Bellarmine Knights Become Seventh Member of GWLL

[Sonny]

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) commissioner Jon Hind announced today that the Bellarmine University Knights will be joining the GWLL next season. The Knights just completed their first full NCAA Division I lacrosse schedule after being a provisional D-I member in 2005. This past season's highlights featured a 9-4 win over then-No. 16 Binghamton and four wins in their final five contests.

Other highlights from this past season included playing two No. 1 ranked teams, Duke and Virginia, and two top 25 GWLL programs in Notre Dame and Denver (who also made the NCAA tournament). Bellarmine added men's lacrosse as a sport in 2004, but did not compete until the 2005 season. The Knight's remaining 18 men and women's sports compete in the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference. BU joins the Air Force Academy, Butler University, the University of Denver, Notre Dame University, The Ohio State University and Quinnipiac in the league.

"Joining the Great Western is a great opportunity for us to compete at a very high level in one of the best leagues in the country," said head Bellarmine lacrosse coach Jack McGetrick. "Playing with such prestigious programs will be a big boost for us in terms of recognition, competition, and recruiting. It also guarantees that year in and year out we will host some of the nation's top teams right here in Louisville. Plus, the GWLL has an automatic qualifier to the (NCAA) national tournament, giving us a chance to compete for that spot every year. We are really looking forward to this opportunity for Bellarmine lacrosse."

Bellarmine broke ground on the $4.6 million dollar Owsley B. Frazier stadium in April, which the men's lacrosse team will call home in 2007. The stadium will be a 2,100 seat multi-sport facility with a synthetic grass playing surface, an eight-lane poured-surface track and Joseph P. Clayton Field for the university's soccer and lacrosse programs.

Bellarmine Quick Facts
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Address: 2001 Newburg Road, 40205
President: Dr. Joseph J. McGowan (Notre Dame '66)
Athletic Director: Scott Wiegandt (Bellarmine '89)
Founded: 1950
Enrollment: 2,494 (1,954 undergraduate, 540 graduate)
Nickname: Knights
Colors: Silver/Scarlet
Home Facility: Owsley B. Frasier Stadium (capacity: 2,100)

Head Coach: Jack McGetrick (Cortland State '72)
Record at Bellarmine (% / Yrs.): 20-10 (.667 / 2)
Overall Record (% / Yrs.): 107-84 (.560 / 13)
Assistant Coach: Tony Vallance (Penn State '98)

2006 Record: 7-8
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 36/6
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/4