EDISON, NJ (6/18/18) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to approve the associate membership of St. Bonaventure University in the sport of men's lacrosse. The Bonnies will begin competition during the spring of 2019.
 
"St. Bonaventure is well recognized for its academic and athletic excellence, and as the institution launches its men's lacrosse program the MAAC is excited to have them join the conference as an associate member," noted MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. "Coach Mearns is very familiar with the MAAC from his tenure at Canisius where he won two MAAC titles. I expect he will quickly have the Bonnies become a competitive program in the MAAC."
 
St. Bonaventure announced the addition of men's lacrosse on March 21, 2017, as part of its strategic initiatives. Men's lacrosse became the 17^th Division I sport at St. Bonaventure.
 
"On behalf of St. Bonaventure University, we would like to thank Commissioner Ensor, the presidents and the athletic directors of the MAAC for seeing our vision and inviting us to join their league," said St. Bonaventure Director of Athletics Tim Kenney.
 
"This partnership makes a lot of sense for both parties. Geographically we are in the MAAC footprint and demographically the member schools are similar. The MAAC is a perfect home for us as we grow our program and we look forward to being a contributing member of the conference."
 
"Being able to compete for a league championship immediately is a great privilege and sets us up on a trajectory of where we envision our program being in the future as we build to a level of being able to compete for championships," added Kenney.
 
The Bonnies become the eighth member of the MAAC men's lacrosse league, joining Canisius College, fellow associate member University of Detroit Mercy, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Quinnipiac University, and Siena College.
 
St. Bonaventure named Randy Mearns its first ever head coach on June 20, 2017. Mearns brings 19 years of head coaching experience to St. Bonaventure. Mearns previously served as the head men's lacrosse coach at Canisius from 1998-2017. He guided the Griffs to two MAAC championships (2008, 2012), as well as their first two NCAA Tournament appearances (2008, 2012). A total of 41 student-athletes earned All-MAAC honors under his tutelage.
 
"I want to thank Tim Kenney and the administration at St. Bonaventure for doing their due diligence in going through the application process. We are very grateful to the MAAC conference for allowing us to join for the 2019 season," noted St. Bonaventure head coach Randy Mearns.
 
"Being involved in the conference previously for 19 years, I can attest to the phenomenal coaches and athletes that make up MAAC lacrosse. The talent level is just incredible. Being officially a member now we have our work cut out for us. It's an amazing opportunity and challenge, but we are grateful to have a home and a chance to evolve into an automatic qualifier conference that will give us an opportunity to compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament," added Mearns. "I know our incoming players will be super excited about the prospect of being in the MAAC; we know that it will be a challenge and the competition will definitely not be easy, but we will hit the ground running as we begin our first season with the rebirth of our program."
 
The Bonnies are set to play its home games at the Tom '80 and Michelle Marra Athletics Fields Complex, which was re-dedicated in September 2014 following a $1 million donation from its namesakes with a brand new artificial turf playing surface.
 
St. Bonaventure previously sponsored the sport of men's lacrosse as an intercollegiate team from 1989-93, prior to it being moved to the club level. The 2019 season marks the first time that the Bonnies will play the sport at the Division I level.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37^th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.