Augustana University (D2 SD) Adds Women's Lacrosse

 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Continuing with Augustana University's strategic plan — Viking Bold: The Journey to 2030 — of providing students opportunities and to help fuel enrollment growth, Augustana Athletics is proud to announce the addition of women's lacrosse beginning in the 2023-24 academic year. Augustana will house the first collegiate lacrosse program in South Dakota, regardless of division or affiliation. The Vikings will compete at the NCAA
Division II level.

"We are excited to add this fast-growing, dynamic sport at Augustana," Augustana Director of Athletics Josh Morton said. "This is a natural fit for our campus, community and region and, once again, we are able to find ways to grow and differentiate ourselves." There has been strong growth of the sport in the NCAA, including nine new programs at the NCAA Division II level since January 2020. In total, there are currently 114 programs competing at the Division II level across 10 conferences. Across all three divisions, there are 524 women's teams.

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Posted in: Division II,South Dakota

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Posted in: Box Lacrosse,California,Canada,Conferences,Division I,Division II,Equipment,Kentucky,Massachusetts,Minnesota,MLL,NCAA,New York,Parity,Pennsylvania,Professional,South Dakota,Urban Growth,Utah,Youth

Sunday Lax Links

-Utah Will be Blown Away by D1 Lacrosse 

-Girls Lacrosse Growing in Ontario Community

-Puerto Rico Draws from Local Talent Pool for World Championships

-MLL Coming to Charleston, SC for Championships

-MLL Commissioner Wants League Relevant Year-Round

-Why MLL is Turning to Digital Assets to Grow the Game

-Lax Sports Network Removes Subscriber Fees

-Lacrosse Clinic Hosted in South Dakota

-Baltimore Natives to Play for Israel in World Championships 

-NJ Players Powering Women's Pro League

-Men's Lacrosse Joins the Utah Athletic Department

Posted in: Canada,Division I,FIL,International,Israel,Lax Sports Network,Media,MLL,New Jersey,Professional,Puerto Rico,South Carolina,South Dakota,Utah,World Championships,WPLL,Youth

Sunday Lax Links

-Indianapolis School District Considering Adding Lacrosse

-Youth Lacrosse Coming to Michigan Community

-Colorado High School Adding Lacrosse

-New England Recruits Headed South

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-Mt. Ida College to Close, Sports Teams to End

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-Girls Lacrosse Attempting to Find Footing in West Virginia

-Bid to Grow Lacrosse Club in Australia

Posted in: Australia,Colorado,Cut Sports,Division III,Florida,Indiana,Massachusetts,Michigan,NLL,Pennsylvania,Recruiting,South Dakota,TV Coverage,Urban Growth,US Lacrosse,West Virginia,Wisconsin,Youth

Sunday Lax Links

-New York Lacrosse Festival Continues to Grow

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Posted in: Denmark,European Lacrosse,Georgia,New York,Social Media,South Dakota,Utah,World Championships

US Lacrosse Releases 2015 Participation Survey

ational lacrosse participation topped 800,000 active players for the first time since US Lacrosse began monitoring participation levels in 2001. For the year, total participation grew 2.2 percent to a total of 802,044 players competing on organized teams.

Youth lacrosse continues to be the largest segment of play in the country with nearly 450,000 players under the age of 15. For the second consecutive year there were 14 states with at least 10,000 players, led by New York with 56,335 players. At the high school level, lacrosse remains the fastest-growing team sport according to date from the National Federation of State High School Associations. Over the five-year period from 2010-2015, the number of schools with boys’ lacrosse rose 29.5 percent and the number of girls’ programs grew 29.8 percent. Indoor track was the only other sport with a double-digit percentage increase in new teams.

The growth rates were even higher at the NCAA level. From 2010 to 2015, the number of new men’s programs grew 33.6 percent and the number of new women’s programs grew 36.6 percent.

Full Article/Survey

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MLL Expands to Atlanta

ATLANTA (August 7, 2015) -Major League Lacrosse Commissioner David Gross today announced the addition of the league's ninth and newest team, the Atlanta Blaze. Based in Kennesaw, Georgia, the Atlanta Blaze will join MLL league play in the 2016 season.

 "We are thrilled to welcome the Atlanta Blaze into MLL. This is a market we've spent quite a bit of time in over the past few years and know the fans are hungry for professional lacrosse," said Gross, commissioner of the MLL. "We are sure they are going to love watching the Atlanta Blaze play." In a press conference on Friday, Gross and team executives announced the new name, Blaze logo, ownership structure and commitment to bring the best lacrosse to Atlanta. In addition, the team announced a plan for free home-game tickets for all local firefighters.

 "Given the success of last year's MLL Championship and the tremendous amount of growth around lacrosse in the region - there is a lot of excitement around the sport in Atlanta right now," said Dan Corso, executive director of the Atlanta Sports Council. "We look forward to working with our great partners around the community and MLL, to support the new Atlanta team and help them get acclimated to their new home."

