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