LIBERTY, Mo. – William Jewell College Director of Athletics Tom Eisenhauer announced Monday (January 10), the addition of men's and women's lacrosse programs, beginning in the fall of 2023. The programs will become the 25
thand 26
th varsity sports on campus and will compete at the NCAA Division II level and within the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
"Lacrosse is an exciting game and we're thrilled to be adding it here at Jewell," said Eisenhauer. "The game has experienced explosive growth in our area and I'm confident these programs will attract talented students to our campus."
Jewell has already begun preparations for the new programs as last month the College included a lacrosse field among the additions of
new synthetic turf at the baseball, softball and soccer facilities.
Six members of the GLVC compete in both men's and women's lacrosse, including Indianapolis, Lewis, Lindenwood, Maryville, Quincy and Rockhurst, while McKendree has a women's program. Davenport University (men) and Missouri Western (women) are also associate members of the conference for the sport. With the addition of the two programs, Jewell will now compete in all GLVC sponsored sports except women's bowling.
"The addition of men's and women's lacrosse is an exciting new development within our athletic offerings at William Jewell College," said Dr. Elizabeth MacLeod Walls, president. "For the first time in College history, lacrosse will be a varsity sport reaching high achieving student-athletes from across the country and utilizing the College's newly turfed field, designed to accommodate both lacrosse and other field sports."
Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States with nearly 100,000 girls and more than 113,000 boys competing at the high school level in 2019 with those number continuing to grow annually. Across NCAA Division II there are currently 73 men's programs and 115 women's, with more beginning their inaugural seasons in 2022. Jewell will become the seventh varsity collegiate program in the state of Missouri on the men's side and the ninth women's program.
A national search will now begin for both programs' first head coaches. Interested applicants may apply at
jewell.edu/jobs. Prospective student-athletes may inquire at the links below.
Men's Questionnaire
Women's Questionnaire
ABOUT JEWELL ATHLETICS
William Jewell College is the fifth oldest institution for higher education in the state of Missouri and with that comes a long-standing tradition of excellence in athletics. The first known athletic team on campus was baseball in 1883 when the team was organized and financed entirely by students. Football followed shortly after, with the first intercollegiate game taking place in 1888 by a team of only 11 players. Men's basketball, track and field, and tennis became popular around the turn of the century and were each added on the William Jewell campus. Following World War II, the Cardinals brought in men's golf, wrestling, swimming, soccer, and cross country. William Jewell began admitting women in 1921 with Carlene Basore becoming the first female athlete in 1963, playing tennis for the men's team. The first women's varsity sports were volleyball, basketball, field hockey and tennis beginning in the fall of 1972. Today Jewell sponsors 14 women's varsity programs, including cheer and dance and 12 men's programs.
