July 9, 2012

Women’s lacrosse program to compete as an independent

Director of Athletics Tom Calder announced on June 29 that the women’s lacrosse program, currently a member of the American Lacrosse Conference, will begin competing as an independent beginning in the 2014 or 2015 season. The exact date of Johns Hopkins’ departure from the ALC will be determined later this summer.

“After careful consideration and with consultation with university administrators, we have determined that competing as an independent is an exciting opportunity and one that we look forward to taking on,” Calder said. “The goal of our women’s lacrosse program, as it is with every team we have at Johns Hopkins, is to compete for a national championship. We believe this move affords us the opportunity to continue playing a national schedule while pursuing that ultimate goal.”

In addition to the competitive ALC schedule the Blue Jays have had in place since joining the league as a charter member in 2002, Johns Hopkins has played numerous other nationally recognized programs in recent years. In addition to local rivals Loyola, Towson and UMBC, the Blue Jays counted games against Princeton, Georgetown, Virginia and Harvard among their nonconference games in 2012.

“The continued growth of women’s lacrosse at the Division I level provides us with the opportunity to showcase our program around the country against some of the best teams in the sport,” women’s lacrosse coach Janine Tucker added. “I have long admired the opportunity our men’s program has to selectively schedule games against strong teams from outstanding institutions. We are very much looking forward to following that same model.”

Johns Hopkins’ current agreement with ALC requires the Blue Jays to play two more years in the league before departing. An exception to the two-year rule can be granted by a vote of the members of the league.

Johns Hopkins will compete in the league for at least one more season and will serve as the host of the 2013 ALC Championships in May.