Moon Township, Pa. – RMU announced Friday that the Department of Athletics will join the ASUN Conference as an affiliate member in men's lacrosse in 2021-22.
Beginning with the 2022 season, the ASUN will sponsor men's lacrosse, and the conference will feature Air Force, Bellarmine, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, RMU and Utah. In addition, as part of realignment with the Southern Conference, the SoCon in men's lacrosse will feature Hampton, High Point, Jacksonville, Mercer, Richmond and VMI.
"We're thrilled about the formation of the ASUN men's lacrosse conference and the beginning of an exciting, new chapter for RMU men's lacrosse," RMU Vice President and Director of Athletics
Chris King '94 said. "RMU men's lacrosse has a history of playing ASUN conference members in non-conference games, and the new conference setup will provide the stability to continue existing rivalries while creating new ones. The recent success for RMU men's lacrosse, whether competitively on the field and through RPI rankings, academically or in the community, positions the program for greater accomplishments as we aspire to be a contender in the sport on the national stage.
"We are appreciative and grateful to the ASUN and Commissioner Ted Gumbart for providing our men's lacrosse program affiliation," King said. "In addition to having the opportunity to compete against nationally-recognized programs, we're excited to compete against Horizon League institutions Cleveland State and Detroit Mercy. ASUN membership for men's lacrosse provides RMU an opportunity to enhance our brand and exposure through a successful and higher profile lacrosse conference, similar to the recent transition to the Mid-American Conference for women's lacrosse and the Big South Conference for football. We look forward to the start of the first ASUN men's lacrosse season in 2022."
RMU established men's lacrosse as an intercollegiate athletic program in 2005, and the 2021 season marks its 17th year in the NCAA Division I ranks. The Colonials have composed an all-time record of 105-125 (.457) entering the 2021 campaign, which RMU will play as an independent. The Colonials spent four seasons as an associate member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) from 2006 to 2009 and 11 years as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) from 2010 to 2020.
During its run in the NEC, the Colonials posted a league record of 33-22 (.600), claiming the 2012 regular-season championship while earning back-to-back NEC Tournament crowns in 2018 and 2019. In its first NCAA Tournament in 2018, the Colonials earned a 12-6 win at Canisius before falling at No.1 Maryland, 14-11.
By virtue of its automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, men's lacrosse became the fifth program in RMU athletic department history to claim back-to-back NEC Tournament championships, joining men's and women's basketball, men's soccer and volleyball. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the Colonials dropped a 19-10 decision at No. 4 Virginia.
Three Colonials were named NEC Player of the Year a total of four times, including Trevor Moore (2010, 2011), Kiel Matisz (2012) and
Tyson Gibson (2019). Each of those three student-athletes went on to earn United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America honors during those seasons and were joined in 2018 by former Colonials
Zachary Bryant and
Alex Heger.
"We're extremely excited to enter another chapter of our program's history as we transition into the ASUN Conference," RMU head coach
Andrew McMinn said. "The formation of the ASUN will provide an extremely competitive conference with opponents that we are familiar with and have a history of competing against. On behalf of our team, we'd like to thank
Chris King and the RMU staff for all of their efforts in making this happen. In addition, we'd like to thank ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart for all of his efforts, and specifically for supporting the growth of our game. We can't wait to get started."
In the professional ranks, the Colonials have made their mark in both indoor and outdoor lacrosse. RMU owns the highest representation of any college or university in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), with 11 different former Colonials playing for 10 different teams. In 2019, Gibson became the first student-athlete in program history to be the No. 1 pick in the NLL Entry Draft, being selected by the New York Riptide. Last fall, following the selections of
Ryan Smith and
Brad McCulley in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft, RMU became the only program to boast a pair of first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. Overall, a total of 28 former Colonials have been drafted into Major League Lacrosse (MLL) or the NLL.
"The primary goal of our lacrosse partnership with the Southern Conference is to maximize opportunity," ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart said. "Our first responsibility is the highest level of service to our full member institutions. When partnerships offer increased opportunity for all, that meets our primary ASUN BEAM of Students First."
McMinn, a two-time NEC Coach of the Year (2012, 2017) who enters his 10th season at the helm of the program in 2021, owns an overall record of 69-61 (.531) and has been part of the program for 15 years. He began his tenure with the Colonials as associate head coach in 2006. McMinn, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., is a 2005 graduate of Providence College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management. During his player career as a goalkeeper with the Friars, McMinn ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in goals against average (6.91) in 2003 while ranking seventh in save percentage (.599) in 2005.
ABOUT RMU (rmu.edu)
Robert Morris University a nationally ranked doctoral research university, enrolling approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. RMU offers fully online courses as well as a traditional residential college experience at its campus on 230 scenic acres 17 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The Colonials compete in 16 NCAA Division sports, including ice hockey, basketball, football, volleyball and lacrosse.
ABOUT THE ASUN CONFERENCE (asunsports.org)
The only DI conference headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., our footprint's primary media, sports, business, transportation and cultural hub
The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive, conference unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Ky.), FGCU (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Stetson (Deland, Fla.).
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