CINCINNATI — Xavier University Vice President and Director of Athletics Greg Christopher announced today that Xavier will add women’s lacrosse as its 19th NCAA Division I varsity sport. The program will play its inaugural season in the 2022-23 academic year.
 
“We are excited about the addition of the nation’s fastest-growing sport, women’s lacrosse, as our 10th women’s sport at Xavier,” Christopher said. “Women’s lacrosse has exploded in popularity at the high school and collegiate level in Ohio and throughout the Midwest and East Coast footprint of the Big East Conference.”

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— Xavier Lacrosse (@XavierWLAX) May 16, 2021

 
Xavier will join Butler, Connecticut, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova and affiliate member Denver as women’s lacrosse-playing members of the Big East Conference. Women’s lacrosse, which plays its championship season in the spring, will compete in Big East Conference play beginning in the Spring of 2024. There are currently 524 NCAA women’s lacrosse programs, including 117 in NCAA Division I, and the list is growing. The Ohio High School Athletic Association sponsored women’s lacrosse beginning in 2017 and now there are more than 130 programs statewide.
 
“The addition of women’s lacrosse reaffirms our commitment to Title IX,” Christopher said. “The long-range strategic plan for a self-sustaining program makes sense for Xavier Athletics and the University. This also deepens our relationships in key target areas for admissions.”
 
The addition of women’s lacrosse will require coordination but will not require new facilities. The existing Corcoran Field, home of Xavier men’s and women’s soccer, can be used for practices and matches, while the team itself will be housed in the new Heidt Family Champions Center.
 
The women’s lacrosse roster will add approximately 35 undergraduate student-athletes to Xavier’s roster of 300 student-athletes. Xavier’s undergraduate enrollment number is at 5,300, which is 57 percent female.