Sept. 6, 2007

The inaugural season of varsity women's lacrosse at the University of South Carolina will take place in the spring of 2010.

In February the Carolina athletics department announced it would be adding women's lacrosse as a varsity sport. The timeline of the first competition coincides with that of the University of Florida, which is also beginning a new varsity women's lacrosse program. Both schools, along with SEC member Vanderbilt, will be affiliate members of the American Lacrosse Conference, which also includes Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, Penn State and three-time reigning NCAA champion Northwestern. The ALC has been in existence since the 2002 season.

The search for the Gamecocks' head coach will begin in the spring of 2008.

"We anticipate an excellent pool of candidates for the head coaching position to come forward at that time," said Val Sheley, Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Women Administrator at South Carolina.

Sheley recommends that prospective student-athletes interested in the program should forward their updated information after January 2008 to Barbara Luberoff at luberoff@gwm.sc.edu. That information will be forwarded to the new head coach.

The addition of women's lacrosse will bring the number of varsity sports offered at South Carolina to 21, including 12 women's sports. The average roster size for women's lacrosse is 27 players with a maximum number of scholarships set at 12.