The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Women’s Lacrosse to Join ASUN
April 09 | Women's Lacrosse
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LAKE POINT, Ga. — When play begins in the spring on 2020, the University of Akron women's lacrosse team will participate as a member of the ASUN Conference.
"We are excited to welcome the University of Akron as our latest ASUN women's lacrosse affiliate member," ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart stated. "Women's lacrosse has seen tremendous growth in the past years and continues to be one of the fastest growing sports in the NCAA. Akron's decision to add a women's lacrosse program is another good example of that growth. One of the ASUN Conference's primary focuses is to put student-athletes first and provide championship opportunities. We look forward to the addition of Akron in the 2019-20 academic year."
The ASUN Conference continues to be at the forefront of growth in women's lacrosse and has grown steadily since beginning play with five members for the 2012-13 academic year. Over the past several seasons, ASUN women's lacrosse has added nine affiliates with the latest announcement of Akron. The Zips are scheduled to become the second affiliate member from the state of Ohio in the ASUN, after the conference announced Kent State as an affiliate member, beginning in 2018-19.
"Akron is excited about expanding our competitive opportunities to include student-athletes in the sport of women's lacrosse, and our optimism is fueled in large part by the wonderful home in the ASUN Conference," said Larry Williams, UA Director of Athletics. "When we were deliberating about the possibility of beginning this program, a key consideration was scheduling; as a growing sport, competitive options are more limited. Clearly the ASUN has demonstrated an admirable commitment to fostering the expansion of this sport, and we are honored to join the impressive institutions of this conference in pursuing this endeavor."
The growth in the ASUN and in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse overall led to a new partnership with the Southern Conference, which provides student-athletes two championship opportunities with both conferences sponsoring the sport beginning in 2018. Akron is the latest affiliate to join this collaboration and will participate in the ASUN Conference alongside Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Stetson, Coastal Carolina, Howard, and Kent State.
The Southern Conference consists of Furman, Mercer, Wofford, Central Michigan, Detroit Mercy and Delaware State, all former ASUN affiliate members. Under the current arrangement, all ASUN affiliate members will continue to have access to a women's lacrosse championship, both conferences will be NCAA AQ eligible, and cross-over scheduling allows all teams to maintain a balanced home/away schedule coordinated to minimize missed class time and travel expense.
The ASUN Conference features a competitive women's lacrosse league that saw Coastal Carolina and Jacksonville share the regular-season title in 2017. Last year, the conference finished 10th in the RPI, which represented the highest league ranking in ASUN history.
The Zips will begin play in the ASUN Conference in the spring of 2020, bringing the league membership up to seven teams once again.
The University of Akron, which announced the addition of women's lacrosse and baseball last fall, currently fields 18 Division I sports programs. All, except rifle, participate in the Mid-American Conference. Rifle competes in the Great America Rifle Conference.
LAKE POINT, Ga. — When play begins in the spring on 2020, the University of Akron women's lacrosse team will participate as a member of the ASUN Conference.
"We are excited to welcome the University of Akron as our latest ASUN women's lacrosse affiliate member," ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart stated. "Women's lacrosse has seen tremendous growth in the past years and continues to be one of the fastest growing sports in the NCAA. Akron's decision to add a women's lacrosse program is another good example of that growth. One of the ASUN Conference's primary focuses is to put student-athletes first and provide championship opportunities. We look forward to the addition of Akron in the 2019-20 academic year."
The ASUN Conference continues to be at the forefront of growth in women's lacrosse and has grown steadily since beginning play with five members for the 2012-13 academic year. Over the past several seasons, ASUN women's lacrosse has added nine affiliates with the latest announcement of Akron. The Zips are scheduled to become the second affiliate member from the state of Ohio in the ASUN, after the conference announced Kent State as an affiliate member, beginning in 2018-19.
"Akron is excited about expanding our competitive opportunities to include student-athletes in the sport of women's lacrosse, and our optimism is fueled in large part by the wonderful home in the ASUN Conference," said Larry Williams, UA Director of Athletics. "When we were deliberating about the possibility of beginning this program, a key consideration was scheduling; as a growing sport, competitive options are more limited. Clearly the ASUN has demonstrated an admirable commitment to fostering the expansion of this sport, and we are honored to join the impressive institutions of this conference in pursuing this endeavor."
The growth in the ASUN and in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse overall led to a new partnership with the Southern Conference, which provides student-athletes two championship opportunities with both conferences sponsoring the sport beginning in 2018. Akron is the latest affiliate to join this collaboration and will participate in the ASUN Conference alongside Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Stetson, Coastal Carolina, Howard, and Kent State.
The Southern Conference consists of Furman, Mercer, Wofford, Central Michigan, Detroit Mercy and Delaware State, all former ASUN affiliate members. Under the current arrangement, all ASUN affiliate members will continue to have access to a women's lacrosse championship, both conferences will be NCAA AQ eligible, and cross-over scheduling allows all teams to maintain a balanced home/away schedule coordinated to minimize missed class time and travel expense.
The ASUN Conference features a competitive women's lacrosse league that saw Coastal Carolina and Jacksonville share the regular-season title in 2017. Last year, the conference finished 10th in the RPI, which represented the highest league ranking in ASUN history.
The Zips will begin play in the ASUN Conference in the spring of 2020, bringing the league membership up to seven teams once again.
The University of Akron, which announced the addition of women's lacrosse and baseball last fall, currently fields 18 Division I sports programs. All, except rifle, participate in the Mid-American Conference. Rifle competes in the Great America Rifle Conference.
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