Kent State Lacrosse to Join Mid-American Conference for 2021 Season
11/6/2019 11:07:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced the addition of women's lacrosse beginning in the 2020-21 academic year. The move increases the MAC's sponsored championships to 24, which is tied as the fifth largest of the 32 NCAA Division I Conferences.
Kent State will play the upcoming season as an affiliate member of the ASUN Conference. Their 2020 season schedule can be viewed in full here.
"I am pleased our membership is adding the sport of women's lacrosse to our offering of championships. Additionally, I want to welcome Detroit Mercy and Youngstown State as affiliate members," said MAC Commissioner, Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher. "This is truly a historic day as women's lacrosse has been a topic of conversation among our membership."
The Golden Flashes will be joined in the MAC by Akron, Central Michigan and two affiliate members, Youngstown State and Detroit Mercy, starting in 2020-21 before adding Eastern Michigan to the conference in the 2021-22 academic year.
"We're excited to bring women's lacrosse to the Mid-American Conference," said Kent State Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen. "I'd like to thank Commissioner Ted Gumbart and Associate Commissioner Mike Hagen of the ASUN for allowing us to compete in their conference. Our student-athletes are excited about the opportunity to wear the MAC logo on our uniforms and be part of the same conference as all the other teams at Kent State."
The Golden Flashes will enter the MAC as one of the most experienced programs in the conference. Central Michigan and Detroit Mercy are the only programs that have been around longer than Kent State.
The Flashes are entering their second season of competition and are coming off a season in which they saw success with mostly freshmen. The youthful squad returns 18 players this season, including 10 that started at least 10 games last year.
"With the Mid-American Conference addition of lacrosse, I am excited to welcome new teams to Division-I and to continue the growth of our sport at a high level in the Midwest," said Head Coach Brianne Tierney. "We know the effort and support necessary to begin a team and to have that support on a conference level takes a huge commitment from the MAC leaders, our conference opponents and affiliate members that we commend. We look forward to competing in the same conference as the rest of Golden Flash athletic programs and sharing the common goal of competing for a MAC Championship."
Kent State kicks off their 2020 season on Friday, Feb. 7, against Cincinnati at Dix Stadium. For more information on the lacrosse team, follow @KentStLAX on twitter and visit kentstatesports.com for additional updates.
