ADRIAN BECOMES ONLY
MICHIGAN COLLEGE TO OFFER VARSITY LACROSSE
Varsity NCAA programs for men and women will begin in
2007-2008 posted
11/7/05
Beginning in the 2007-2008 academic
year, Adrian College will offer an opportunity for athletes
unlike any other college or university in Michigan:
the chance to play NCAA varsity lacrosse.
Adrian’s president recently
announced that the College is building a $6.5 million
performance stadium on campus that will be ready next
fall. The facility creates the perfect opportunity to
add men’s and women’s lacrosse to its NCAA
Div. III athletic programs by the following year.
“Lacrosse will help Adrian to
capitalize on the great history of the sport, and to
take advantage of growing nationwide interest,”
President Jeffrey Docking said. “It will allow
us to extend and develop the playing careers of high
school lacrosse players from across the country.”
According to the National Federation
of State High School Associations (NFHSA), lacrosse
has the fastest growth rate of any high school sport
over the past 10 years, at 188.6 percent. The Michigan
High School Athletic Association recently adopted men's
and women's lacrosse as fully endorsed sports, and awarded
statewide championships last year.
Adrian College and others have club
teams, but no institution in Michigan is currently competing
as a fully qualified men’s or women’s NCAA
varsity team.
The College will soon begin a national
search for head coaches for both the men's and women's
lacrosse team.
In addition to lacrosse, the multisport
performance stadium will be used for men’s and
women’s soccer, football, and varsity women's
field hockey.
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