PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The BIG EAST Conference will formally begin sponsoring the sport of men’s lacrosse beginning in the spring of 2010. The announcement about the Conference adding its 24th sport was made today by Commissioner Michael Tranghese following a unanimous vote by the league’s 16 Directors of Athletics during their recent annual spring meeting.
The seven conference schools that will participate in the newly formed league are Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova. The teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule. The BIG EAST will apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship field.
Syracuse won the 2008 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse national title, the program’s 10th, after earning an at-large bid as a Division I Independent. Notre Dame also garnered a berth into the national tournament as an automatic qualifier from the Great Western Lacrosse League. Currently, Georgetown, Rutgers and St. John’s are part of the ECAC, Providence is a member of the MAAC and Villanova plays in the Colonial Athletic Association.
“We are looking forward to the excitement that men’s lacrosse will bring to the BIG EAST Conference,” said Commissioner Tranghese. “We have schools with established and successful programs, which want to come together and compete under the BIG EAST brand.”
Men’s lacrosse will be the BIG EAST’s 11th men’s sport while the Conference conducts 13 women’s sports.
Villanova women’s lacrosse will also join the BIG EAST effective in the 2009-10 academic year. The Wildcats will become the ninth women’s lacrosse program under the auspices of the BIG EAST Conference – joining Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and associate member Loyola (Md.). Cincinnati and Louisville are scheduled to begin competing in the spring of 2009. The Villanova lacrosse program has been a varsity sport since 1990. It was an associate member of the Patriot League from 1999-2006 and has played the last two seasons as a Division I Independent. The Wildcats are led by head coach Jebb Chagan, who just completed his third season at the helm.
“We are excited that our women's lacrosse program will be part of the BIG EAST beginning in 2009-10,” adds Villanova Director of Athletics Vince Nicastro. “The BIG EAST is one of the nation's elite lacrosse conferences and our student-athletes and coaches are energized by the challenges and opportunities it presents.” The format for the BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship will remain unchanged with the top four teams in the conference standings selected and seeded according to Conference game-winning percentage at the conclusion of the regular season. The championship semifinals and final are played at a predetermined campus site.
Fans wishing to access information on BIG EAST Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse can do so by visiting http://www.bigeastlacrosse.com/?DB_OEM_ID=19400 where they will be able to get the latest content on the league’s participating members.
The seven conference schools that will participate in the newly formed league are Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova. The teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule. The BIG EAST will apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship field.
Syracuse won the 2008 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse national title, the program’s 10th, after earning an at-large bid as a Division I Independent. Notre Dame also garnered a berth into the national tournament as an automatic qualifier from the Great Western Lacrosse League. Currently, Georgetown, Rutgers and St. John’s are part of the ECAC, Providence is a member of the MAAC and Villanova plays in the Colonial Athletic Association.
“We are looking forward to the excitement that men’s lacrosse will bring to the BIG EAST Conference,” said Commissioner Tranghese. “We have schools with established and successful programs, which want to come together and compete under the BIG EAST brand.”
Men’s lacrosse will be the BIG EAST’s 11th men’s sport while the Conference conducts 13 women’s sports.
Villanova women’s lacrosse will also join the BIG EAST effective in the 2009-10 academic year. The Wildcats will become the ninth women’s lacrosse program under the auspices of the BIG EAST Conference – joining Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and associate member Loyola (Md.). Cincinnati and Louisville are scheduled to begin competing in the spring of 2009. The Villanova lacrosse program has been a varsity sport since 1990. It was an associate member of the Patriot League from 1999-2006 and has played the last two seasons as a Division I Independent. The Wildcats are led by head coach Jebb Chagan, who just completed his third season at the helm.
“We are excited that our women's lacrosse program will be part of the BIG EAST beginning in 2009-10,” adds Villanova Director of Athletics Vince Nicastro. “The BIG EAST is one of the nation's elite lacrosse conferences and our student-athletes and coaches are energized by the challenges and opportunities it presents.” The format for the BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship will remain unchanged with the top four teams in the conference standings selected and seeded according to Conference game-winning percentage at the conclusion of the regular season. The championship semifinals and final are played at a predetermined campus site.
Fans wishing to access information on BIG EAST Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse can do so by visiting http://www.bigeastlacrosse.com/?DB_OEM_ID=19400 where they will be able to get the latest content on the league’s participating members.
