2015 Women's Lacrosse Championship Program

7 / 48

2015 MAAC WOMEN’S LACROSSE
7
@MAACSPORTS
/MAACSPORTS
In the spring of 2014, the MAAC expanded the championship
field to six teams in men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball,
women’s lacrosse, softball, and baseball. Additionally, the
MAAC membership agreed that the highest seeded team should
generally host the MAAC championship.
MAAC Associate Sports
In 2002, the MAAC added the MAAC Women’s Water Polo
League. The league is currently made up of three MAAC schools
- Iona, Marist and Siena - as well as four associate members, St.
Francis (N.Y.), Villanova, Virginia Military Institute and Wagner.
Sacred Heart began participation in MAAC Women’s Rowing in
the spring of 2008. Drake University joined the league for the 2010
MAAC Championship, while Robert Morris began competition in
the spring of 2011. In 2012 Jacksonville University brought its
men’s and women’s teams into MAAC Rowing, and Stetson
University joined the league in 2014.
MAAC women’s golf competition is comprised of five member
schools – Fairfield, Monmouth, Niagara, Quinnipiac and Siena
– and three associate members – the University at Albany, the
University of Dayton, and the University of Hartford.
For the first time in league history, an associate member was
added in men’s swimming & diving when Bryant University joined
the league in the summer of 2012.
InApril of 2013 the MAAC added field hockey as a sponsored sport
with competition beginning in the fall of the 2013-14 academic
year between four member institutions – Monmouth University,
Quinnipiac University, Rider University and Siena College. In
June of 2013 the MAAC added associate members to the Field
Hockey League - Bryant University and Sacred Heart University,
bringing the MAAC to six teams for 2014, with Fairfield University
set to join the league starting in the 2015-16 academic year. In the
winter of 2015, LIU Brooklyn joined the league and is set to begin
competition in the fall of 2015-16.
Academics and Athletics
The MAAC prides itself on the accomplishments of its student-
athletes in the classroom, as well as on the field. Mary Beth Riley,
a 1991 graduate of Canisius, was the first recipient of the NCAA
Woman of the Year Award. In the fall of 1998, Erin Whalen, a
member of the Iona women’s rowing team, was awarded one of
the nation’s 32 Rhodes Scholarships for academic achievement
and civic leadership.
In 2014 the NCAA announced that 25 MAAC women’s sports and
13 men’s sports achieved a perfect APR score of 1,000. MAAC
women’s basketball posted a conference wide APR of 992, 19
points higher than the national average of 973. The MAAC was
ranked in the top quartile of the Division I members in terms of
overall graduation rates.
First-class facilities are the rule with MAAC schools, as teams
regularly play in top-notch arenas, such as Madison Square
Garden, the Barclays Center, the MassMutual Center, the IZOD
Center, First Niagara Center, Times Union Center, the Webster
Bank Arena, and the Sun National Bank Center.
This year, the MAAC took the 2014 Volleyball Championship to
Orlando, Florida, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex,
where Siena College captured its ninth title in program history.
The 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships will be
held at Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course.
In the past several years, a number of the MAAC schools have
also enjoyed success in NCAA Championships. MAAC schools
have played in a total of 83 NIT games and 82 NCAA games.
In 2014, Siena College claimed the league’s first basketball
postseason title in its history by winning the College Basketball
Invitational (CBI) title. In 2013, the MAAC had a record six men
basketball programs participate in postseason play- Iona (NCAA
Championship), Niagara (NIT), Canisius, Fairfield, Loyola, and
Rider (CIT). Canisius and Loyola both advanced to theQuarterfinal
round, while Rider reached the second round. In 2012, the MAAC
had two teams advance to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball
Championship for the first time in 16 years, with Loyola earning
the league’s automatic bid and Iona garnering an at-large bid.
In 2007, the Marist women’s basketball team advanced to the
Sweet 16 before falling to the eventual National Champion,
the University of Tennessee. The Red Foxes have recorded an
additional five NCAA wins since their run in 2007.
The MAAC has also been a leader in the forefront of technology,
expanding the notoriety of the league into cyberspace. In 2007, the
league reached an agreement with JumpTV, Inc., now NeuLion,
Inc., to design and host the MAAC web page.
has been a great success, providing fans with up-to-date contest
results, live and on-demand video and an online merchandise
store. The MAAC, in conjunction with NeuLion, launched an
iPhone app in February 2011, followed by Android and iPad apps
that were released during the 2011-12 academic year.
In September 2011, the conference announced the launch of
the league’s first broadband network. Eight schools
- Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, Rider,
and Saint Peter’s - are currently part of the network, which
broadcast over 400 live events in 2013-14.
In May 2014, the MAAC continued to grow its partnership with
ESPN3 announcing the launch of the MAAC Branded ESPN3
Channel. All MAAC and school produced ESPN3 broadcasts
will be viewable as live or archived contents for all MAAC sports.
The new initiative increases the MAAC’s long-term partnership
with ESPN and is concurrent with the development of school
based production facilities on many of the conference’s member
campuses.
The MAAC President for the 2014-2015 academic year is John
J. Hurley, the President of Canisius College. The Vice-President
is Brennan O’Donnell, the President of Manhattan College.
Commissioner Rich Ensor serves as the league’s Secretary/
Treasurer. Joe Quinlan, Director of Athletics at Saint Peter’s
University, will chair the Committee on Athletic Administration,
and Jamie Fogarty, Senior Associate Athletic Director/SWA at
Iona College will serve as Vice Chair.