MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Council of Chief Executive Officers announced that Lawrence University has been accepted as an affiliate member in men's and women's lacrosse beginning with the 2024-25 academic year.
"We are excited to welcome Lawrence University into the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference as an affiliate member for their inaugural men's and women's lacrosse seasons," said NACC Commissioner Jeff Ligney. "NACC programs have regularly competed against Lawrence in many other sports, so it is a natural fit for us. Their addition brings more competitive depth to our conference when we are moving to enhance the NACC Championships experience for our student-athletes."
The addition of the Vikings will increase the number of institutions sponsoring men's lacrosse to 10 and the number sponsoring women's lacrosse to nine.
"When looking at the current landscape of Division III lacrosse in our region, there were a few conferences that we looked at to determine a fit for Lawrence," Lawrence Director of Athletics Jason Imperati said. "The NACC will provide great competition for our programs as our coaches continue to build our rosters for future success."
Both of Lawrence's lacrosse coaches view membership in the NACC as a strong competitive test for their fledgling programs.
"We are excited to start our journey as a program in a very competitive conference," Lawrence men's coach Mikey Zadroga said. "My staff and I are not only looking forward to the challenge of competing in the NACC but are also very excited for the strong in-state rivalries we will build. We cannot wait for game one in 2025!"
Lawrence women's coach Ben Morhac said, "I am beyond excited to have our women's team join the NACC. The conference is strong from top to bottom and provides good competition for our program. I am excited for the competition the conference brings and to make history with our team in the NACC. We are very grateful for this opportunity."
The majority of Lawrence's other 22 intercollegiate athletics programs compete in the Midwest Conference, while the Vikings' men's and women's ice hockey programs compete against several NACC institutions under the banner of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. The Appleton, Wisconsin-based institution will join current NACC lacrosse programs at Aurora University, Benedictine University (men only), Concordia University Chicago, Concordia University Wisconsin, Edgewood College, Illinois Institute of Technology, Marian University, and Milwaukee School of Engineering, along with current lacrosse affiliate Beloit College.
ABOUT THE NORTHERN ATHLETICS COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE
The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference began its first season of competition in the fall of 2006, then known as the Northern Athletics Conference. The conference consists of 14 private colleges and universities from the shared-border states of Illinois and Wisconsin, all of which are NCAA Division III members.
ABOUT LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University was the first co-educational college in Wisconsin and one of the first in the country. An undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences with a Conservatory of Music, Lawrence’s 1,500 students have the option to pursue four degrees across 65 majors, minors and programs. The No. 1-ranked liberal arts college in Wisconsin, Lawrence ranks 75th among national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report and is one of the New York Times’ 40 colleges that change lives.