MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo Men's Lacrosse program has joined the newly-formed men's lacrosse Peach Belt Conference and will begin competing for a PBC championship in the spring of 2021.
The Peach Belt Conference and commissioner David Brunk are pleased to announce that the conference will add men's lacrosse as the league's 16th championship sport beginning in the spring of 2021. Four teams will comprise the inaugural season with the field expanding to six for the 2022 campaign. The first four teams will be the University of Montevallo, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Lander University and Shorter University. Flagler College and Young Harris College will join the following year, bringing the total to six and allowing the PBC to have an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Montevallo competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference for their first three years of competition and earned a birth into the GLVC Conference Tournament in 2019.
"I'm very excited to be joining the Peach Belt Conference," said Head Coach Jason Lange. "Being a member of the GLVC during our first three seasons was great and I cannot thank the leadership of the GLVC enough for adding us as associate members. It truly helped the growth of our program."
The PBC inaugural season will begin in February with teams playing a double round-robin conference schedule starting in mid-March. The PBC will hold its first tournament April 30 and May 2, 2021, with all four teams in competition.
"The biggest winner in this is our student-athletes," added Lange. "We will be spending less time on a bus traveling 10-12 hours to conference opponents. We will be able to free up dates on our schedule to play out of conference teams that are closer to our geographic footprint. I also think this move will bring more regional visibility to our program."
"Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in our region and we are very excited about beginning our own championship," said commissioner Brunk. "It gives the schools coming in more regionalized competition, a solid conference structure and provides the student-athletes with an outstanding championship experience. We feel this is a sport that will continue to grow and now we are in a great position to grow with it."
Lange echoed Brunk's thoughts; "NCAA Division II men's lacrosse has been one of the fastest growing sports at the NCAA level," said Lange. "We're very excited to be a member of its newest conference and continue to help grow the game."
