Quinnipiac Men's Lacrosse To Join ECAC Lacrosse For 2009-10 Season
7/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
HAMDEN, Conn. – ECAC Commissioner Rudy Keeling today announced the addition of five new members, including the Quinnipiac University men's lacrosse team, to the ECAC Lacrosse League for the 2009-10 season. The Bobcats make the move along with fellow Great Western Lacrosse League members Air Force, Bellarmine, Denver and Ohio State, joining current ECAC members Fairfield, Hobart and Loyola (Md.) to form an eight-team league.
The Bobcats are scheduled to play in the GWLL's final season of 2008-09 before moving to the ECAC in 2009-10. Following its one campaign in the ECAC, Quinnipiac will then permanently move to the newly established Northeast Conference Men's Lacrosse League in 2010-11, as announced on May 16. The Quinnipiac University women's lacrosse team is already a current member of the NEC.
"Quinnipiac is very pleased and honored to be invited to play Men's Lacrosse in the ECAC in 2010," said Jack McDonald, Quinnipiac University director of athletics and recreation. "NCAA Men's Lacrosse continues to have enormous growth and success and our student-athletes, coaches and fans have enjoyed our four years in the Great Western Lacrosse League and we look forward to our memberships in the ECAC and the Northeast Conference."
"The lacrosse world is going through a metamorphosis and the ECAC Lacrosse League has emerged stronger than ever," said Keeling. "The combination of the teams from the ECAC and the Great Western Lacrosse League will make us one of the power lacrosse conferences in the country."
Three of the eight teams in the newly constituted ECAC Lacrosse League qualified for the NCAA tournament last season: Denver, Loyola and Ohio State. Each of those teams maintained an RPI in the Top 25 of the final national rankings. Six of the eight teams in the new ECAC had .500 or better records last season.
"Overall, we feel it is going to continue to be a highly competitive league and we are excited for 2010," said Keeling. "The game of lacrosse is growing rapidly across the nation, and we are excited to bring some of the western teams into the East and for those eastern teams to have a chance to play out West. It will only accelerate the growth of the sport across the country."
In its nine-year history the ECAC Lacrosse League has enjoyed tremendous success. League members have earned 19 NCAA Tournament bids, and more than two thirds (68%) of those berths have been at-large selections. An ECAC team has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in seven of the league's nine years, and in six of the last seven seasons. In 2003, the ECAC had four teams qualify for the NCAA tournament, a quarter of the 16-team field.
ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic conference with 321 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities from Maine to North Carolina. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors more than 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports. The ECAC assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The Conference, located on Cape Cod, administers eight affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues, including the ECAC Lacrosse League. Established in 1999, the ECAC Lacrosse League is a Division I men's lacrosse league. Hobart College and Loyola College (Md.) joined the league in 2005, and added Fairfield University in 2006. In 2010, the league will add Air Force, Bellarmine, Denver, Ohio State and Quinnipiac.
