Post by FU73 on May 24, 2022 7:48:13 GMT -5
The long awaited announcement that tipped off a wave of conference realignment in DI men's lacrosse arrived Monday morning as the Atlantic-10 made it official: the league will sponsor men's lacrosse in 2023.
The four full members — UMass, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's and Richmond — will be joined by affiliates Hobart and High Point, which settles one of the lingering questions around the announcement; early reports indicated the possibility that Fairfield may join as an affiliate, as well. Clearly that did not happen. The Stags are a full member of the MAAC and an affiliate of the CAA in men's lacrosse.
As a result of the reshuffling, DI men's lacrosse will feature just nine conferences with AQs to the NCAA Tournament — the A-10, America East, ASUN, Big East, Big Ten, CAA, Ivy League, MAAC and Patriot League. The NEC and SoCon, which sponsored men's lacrosse in 2022, will not do so in ’23. With only nine AQs, the NCAA Tournament will likely return to the one play-in game format that was in place from 2016 to 2019.
The A-10 has sponsored women's lacrosse since 1999.
The A-10 has 14 full members. Six sponsor women's lacrosse but not men's lacrosse: Davidson, Duquesne, George Mason, George Washington, La Salle and VCU; Rhode Island has announced the addition of women's lacrosse for the 2025 season. Three members don't sponsor men's or women's lacrosse: Dayton, Fordham and St. Louis University.
www.insidelacrosse.com/article/it-s-official-atlantic-10-to-sponsor-men-s-lacrosse-in-2023/59722
