Amid major conference realignment nationally, a seismic shift in Division I men’s lacrosse took place.
In February, USA Lacrosse Magazine broke the story that the Atlantic 10 was planning to add men’s lacrosse. Talk of an A-10 men’s league started when St. Bonaventure added its program in 2017. The league just needed two affiliate members.
Its true momentum started around the winter holidays. It was seemingly inevitable. Now, it’s here.
What wasn’t expected, however, was that a pair of conferences would cease to sponsor the sport, in part by shifting membership made separately of the Atlantic 10, like the CAA and the MAAC, but also because of the Atlantic 10’s desires.
Nevertheless, the new Atlantic 10 seems poised to assume the position as one of the next-best conferences after the top tier of the ACC, Big Ten and Ivy League. In 2022, the current A-10 members had an average RPI of 27.5, which was just behind the top six of the Patriot League (25).
Two of its members, Richmond and Saint Joseph’s, made the 2022 NCAA tournament, while Hobart and St. Bonaventure made their respective conference finals. UMass is a proven commodity with 20 NCAA bids, 11 quarterfinal showings and a NCAA championship game appearance in 2006. And High Point has already made two NCAA appearances in its nine-year existence.
The excitement among coaches is evident, especially those who are full-time members of the Atlantic 10. Now they’re playing for the same trophies as their fellow coaches and athletes.
“I think it’s great,” UMass coach Greg Cannella said. “There are some great teams. Great successes this year with Richmond and St. Joe’s. It’s exciting for the Atlantic 10, for us, and the teams involved.”
Richmond coach Dan Chemotti echoed his future rival.
“It’s going to be a heckuva conference,” he said. “Every one of the teams is a quality program. There’s going to be consistently competitive games, and that’s all we’re looking for. That’s the type of games we want to give our guys.”
An added benefit, beyond competition, is playing in new markets where the schools recruit heavily — Central New York (Hobart), New England (UMass) and the Mid-Atlantic (Saint Joseph’s, Richmond).
Some rivalries are already built into the league, like St. Joe’s-Hobart from the NEC and Richmond-High Point from the SoCon. Additionally, Chemotti and Saint Joseph’s head coach Taylor Wray are best friends from their time as teammates at Duke.
For Canella and the Minutemen, they’re a little less familiar with their future opponents having never played High Point, St. Bonaventure or Richmond. That will soon change.
“These conference games are so important to us at UMass,” Canella noted. “Unless we go undefeated in the regular season, this is our access to the NCAA championship. We will treat it like we did in the CAA, no more important than any other game. When the league games come, hopefully they create rivalries, great crowds and we have some fun with it.”
No stranger to getting a program started from scratch, Chemotti is hopeful that this spurs other Atlantic 10 schools to add the sport, which will feature 11 women’s teams by the 2025 season.
“What I’m hopeful of is that other A-10 schools say, ‘Should we sponsor men’s lacrosse?’” Chemotti said. “Maybe Davidson, Dayton, or something like that. I think everybody hopes that happens. A step like this has to be taken for some of those schools that are maybe toying with it.”
AMERICA EAST
2023 Lineup: Albany, Binghamton, Bryant, NJIT, UMass Lowell, UMBC, Vermont
In: Bryant
Out: Hartford, Stony Brook
What it means: The addition of Bryant is a positive and offsets Stony Brook’s departure as well as Hartford’s drop to Division III, although the Hawks didn’t play in 2022, either.
ASUN
2023 Lineup: Air Force, Bellarmine, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Jacksonville, Lindenwood, Mercer, Queens, Robert Morris, Utah
In: Jacksonville, Lindenwood, Mercer, Queens
Out: none
What it means: Arguably the most eclectic league stretching west from Utah, south to Florida and north to Michigan. Jacksonville returns home, and Mercer moves from the SoCon, while Queens joins as a full member and Lindenwood joins as an associate. At 10 members and with Merrimack currently without a home, the potential remains for another split to add another automatic qualifier if another Division I team comes on board.
ATLANTIC COAST
2023 Lineup: Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia
In: none
Out: none
What it means: The ACC continues to ride without the automatic qualifier and was a one-bid league this past season. Without prospects of expansion on the horizon, it appears that will continue for a while.
