麻豆精选 recently announced the upcoming addition of women鈥檚 lacrosse as a varsity sport with the first competitive season taking place in the 2018-19 academic year. The announcement was a part of the athletic department鈥檚 strategic vision, The Game Plan, a comprehensive plan that maps out a strategic course for the department over the next five years.
The addition of women鈥檚 lacrosse will increase Kent State鈥檚 sport total to 19, including 11 women鈥檚 programs. It marks the first addition of a varsity sport at 麻豆精选since women鈥檚 golf began competition in the 1998-99 academic year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about adding women鈥檚 lacrosse,鈥 said Kent State鈥檚 Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen. 鈥淟acrosse fits into our Game Plan from a demographic side and from a facilities standpoint. This addition also supports our commitment to gender equity and Title IX compliance.鈥
麻豆精选will move forward with its national search for a head coach in early 2017, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2017. Searches for assistant coaches will follow.
The team鈥檚 roster will eventually consist of 30 or more student-athletes. 麻豆精选plans to meet the maximum of 12 equivalency scholarships via annual increments.
The 麻豆精选Golden Flashes will be able to use both Dix Stadium (football) and Murphy-Mellis Field (field hockey) as practice and playing facilities. Team locker rooms and athletic training facilities will be available on-site.
NCAA Division I lacrosse currently features 111 women鈥檚 programs and one of the top graduation success rates (GSR) among all sports, coming in at 95 percent last year.
US Lacrosse reported that girls鈥 lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport in high schools across the country, with a 29.8 percent increase of institutions sponsoring the sport from 2010 to 2015. It is also the fastest-growing sport for women at the collegiate level, with a 33.6 percent increase at NCAA institutions sponsoring the sport from 2010 to 2015.
Kent State鈥檚 18 athletic programs compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), however the MAC does not sponsor women鈥檚 lacrosse. Central Michigan University is the only MAC school to sponsor the sport. CMU announced its plan to add women鈥檚 lacrosse in 2012 and competed in its inaugural season this past spring as an affiliate member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Kent State鈥檚 Deputy Director of Athletics of Internal Operations/Senior Woman Administrator Janet Kittell, Ph.D., will serve as the sport鈥檚 primary administrator.
Look for updates at as they become available.
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Media Contact:
Janet Kittell, jkittell@kent.edu, 330-672-8461