Fairfield will announce intentions to join the Colonial Athletic Association as an affiliate member in men's lacrosse for the 2015 season, sources said.
On June 4, Fairfield athletic director Gene Doris issued a statement saying that the Stags would explore their options for a new conference for men's lacrosse.
"Fairfield is committed to continuing that ascent and will explore all options available to secure our place amongst the upper tier of Division I lacrosse," Doris said in the statement.
The move is the latest domino in realigning the conference landscape. It comes on the heels of Denver's recent decision to leave the Eastern College Athletic Conference to join the Big East and the formation of the Big Ten, which led to Ohio State's and Michigan's departure from the ECAC for the 2015 season, as well as Penn State's departure from the CAA, creating a void the Stags will fill.
Fairfield will join full members Towson, Hofstra, Drexel and Delaware, along with affiliates Massachusetts and St. Joseph's.
The move further spells trouble for the ECAC in men's lacrosse; only Bellarmine, Air Force and Hobart remain without an announced future conference. Loyola joins the Patriot League in all sports starting this fall.
--Inside Lacrosse
Ex-Terp Cummings is MLL's Offensive Player of the Week
Ohio Machine attackman Joe Cummings (Maryland) was named Major League Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week after a career high five-goal performance Saturday in a 13-10 win over the Rochester Rattlers.
Cummings, who was also named Player of the Game, started the game by scoring his second hat trick of the season in the first six minutes of the first quarter. Cummings got his fourth goal right before the half to give the Machine a 9-6 lead and first halftime advantage of the season. His final goal of the night came in the fourth quarter to give the Machine another three-goal lead.
"Saturday was a great team win for the Machine. You can look across the board and see how everyone stepped up their level of play," Cummings said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how we continue to improve upon last Saturday's performance as we enter a tough matchup this week in Denver."
In his second season with the Machine, Cummings leads the team in goals (12) and is second in points (16). Cummings joined the Machine in July 2012 after being traded from the Chesapeake Bayhawks.
Former Bayhawk Tierney leaves post at Denver
Former Baltimore Bayhawks goalie Trevor Tierney announced via Twitter that he is stepping down from his position as volunteer assistant at Denver under his father, Bill. A two-time All-American and two-time national champion at Princeton, Tierney led the Bayhawks to the Major League Lacrosse title in 2005.
Hopkins alumni to play in Lake Placid tournament
More than 500 lacrosse games are planned on 12 fields, all located a short distance from the two-time Winter Olympic village, at the 24th annual Lake Placid Summit Lacrosse Tournament from Aug. 5-11 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Contests will be held in boys and girls scholastic divisions, men's and women's open divisions, and men's Masters, Grand Masters and Super Grand Masters. With approximately 4,000 players taking part, teams will face off from New York, New England and the Mid-Atlantic as well as Kansas, Florida, Colorado, Oregon and Canada. More than 15 college alumni groups, including Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Georgetown and Pennsylvania, will have teams playing in the tournament. Organizers report waiting lists of teams in virtually every division.
On Aug. 10, playoff games will be held in eight divisions; a total of 90 games – the most ever to be played in one day – are scheduled. Follow the tournament at lakeplacidlax.com.