HACKENSACK, N.J. – One week removed from announcing the addition of men's volleyball, Fairleigh Dickinson University President Christopher A. Capuano and Director of Athletics Bradford D. Hurlbut are excited to announce that the department will also be adding women's lacrosse to the Knights' stable of programs.
With this addition, FDU increases its sport total to 21 teams and becomes the first NCAA Division I institution in the 2020-21 academic calendar to introduce two new programs. The Burgundy and Blue will compete in the Northeast Conference as the league's ninth women's lacrosse member.
"FDU is proud and excited to welcome women's lacrosse, the 21st Division I athletic program on our Metropolitan Campus," said President Capuano. "The introduction of this great sport, on the heels of the addition of men's volleyball, illustrates the strength and continued growth of our athletics program. An added benefit of these two new programs is their popularity within New Jersey and the possibility of keeping more New Jersey students close to home to study and compete."
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"When looking at our list of programs, it was always apparent to me that women's lacrosse should be added to our sports offerings," said Hurlbut. "I'm very excited to begin the process of building another program that the Burgundy and Blue faithful can be proud of and support. Women's lacrosse is a tremendous sport and I have such great memories of watching the young women compete during my time at the three previous institutions in which I worked."
Women's lacrosse and men's volleyball are the first sports the Knights have added since the inception of women's golf in 2006. The two sports continue to enjoy tremendous growth around the nation and New Jersey currently ranks second in the country in high school girls' lacrosse participation.
A national search for the new women's lacrosse program's first head coach will begin this spring and the team is set to begin play in the 2022-23 season.
What They're Saying
Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern University Head Women's Lacrosse Coach
"I would like to congratulate Fairleigh Dickinson on adding the sport of women's lacrosse. What a great thing for our sport for FDU to add during this challenging COVID time and it says a lot about their commitment to our sport and women's athletics in general. I am just really excited about the movement of women's lacrosse and lacrosse as a sport in general across the country. There is so much momentum around it and we cannot be more excited to have Fairleigh Dickinson as part of that movement now. Congrats to Brad Hurlbut for assisting and making this happen, he is a great leader and we could not be more excited. Go, Knights!"
Noreen Morris, Northeast Conference Commissioner
"I am so excited that Fairleigh Dickinson University has announced the addition of women's lacrosse as its 21
st Division I sport. As one of the fastest-growing sports for women, the addition of FDU's program will allow so many more student-athletes to showcase their talents at the collegiate level and in the hot-bed of lacrosse. We cannot wait to welcome FDU women's lacrosse to the NEC women's lax family in 2022-23. Go, Knights!"
About Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is the largest private university in New Jersey with four campuses in three countries. FDU is ranked among the best regional universities and in the Top 50 in the North region by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges 2021. The University was also ranked by U.S. News number 16 in Best Value Schools. In addition, the University's undergraduate programs in business and engineering were named among the top in the nation. The University was ranked number 23 among regional universities in the North for veterans and among the top performers for social mobility. It is an exciting time for the University as it is amid its "One University, Many Dreams" capital campaign which is working toward a goal of $100 million raised.
About FDU Knights Athletics
With the addition of women's lacrosse and last week's men's volleyball announcement, the FDU Knights Athletics will have 21 teams, nine men's and 12 women's, adding to its roster of 254 student-athletes. The Knights have a very diverse department with student-athletes from 30 countries and 22 U.S states. The Burgundy and Blue have been playing intercollegiate athletics since the school opened in 1954 and has enjoyed a history of success. The Knights have won two NCAA national championships in women's bowling. The men's basketball team has also been a historically successful program going to the NCAA Tournament six times and twice in the last five years. In addition, the men's soccer team has reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen while winning a total of nine NEC championships.
The Knights have also excelled in the classroom. In 2019-20 the Knights took home NEC team GPA awards in women's golf and women's soccer while the department had their 38th consecutive semester with a GPA above 3.0. Finally, the Knights give back to their community in and around Bergen County. In 2020, the department took the NEC's Building Community Award, given for the school with the most community service hours with 3,275.
