La Salle University Joins MAAC in Women's Golf and Women's Water Polo
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to approve the associate membership of La Salle University in the sports of women’s golf and women’s water polo. The La Salle Explorers will begin competition in both sports during the spring of the 2016-17 academic year.
“The MAAC membership is pleased to add La Salle University as an Associate Member in the sports of women’s golf and water polo,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “The MAAC has long supported sports with low sponsorship numbers by allowing for associate memberships within the conference. It assists in growing the sports and providing access to NCAA Championship automatic bids to MAAC student-athletes and coaches.”
“We are excited to have our new women’s water polo and women’s golf programs join the MAAC,” Bill Bradshaw, interim director of athletics at La Salle University, said. “La Salle and the MAAC both emphasize the student-athlete experience and we believe the conference is a strong fit for these programs.”
La Salle announced the additions of both women’s golf and water polo as varsity sports in December of 2015.
La Salle joins the University at Albany, Dayton University, Fairfield University, University of Hartford, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, and Siena College in the sport of women’s golf. La Salle is still finalizing a home course for the women's golf team but the players have access to the new 1,500 square foot Joseph G. Markmann Indoor Golf Facility, which was dedicated in November.
“This is very exciting for our program and a huge step in our building process,” said La Salle head women’s golf coach, Jason Calhoun. “We are honored to be joining such a great group of schools. It will be a privilege to compete for the chance to advance to the NCAA regionals with these programs. I also believe that for recruiting purposes we are a perfect fit in this conference. I want to thank the presidents and coaches for accepting us as associate members of the MAAC.”
In water polo, La Salle will join Iona College, Marist College, St. Francis College (Brooklyn), Siena College, Villanova University, Virginia Military Institute (VMI), and Wagner College. The water polo team will host its home contest at the Kirk Pool in the Hayman Center, an outstanding facility that already serves as the home for the La Salle men's and women's swimming and diving teams.
“La Salle University’s new varsity women’s water polo team is excited to be accepted into the MAAC as an associate member,” head coach Paul Macht said. “We believe it is an excellent fit and we look forward to developing our program and competing with the seven other programs. Thank you to those responsible at the MAAC for accepting La Salle.”
La Salle University was established in 1863 through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Brothers of the Christian Schools teaching order, which St. La Salle founded in 1680. La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values. In a national survey, Money magazine ranked La Salle as a top five college in the Philadelphia region for educational quality, affordability, and alumni earnings, and cited the University as a “Value All-Star.” Globally, the Lasallian educational network includes 1,000 schools (60 of which are institutions of higher education) serving 940,000 students in 80 countries.