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Newbury College (D3 MA) Adds Women's Lacrosse

BROOKLINE, Mass. - Newbury College is pleased to announce that it will add women’s lacrosse to its athletics lineup in the New England Collegiate Conference, beginning with the spring 2017 season. The College’s Board of Trustees recently approved adding the sport to its intercollegiate athletics program, which currently sponsors 13 intercollegiate sport programs; seven men’s teams and six women’s teams.

 “Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in America, and its addition here at Newbury aligns nicely with our recruiting goals,” said Newbury College Director of Athletics Jonathan Harper. “Lacrosse will allow us to recruit additional female student-athletes who will be successful not only on the field, but in the classroom as well.”

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Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (DII) To Sponsor Lacrosse

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --- Men's lacrosse is being added as an official Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference sport starting in the 2015-16 school year. Participating members will be Adams State University, Colorado Mesa University, CSU-Pueblo and Westminster College. Rockhurst University (Kansas City, Mo.) will also participate as an associate member.

 "Lacrosse has been the fastest growing sp
ort in the NCAA and we are pleased to support the program for our male student-athletes while enhancing the development of the sport within the Rocky Mountain region," said RMAC Commissioner Chris Graham. "It is always rewarding when the membership can expand competitive opportunities." With the addition of men's lacrosse, the RMAC now sponsors 23 sports, the most in the 105-year history of the conference. This is the first men's sport added to the RMAC since men's swimming and diving in 2008. Women's lacrosse became an official RMAC sport in 2013.

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CSU Pueblo (DII CO) Adds Lacrosse

In 2014-15, Colorado State University-Pueblo will add a men's lacrosse program to its intercollegiate sports offerings, increasing the University's sports to 22. This fall, a national search will get underway for the men's lacrosse head coaching position, and lacrosse prospects around the nation will draw interest from CSU-
Pueblo.

Full Article 

Coinciding with the arrival of the men's and women's lacrosse programs in 2014-15, CSU-Pueblo's Rawlings Soccer Complex will be re-purposed to house the men's and women's soccer as well as men's and women's lacrosse programs with an all-weather turf field, stadium, press box and team facilities, slated to be completed in time for the 2015-16 season. View artist's renderings of the facility below.

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Coast Guard Academy (D3 CT) and Davis & Elkins College (D2 WV) Add Men's and Women's Lacrosse

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy Division of Athletics announced today that it will elevate the men’s and women’s club lacrosse teams to varsity status, effective with the 2014-15 academic year. The teams will compete officially for the first time as Division III intercollegiate squads playing in the NEWMAC Conference in the spring of 2015.

“This is a very significant stride for the CGA athletics program,” said Director of Athletics Tim Fitzpatrick. “It’s a great thing to be able to accommodate the interests and talents of so many cadets by bringing two very strong club programs to the varsity level. The popularity and growth of lacrosse both regionally and nationally in the recent past is very well documented. We look forward to the addition of the two lacrosse programs helping us attract more of our nation’s best and brightest student-athletes to the academy.”

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On Friday, Davis & Elkins College will celebrate not only the groundbreaking for a state-of-the-art athletic field that will serve the community and its youth, but also the launch of a men's and women's lacrosse program.

Commenting on the addition of the sport to the College's roster of athletics, D&E President G.T. 'Buck' Smith said, "Since we are going to build an all-surface field, we should have a balance between seasonal sports. Additionally, as we move into the new conference, we want to have as many teams as possible competing."

With the start of the 2013-2014 sports season, D&E will compete in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Division II which includes colleges from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. Several of those colleges have or are planning lacrosse programs, and dozens of other NCAA Division II colleges have lacrosse teams in place.

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Introducing Lacrosse to Atlanta Youth

Ever pulled off an “ankle breaker,” “around the world,” or used an “A” stick? L-R:Martin Luther King, Jr. High School Boys Lacrosse Coach Corey Carter, Decatur Army President Bert Miller, MLK High School Girls Lacrosse Coach Ramon Rivers. Most DeKalb County kids would say no. Bert Miller, who runs Decatur Army Youth Athletics, is hoping to change that so kids know the lingo of a sport most probably have never watched or played.

“Lacrosse is continuing to grow and as it remains an up-and-coming sport with youths across the country, I would like to get South DeKalb youths involved because it’s an untapped resource at this point,” said Miller, who hopes to begin offering free lacrosse clinics for elementary students by mid-September. “I believe we only have two high school teams in South DeKalb because a lot of the kids don’t even see the sport until high school. That has to change.

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Augsburg College (DIII MN) Adds Women's Lacrosse

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College is continuing its tradition of being a pioneer in women's athletics by creating a varsity women's lacrosse team, to begin play in the 2013-14 school year.

Augsburg will be the first college or university in Minnesota to sponsor a varsity women's lacrosse program. Augsburg continues to lead the field in adding athletic opportunities for women; in 1995, Augsburg was the first college or university in the Midwest to sponsor a varsity women's ice hockey team.

“I am proud that Augsburg is once again willing to be the leader in bringing a varsity women's program to Minnesota,” said Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson. “As we were pioneers in 1995 when we were the first Midwestern school to have a varsity women's hockey program, we continue to be committed to be a strong leader for women's athletics.”

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