Multiple sources have told Inside Lacrosse that Johns Hopkins will announce Monday at a press conference its intentions to join the Big Ten as an affiliate member in men’s and women’s lacrosse. By extension, the announcement keys the formation of Big Ten men’s and women’s lacrosse as league-sponsored sports for the first time.
The announcement will bring to fruition a several-month process to find a conference home for JHU’s men’s lacrosse program, which has played as an independent for 130 years. The Big Ten emerged as a target for the Blue Jays after Maryland and Rutgers announced their departure from the ACC and Big East, respectively, and intentions to join the Big Ten. That would make five men’s lacrosse programs along with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, one short of the required six for an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
While many specifics of the membership remain unclear, a source believed that the women’s team would join a newly formed Big Ten in 2014 (which would include Penn State, Ohio State, Northwestern and Michigan, who will be playing their first varsity season) and the men’s team will join in 2015, which would coincide with Maryland and Rutgers’ arrival.
The news comes less than a week after Denver shook up the men’s lacrosse conference landscape by announcing its move from the ECAC to the Big East, a story Inside Lacrosse broke first on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays, who missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1971 this season, announced on May 17 that they’d be seeking conference affiliation. Conversely, Big Ten Lacrosse has been on the minds of at least Ohio State’s and Penn State’s coaches since the announcement that Michigan was adding varsity lacrosse.
The move is another blow to the ECAC, who, in addition to losing Denver last week, loses Loyola to the Patriot League starting in 2014, a decision that was announced just months after the Greyhounds won the NCAA championship last summer. Barring other moves that are likely to come, the only remaining ECAC teams for 2016 would be Fairfield, Bellarmine, Air Force and Hobart. from inside lacrosse.com
Multiple sources have told Inside Lacrosse that Johns Hopkins will announce Monday at a press conference its intentions to join the Big Ten as an affiliate member in men’s and women’s lacrosse. By extension, the announcement keys the formation of Big Ten men’s and women’s lacrosse as league-sponsored sports for the first time.
The announcement will bring to fruition a several-month process to find a conference home for JHU’s men’s lacrosse program, which has played as an independent for 130 years. The Big Ten emerged as a target for the Blue Jays after Maryland and Rutgers announced their departure from the ACC and Big East, respectively, and intentions to join the Big Ten. That would make five men’s lacrosse programs along with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, one short of the required six for an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
While many specifics of the membership remain unclear, a source believed that the women’s team would join a newly formed Big Ten in 2014 (which would include Penn State, Ohio State, Northwestern and Michigan, who will be playing their first varsity season) and the men’s team will join in 2015, which would coincide with Maryland and Rutgers’ arrival.
The news comes less than a week after Denver shook up the men’s lacrosse conference landscape by announcing its move from the ECAC to the Big East, a story Inside Lacrosse broke first on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays, who missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1971 this season, announced on May 17 that they’d be seeking conference affiliation. Conversely, Big Ten Lacrosse has been on the minds of at least Ohio State’s and Penn State’s coaches since the announcement that Michigan was adding varsity lacrosse.
The move is another blow to the ECAC, who, in addition to losing Denver last week, loses Loyola to the Patriot League starting in 2014, a decision that was announced just months after the Greyhounds won the NCAA championship last summer. Barring other moves that are likely to come, the only remaining ECAC teams for 2016 would be Fairfield, Bellarmine, Air Force and Hobart.
from inside lacrosse.com
My take—This is great news for the Terrapins. The only program I worried about after the move to the Big 10 was Men’s lacrosse. But now there will be the automatic qualifier with 6 teams, as well as a strong likelihood that Hopkins and Maryland could meet twice during the year. Two of the most storied lacrosse programs in the country will now reside in the same conference. With the emergence of Ohio State and Penn State lacrosse the Big 10 will become a force in 2015.
Men’s Lacrosse
Ohio State
Maryland
Penn State
Michigan
Johns Hopkins
Rutgers
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