St. John's University Athletics
Lacrosse Announces 2005 ECAC Conference Schedule
4/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 16, 2004
Jamaica, N.Y.- The St. John's men's lacrosse team announced today they will face Georgetown (#8) in their home opener to debut the new program for the 2005 season. The team will compete in the elite ECAC Conference. The Red Storm will face national powerhouses such as Rutgers (#4) Loyola (Md.) (#16), UMASS (#17), Penn State and Hobart in their first season in nearly a decade.
"It is very exciting to be joining such a quality league," said St. John's head coach Rick Sowell. "These schools all have a great history of lacrosse success both on the playing field and in the classroom. I look forward to being part of the ECAC's proud tradition in the future."
The ECAC Lacrosse League will play its fifth season in 2004. Georgetown captured the league titles in 2000, shared it with Massachusetts in 2001, and earned it for the third time in 2003. Massachusetts earned a perfect 5-0 mark in league play earning the title in 2002.
"We are excited to begin our first season in what we feel is the most competitive conference in the nation" said Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs Rick Cole, Jr.
In 2003, four teams from the ECAC Lacrosse Conference were selected into 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 automatic bid in 2007.
The Red Storm men's lacrosse program is starting up again after it was discontinued in 1994. St. John's added lacrosse to its intercollegiate program in December 2002 as part of the schools reformulation and will begin play in the 2004-05 academic year.
St. John's, in addition to Loyola and Hobart, were added to the ECAC roster on August 4, 2003. While Loyola and Hobart will begin to play in 2004, the Red Storm will make its debut in the spring of 2005.
2005 St. John's Lacrosse ECAC Schedule
March 5th GEORGETOWN Home
March 19th Loyola Away
March 29th RUTGERS Home
April 9th Umass Away
April 16th Penn State Away
April 23rd HOBART Home