Baltimore, MD- At the National College Lacrosse League winter meetings concluded January 8, the Cortland men's club lacrosse team was awarded the Division I Team of the Year for their entry and subsequent success to the Division I ranks. After winning the past five of six NCLL Division II National Championships, the Cortland Lacrosse Club moved to Division I and earned a thrilling victory in the NCLL National Tournament First Round over arch-rival Syracuse in the Carrier Dome avenging their only regular season loss. Making the Division I Elite Eight at the University of Richmond, Cortland lost to eventual National Champion Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy in a hard fought 9-6 contest. For their part, St. Joe's (PA) claimed the #1 Liberty Conference seed after completing an undefeated run during the regular season to earn the Division II Team of the Year. All of their regular season losses were to Division I teams before falling to eventual National Champion Lynchburg in the Elite Eight.

Division I
1.	Navy
2.	Penn State
3.	Maryland
4.	Towson
5.	Rutgers
6.	Wisconsin
7.	Delaware
8.	Ohio State
9.	James Madison
10.	Salisbury
11.	Fairfield
12.	Hofstra
13.	Syracuse
14.	Penn
15.	Princeton
16.	UMass-Amherst
17.	Loyola
18.	Villanova
19.	Cortland
20.	West Chester

Division II                            

1.     Cincinnati

2.     Lynchburg

3.     St. Joseph’s

4.     George Washington

5.     Dickinson

6.     Millersville

7.     Moravian

8.     Slippery Rock

9.     Radford

10.  Ithaca

11.  UMBC

12.  College of New Jersey

13.  Columbia

14.  Connecticut College

15.  William and Mary

16.  UT-Chattanooga

17.  VT-Blacksburg

18.  Clarkson

19.  Niagara

20.  NYU/Saginaw Valley

 

Others Considered: Akron, Trinity, Baltimore, Frostburg, IUP, East Stroudsburg, George Mason, SUNY-Oneonta, Fredonia, Franklin and Marshall, Shippensburg, New Paltz, Stevens Tech, Kutztown, Buffalo State, Lock Haven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ACCEPTED TO THE MIDWEST NORTH CONFERENCE

Annapolis, MD – The National Lacrosse League (NCLL) announced today that Saginaw Valley State University after leaving the CCLA and MCLA in 2010 and playing as an independent in 2011 has been admitted to  the NCLL Midwest North Conference for the 2012 season.

"The CCLA and MCLA were nice enough to us to give us a great opportunity as a younger club team when we first created our team in 2005,” head coach Josh Spinney stated.  "As the league developed and as I took over as coach over the last few years, the vision of our program has changed.  We saw ourselves as a different team than what the CCLA was requiring us to be, so we opted out and decided to blaze a new trail.”

 

Annapolis, MD – The National College Lacrosse League announced today that the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Men’s Club Lacrosse Program was accepted into the inaugural New England Conference.

"As the advisor for the UMass Men's Lacrosse Club I am excited for the club and the opportunities that they will be exposed to by joining the New England Conference of the NCLL,” Brian Arnold stated. "Our club President, Jeff Hale has been passionate and excited about the possibility of becoming a member of the NCLL for some time. Jeff and his teammates have worked very hard to put themselves in a position where they would be taken into serious consideration.”

Arnold’s excitement for the future of UMass Lacrosse is evident in his ability to work hard to get the program off the ground and into the conference. While lacrosse is growing rapidly all over the country, opportunities like being recognized by a conference are a direct result of the hard work of the athletes and organizers.

"The opportunity for UMass to join the NCLL is a relationship that I think will benefit both parties, expanding the NCLL and exposing more athletes to what the NCLL has to offer and also allowing UMass to showcase their talent, location and facilities.  I look forward to seeing what UMass can do as a member of the New England Conference, the level of competition and high caliber teams that they will face will be a welcome challenge. I have faith that our club will be an outstanding addition to the New England Conference and the NCLL and I look forward to the competitive, exciting seasons to come.”

