Virginia

Trevecca Nazarene University (D2 TN) Adds Women's Lacrosse

NASHVILLE – Trevecca Nazarene University athletic director Mark Elliott announced the addition of Women's Lacrosse as the 17th intercollegiate sport for the NCAA Division II program. "The addition of women's lacrosse continues our efforts to increase opportunities for more student-athletes to compete in the sports they love while pursuing their education here on the Hill as well as continuing our efforts to increase enrollment," Mark Elliott said. 

"We are excited with the growth and energy in our department, coaching staff, and student-athletes in recent weeks with the addition of the sport STUNT, our cheerleading team going to compete at Nationals for the first time next month." The search for the first coach to lead the new Trojan program is already underway. The new coach will spend the rest of the year recruiting for the first season in 2023-2024. Women's collegiate lacrosse is a spring sport giving the new coach a full year to recruit their first roster.

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Posted in: Division II,Tennessee