PAC to Introduce Men's and Women's Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Presidents’ Council and Commissioner Joe Onderko are pleased to announce that the sports of men’s and women’s lacrosse will be added as official PAC sports, beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.

The addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse increases the number of PAC sponsored sports to 21. The additions were adopted by the PAC Presidents’ Council at their December 5 meeting.

Unofficial conference championship events in both men’s and women’s lacrosse will take place in 2013 and 2014.

The PAC will be the 25th Division III conference to sponsor women’s lacrosse and the 22nd to sponsor men’s lacrosse.

"Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports at all levels nationwide and is simply a natural fit for the PAC," said Onderko. "The national growth of lacrosse and the growing sponsorship among PAC membership made the additions an easy decision for our Presidents’ Council. We are confident that we have a solid mix of established men’s and women’s programs as well as schools that are positioning themselves to build successful programs, and believe that adding these two sports will give our membership and our student-athletes even more access to NCAA Championship events."

Currently Saint Vincent College, Thiel College and Washington & Jefferson College sponsor both men’s and women’s varsity lacrosse programs, with Bethany College sponsoring a men’s program and Waynesburg University a women’s program.

Several PAC member institutions sponsor well-established lacrosse clubs on their campuses and are considering transitioning those clubs to varsity status for the inaugural championship events in the Spring of 2015.

"The addition of men's and women's lacrosse reflects the PAC’s continued commitment to a broad and successful athletics program while underscoring the sports growth and importance to our member institutions. It is essential for us to continue creating opportunities and positive experiences for our student-athletes and we believe the addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse allows us to do just that," said Brother Norman Hipps, President of Saint Vincent and Chair of the PAC Presidents’ Council.