The ECAC Lacrosse League added St. John’s University and two other schools to start competing during the spring 2005 season.
The Red Storm announced the addition of men’s lacrosse in December 2002 and named Rick Sowell head coach on July 9.
St. John’s, along with Hobart College and Loyola (Md.) College, will compete against other such ECAC schools as Georgetown University, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Penn State and Rutgers.
“We are excited to know that we’re playing in one of the better leagues in the country,” Sowell said. “It’s very attractive for St. John’s, and it’s a great opportunity for this program.”
Hobart, an associate member of the Patriot league since 2000, finished third in 2003 with a 5-8 overall record and 4-2 league mark.
In four seasons, Hobart posted a 19-5 conference record (.792), won two league titles (2000, 2002), and had 23 players earn all-league honors.
Loyola, a Division I independent, finished with a 7-6 overall mark in 2003. Head Coach Bill Dirrigi will begin his third season after having coached at Rutgers University in 2001. The Greyhounds have 14 NCAA Division I tournament appearances from 1988 to 2001, were the NCAA runners-up in 1990 and earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament in 1998 and 1999.
“We are thrilled to add these three institutions to our lacrosse league,” said Phil Buttafuoco, commissioner of the ECAC. “We are proud of our league and how it enhances the experience of each student-athlete by recognizing their achievements on and off the field. We believe our league is one of the strongest in the nation, and we look forward to adding these prestigious programs in 2005.”
This past season, four teams from the ECAC Lacrosse League were selected to the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. In the newly expanded 16-team field, there were six automatic bids handed out, which included Georgetown from the ECAC. There were 10 at-large bids, which included Massachusetts, Rutgers and Penn State.
Under current NCAA legislation, six teams have to play together for two consecutive seasons for an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championship. The ECAC Lacrosse League will be eligible for the bid in 2007.
The ECAC Lacrosse League will play its fifth season in 2004. Georgetown captured the league title in 2000, shared it with Massachusetts in 2001 and earned it for the third time in 2003. Massachusetts earned a perfect 5-0 tally in league play, earning the title in 2002.