 

Annapolis, MD – The National College Lacrosse League (NCLL) announced today that Hampton University (HU) was accepted to the Tidewater DII Conference. This is especially significant because the founder of the club lacrosse team at Hampton suddenly passed away after spearheading the start of the program.

In the Fall Semester 2010 Michael Crawford, senior at HU, submitted and presented a proposal he created to introduce the support of lacrosse to Hampton University.  Tragically, Michael died of sudden cardiac arrest while home for the Christmas Holiday due to an enlarged heart. Michael was always a very healthy and most importantly happy young man. 

"HU has been very supportive in our loss and felt it was appropriate to award Michael an Honorary Bachelor's Degree,” Crawford’s mother Verina Crawford stated.  "He grew to be such a kind, humble, smart and caring young man and inspiring to so many.  We were very proud of Michael and we tried to tell him that often. Michael was our only child, so if you are a parent you can imagine how our lives have changed forever.  But in my heart, I know Michael is very pleased with the progress we have made.” 

After Michael’s tragic death, Verina stepped in to help the lacrosse program succeed at Hampton. She wanted to ensure that she finished what her enthusiastic son had started at his Alma Mata.  

"I've stayed actively engaged from the onset and will continue to stay involved throughout this school year,” Verina said. "We've made tremendous progress. We were fortunate to get an equipment grant from the US Lacrosse organization for (24) men and (24) women, and I was just informed this morning that the sponsorship of uniforms from the US Coast Guard will be processed.  I remain very optimistic, especially with the opportunity to join the National College Lacrosse League, that lacrosse will live on at the HU campus.  And Michael's vision as a founding president will always be there.  I feel quite honored and privileged to be part of "walking" in my son's shoes for the past months.”

The students at Hampton University now have lacrosse at their school as a direct result of the hard work of the Crawford family, the student athletes, and the staff at the school. The university is proud to be the newest member of the NCLL Tidewater DII Conference and they are proud of the roots of their program.

"Hampton University is thrilled to become a new member of the Tidewater DII conference,” HU representative Ralph Charlton stated.  "It has been an amazing testament to the hard work of two parents and the student members of the lacrosse club.  Errol and Verina Crawford have spearheaded the effort over the past 9 months as a way to honor their son, Michael.  He had initiated a movement to start a lacrosse club here, and his parents have seen it through to fruition with the help of the very determined club members.  Hampton University is very proud of Michael, his parents and the club for their efforts and this accomplishment.”

Click to view more images from NCLL's 2011 Fall Brawl!

The Capitol - Mids Break Through for Title
article by Bill Wagner

                     With the title up for grabs, the NCLL National Championship saw the most competitive field in the history of the tournament, as evenly matched teams competed for the Frederick Cup at the University of Richmond. Down 8-1 at half to newcomer Moravian, the Blue Bombers of Ithaca mounted a thrilling comeback before falling 10-9 in the first game of the day. For their part, Ithaca had a fantastic year and beat undefeated Niagara in the 1st Round of the playoffs and continues to be the team to beat in the Empire Conference. Continuing with tight contests, #8 seeded George Washington gave #1 Slippery Rock all it could handle before succumbing 10-9 due to an outstanding effort by the green and white to not allow the equalizer late in the game. With a thrilling 6-5 comeback overtime victory still lingering from their first trip to the University of Richmond earlier in the week, Lynchburg looked like a different team and took down a talented St. Joseph's squad who had run throught the Liberty Conference. In the Division II Final Four, Cincinnati fought back a tough Moravian contingent 8-5 to reach the National Championship and face Lynchburg, a 14-6 winner over #1 Slippery Rock. In Sunday's title tilt, Cincinnati raced to an early lead only to have Lynchburg regain their composure and score the last 2 goals to win 12-10. (Video of DII National Championship above). For their part, Lynchburg scored the most goals of all teams in the three games played with a total of 39.

Navy- Ben Read

Moravian-Michael Birnbaum

                                                                                                                                          

Annapolis, Md- The National College Lacrosse League is pleased to announce a multi-year sponsorship with Warrior Sports, the official lacrosse equipment supplier for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons.