June 11, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The BIG EAST Conference announced today that it will formally begin sponsoring the sport of men's lacrosse beginning in the spring of 2010. In addition, the Villanova women's lacrosse program will join the existing women's lacrosse league in the spring of 2010. The announcement was made today by Commissioner Michael Tranghese following a unanimous vote by the league's 16 Directors of Athletics during their recent annual spring meeting.

"We are looking forward to the excitement that men's lacrosse will bring to the BIG EAST Conference," said Commissioner Tranghese. "We have schools with established and successful programs, which want to come together and compete under the BIG EAST brand."

With the formation of the men's lacrosse league, the BIG EAST will now sponsor 24 sports. The seven schools that will participate in the newly formed league are Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Syracuse and Villanova. The teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule. The BIG EAST will apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team championship field.

The Villanova men's and women's lacrosse teams are both established programs among the 24 varsity sports at the University. The men's lacrosse team has competed in the Colonial Athletic Association since 2002 and qualified for the league's postseason conference tournament in five of the past six seasons. The Wildcats were elevated to the varsity level in 1981 after competing as a club sport from 1961-1980. In its history, the men's lacrosse team has posted 13 seasons with a winning record and has won at least 10 games on three occasions.

"We are very excited about the formation of the men's lacrosse league," Villanova head coach Mike Corrado said. "It is an honor to have a conference such as the BIG EAST take interest in the seven men's lacrosse programs that will join the new league. This is a great step for the future of our program and for the college lacrosse world."

The women's lacrosse program at Villanova began competition in 1990 and competed as a Division I independent in each of the last two seasons. The Wildcats were an associate member of the Patriot League from 1999-2006. Villanova joins a BIG EAST women's lacrosse league that currently includes Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and associate member Loyola (Md.). In addition, Cincinnati and Louisville are scheduled to begin competing in the spring of 2009.

"We are looking forward to formally joining one of the elite conferences in the country," women's lacrosse head coach Jebb Chagan said." "The opportunities and challenges that the BIG EAST Conference will provide are both exciting and ambitious. The women's lacrosse program would like to thank Villanova's continued commitment to providing its athletic programs and student-athletes with great opportunities to excel on a national stage."

The format for the BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Championship will remain unchanged with the top four teams in the conference standings selected and seeded according to Conference game-winning percentage at the conclusion of the regular season. The championship semifinals and final are played at a predetermined campus site.

"We are excited that our men's and women's lacrosse programs will be part of the BIG EAST beginning in 2009-10," said Villanova Director of Athletics Vince Nicastro. "The BIG EAST is one of the nation's elite lacrosse conferences and our student-athletes and coaches are energized by the challenges and opportunities it presents."

The BIG EAST is the largest and most diverse Division I conference in the country. It was formed in 1979 and represents the athletic interests of 16 member institutions including the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John's University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, Villanova University and West Virginia University. The BIG EAST has captured 25 national championships in six different sports and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. For more information on the Conference and its membership, please visit www.bigeast.org.