Tuesday, Aug 23, 2022
Team will become Rider's 21st in spring 2024
by Rider Sports Information
On Aug. 23, Rider University Athletic Director Don Harnum announced that women's lacrosse will be added as Rider's 21st NCAA Division I athletic program with regular-season competition starting in spring 2024.
The Broncs will join current full Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) members Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Mount St. Mary's, Niagara, Quinnipiac and Siena in offering women's lacrosse, becoming the league's 10th program.
"We are excited to be adding women's lacrosse to our portfolio of sports offerings for women," says Harnum. "Women's lacrosse is a sport that continues to grow and thrive, both nationally and in the MAAC, and fits extremely well into our geographic recruiting footprint."
The sport of women's lacrosse has shown great growth in recent years, including a 300% increase in TV viewership of the Division I National Championship Game from 2021 to 2022. Rider will become the 61st Division I program (of 128) to add women's lacrosse since the turn of the century, while 93 programs have been added since 1991. The United States won the gold medal this past July at the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's World Championship and the sport is in consideration for the 2028 Olympics.