SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The United States Air Force Academy will join the Southern Conference as an associate member for men’s lacrosse for the 2016 season, SoCon Commissioner John Iamarino announced Monday.
“The addition of the Air Force Academy will make us a stronger, deeper lacrosse league,” Iamarino said. “There has been great cooperation by all parties to bring this about. We’re very pleased to provide a conference home for Air Force lacrosse beginning in 2016.”
Air Force, currently an independent, will bring the SoCon’s men’s lacrosse membership to eight in 2016. The league will sponsor lacrosse for the first time this season, with full members Furman, Mercer and VMI joined by associate members Bellarmine, High Point, Jacksonville and Richmond.
Furman, High Point, Jacksonville, Mercer, Richmond and VMI competed under the Atlantic Sun Conference banner in 2014.
The addition of the Falcons to the SoCon will reunite Air Force with Bellarmine, both of whom played in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Lacrosse League from 2010 until it dissolved after last season.
“The warm reception we received from the Southern Conference and Commissioner Iamarino made it obvious that our lacrosse program had found the perfect home,” Air Force Athletic Director Dr. Hans Mueh said. “We are honored to be invited to join the conference in 2016 and will do our best to represent the Air Force Academy and the Southern Conference in NCAA lacrosse competition.”
Air Force went 11-6 last season, was ranked in the top 25 nationally and topped Richmond in an NCAA play-in game before falling in the first round to eventual national champion Duke. The NCAA appearance was the Falcons’ first since 1988 and the NCAA win was the first in program history.
Seniors Mike Crampton and Erik Smith earned All-America honorable mention from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association last season, with Crampton going on to be drafted by the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League.
“We are excited for the opportunity to compete in the Southern Conference,” Air Force coach Eric Seremet said. “We feel that this conference gives our cadet-athletes a great opportunity to compete with similar high-caliber student-athletes. While this region of the country is expanding in the world of lacrosse, we hope our academic reputation and core values as an institution add to the conference mix.”
-www.SoConSports.com-