ATLANTIC 10
2023 Lineup: High Point, Hobart, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph’s, UMass
In: High Point, Hobart, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph’s, UMass
Out: none
What it means: The Atlantic 10 adding men’s lacrosse has been a major part of the conference shakeup this year. While the league didn’t add Fairfield, don’t be surprised if it eventually finds another team to join its ranks or even sees one of its many non-football playing schools add the sport.
BIG EAST
2023 Lineup: Denver, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Villanova
In: none
Out: none
What it means: The six teams hold steady for 2023 and the foreseeable future.
BIG TEN
2023 Lineup: Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers
In: none
Out: none
What it means: The Big Ten also remains unchanged.
COLONIAL ATHLETIC
2023 Lineup: Delaware, Drexel, Fairfield, Hampton, Hofstra, Monmouth, Stony Brook, Towson
In: Hampton, Monmouth, Stony Brook
Out: UMass
What it means: The CAA grows to eight teams in 2023, but it’s tough to argue that it improves. The league was in the play-in game this season, while the new teams add little to improve the league RPI. Holding onto Fairfield is a positive.
INDEPENDENTS
2023 Lineup: Hartford, Merrimack
In: Hartford, Merrimack
Out: none
Looking ahead: Hartford drops to Division III in 2024.
What it means: Hartford didn’t field a team in 2022 and will compete as an independent in 2023, as will Merrimack, which is without a home, as the NEC dissolved this spring.
IVY LEAGUE
2023 Lineup: Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale
In: none
Out: none
What it means: The Ivy League has been the same eight schools overall (seven for men’s lacrosse) since its formation in 1955.
METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC
2023 Lineup: Canisius, LIU, Manhattan, Marist, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Siena, VMI, Wagner
In: LIU, Manhattan, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, VMI, Wagner
Out: Monmouth, St. Bonaventure
What it means: The MAAC has gone through the most extensive changes of the remaining conferences. Two teams are gone, but five new ones join. Commissioner Rich Ensor has given three of the leftover NEC teams — LIU, Sacred Heart and Wagner — a lifeline for the next two years, a sort of make-peace offering for snagging Mount St. Mary’s as a full member. As a 10-team league with many familiar faces, this MAAC won’t feel too different from that of the past, just larger, and still a one-bid league.
NORTHEAST
2023 Lineup: n/a (Merrimack goes independent)
In: none
Out: Bryant, Hobart, LIU, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, Saint Joseph’s, Wagner
What it means: The NEC was the casualty of conference realignment in men’s lacrosse. Affiliate members Saint Joseph’s and Hobart were fulfilling the final years of their NEC contracts, and with the Atlantic 10 looking to sponsor the sport, it made sense to not renew with the NEC.
What the NEC likely didn’t anticipate is that both Bryant and Mount St. Mary’s would leave immediately and leave only four men’s lacrosse teams in the league. It’s a thought that’s unfathomable just a couple years ago when the NEC had 10 squads.
The plan is for the NEC to restart at some point. The schools that are in the MAAC are on two-year contracts, and Merrimack remains a men’s lacrosse independent for the time being. The NEC seems intent on adding another school, if not two, from Division II, by 2024. It can be assumed having a men’s lacrosse team will be a requirement.
PATRIOT LEAGUE
2023 Lineup: Army West Point, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola, Navy
In: none
Out: none
What it means: Like the Ivy League and Big Ten, the Patriot League is stable in its membership. Only American remains as the last holdout not offering men’s lacrosse. Expansion doesn’t appear on the horizon for the Eagles or the conference, something that hasn’t happened since 2013 when Loyola and Boston University joined.
SOUTHERN
2023 Lineup: n/a
In: none
Out: Hampton, High Point, Jacksonville, Mercer, Richmond, VMI
What it means: The SoCon was the primary casualty of conference realignment when the CAA poached Hampton and the Atlantic 10 began its process to add a men’s league, bringing in full member Richmond and High Point as an affiliate. From there, VMI was able to find a home in the MAAC, while Jacksonville was already set with a primary home in the ASUN. It made sense for Mercer to also return to the ASUN for lacrosse. And thus, the SoCon era has concluded for now.