Aug. 17, 2012
The NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee announced Thursday that the NCAA Tournament will expand from 16 teams to 26, effective with the 2013 championship.
“We could not be more excited about the expansion of our tournament,” VU Head Coach Cathy Swezey said. “Great teams have been left out of the NCAA tournament for years because of the size of our tournament and the fact that eight of the 16 bids are automatic qualifiers. This change will elevate our championships and there will be the kind of parity that everyone likes to see in postseason play.”
The expansion comes as five additional conference champions are slated to receive automatic qualification into the 2013 tournament. The full list of conferences with automatic qualifiers now includes America East Conference, American Lacrosse Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Big South Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, The Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, National Lacrosse Conference (Atlantic Sun Conference), Northeast Conference and Patriot League.
Pending approval of the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet in September, selections for the 2013 championship have been tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 5. Ten first-round contests would be played on Friday, May 10, hosted at campus sites by the tournament’s top eight seeds. Second round games would follow at those same campus sites on Sunday, May 12.
Vanderbilt Associate Director of Student Athletics/SWA Candice Storey Lee chairs the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee.
“We are excited about the growth of women’s lacrosse and the fact that the championship format can now reflect that tremendous growth,” Lee said. “There are so many institutions well-deserving of postseason opportunities…. the National Committee is thrilled about the expansion.”
