Adrian College adding varsity lacrosse

[Andy Sharp]

03/21/06 - Men's Lacrosse
CHRIS DELFAUSSE NAMED MEN'S LACROSSE HEAD COACH
Wake Forest University assistant to lead Adrian Lacrosse

Adrian College Athletic Director Henry Mensing announced on Tuesday, March 21 that Chris Delfausse has been named the head coach of the men's lacrosse team at Adrian College.

Beginning in the 2007-2008 academic year, Adrian College will offer an opportunity for athletes unlike any other college or university in Michigan: the chance to play NCAA varsity lacrosse.

Adrian College and others currently have club teams, but no institution in Michigan is currently competing as a fully qualified men’s or women’s NCAA varsity team.

"I am very excited to be the first head coach in men's lacrosse at Adrian College," stated Delfausse. "This is a very historic time for Adrian and I look forward to the challenge."

Delfausse comes to Adrian via Wake Forest University, where he is the top assistant for the Demon Deacon Club Team.

Delfausse has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Sciences from Connecticut College. While at Connecticut College, Delfausse was a defensive midfielder for four years on the varsity lacrosse team.

While working as the assistant coach at Wake Forest, Delfausse is finishing up a Master of Arts degree in Counseling. He also works for Wake Forest in the Athletic Services Department as an academic tutor for the athletes.

Back in 2003, he was a member in the AmeriCorps in Denver, Colorado.

He will start his post at Adrian on July 1.

“Lacrosse will help Adrian to capitalize on the great history of the sport, and to take advantage of growing nationwide interest,” President Jeffrey Docking said. “It will allow us to extend and develop the playing careers of high school lacrosse players from across the country.”

Note: Adrian’s president, Dr. Docking, recently announced that the College is building a $6.5 million performance stadium on campus that will be ready next fall. The facility creates the perfect opportunity to add men’s and women’s lacrosse to its NCAA Div. III athletic programs by the following year.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHSA), lacrosse has the fastest growth rate of any high school sport over the past 10 years, at 188.6 percent. The Michigan High School Athletic Association recently adopted men's and women's lacrosse as fully endorsed sports, and awarded statewide championships last year.

[cgarrigues]

Although i know absolutley nothing about these clubs/schools why do none of these newly established NCAA programs have any established and thriving club teams??

Because most of the time, the schools in question are trying to attract new students to their student body for athletics. The existance or absence of a club team on campus does not factor into the equation for most schools when deciding to add a varsity sport.

In Adrian college's promotional magazine, the President of the college said that they anticipate 20 new students enrolling because of the establishment of the men's lacrosse team. At a school as small as Adrian, this is a substantial addition to the student body.