Women's lacrosse program moves forward, finds conference
Women's lacrosse will join the Atlantic Sun Conference as an affiliate member beginning in its inaugural 2016 season.
"We're really pleased to have been awarded an affiliate membership with the Atlantic Sun Conference and to have found a home for our lacrosse program," said Director of Athletics Dave Heeke.
Central Michigan is the second Michigan team to join the A-Sun, alongside the University of Detroit Mercy. Their addition expands the conference to nine teams.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is comprised of Detroit Mercy, Howard, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State and Stetson. Furman, Mercer and Old Dominion will join the conference in 2015. The league winner earns a shot at the championship with one of 13 automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament.
"It's important that we have found a conference to be a part of that offers us a competitive balance opportunity for our new program and also the opportunity to compete for a championship," Heeke said. "It's great to be a member of a conference that gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. We wanted to have a program that could compete for a championship."
A-Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart said in a press release that women's lacrosse is one of the country's fastest growing sports. With the addition of several teams in the following few years, CMU will have solid competition to sharpen their program as it grows.
“As the sport’s popularity expands, the A-Sun is well-positioned to provide outstanding competitive opportunities for student-athletes and to promote the A-Sun and affiliate member institutions that battle for our NCAA championship bid," Gumbart said. "Central Michigan will be an outstanding addition and we look forward to the contributions its women’s lacrosse team will make to the A-Sun.”
As the first season approaches, CMU will have its hands full on several fronts. First and foremost, a coach needs to be selected to build the program around.
"Spring would be when that search would begin, as competitive season draws to a close (and) the availability of coaches begins. It's the optimal time for transitions," Heeke said. "We would like to have a coach on board this summer to begin the recruitment process and plan the program."
Meanwhile, Heeke is also at work assembling plans to identify and facilitate the need for resources for the new team. He said a project has been launched to identify the type and location of new facilities under a committee in cooperation with facilities management.
While Heeke said it is too early for pricing estimates, the athletics department is in the process of hiring an architectural firm and construction management firm. New facilities will likely be constructed on the south end of campus.
Getting into the A-Sun was just the first step of many for the lacrosse program.
"We we're looking to be in a league that fit the profile of our program," Heeke said. "We've been working to find a home for about six months and we zeroed in the A-Sun quite early"
