By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/13/09
The HEADstrong Foundation has announced that 18 Division I and Division III teams will participate in the 3rd Annual Nick Colleluori Classic Oct. 10-11 at Ridley High School in Folsom.
The event, created by the HEADstrong Foundation to raise money and awareness for blood cancer research in the name of the late Nick Colleluori, will feature 10 Division I teams (playing Saturday, Oct. 10) and eight Division III teams (Oct. 11).
Colleluori, who graduated from Ridley High and played at Hofstra University, passed away in November of 2006 after a 14-month fight against non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Nicknamed Head, Mr. Colleluori himself developed the idea of the HEADstrong Foundation while he was ill. The tournament raised $150,000 last year and drew more than 10,000 people.
The tourney is being expanded to two days to allow Division I teams to play two regulation-length games. The Division III teams will play two 1-hour games.
The action will begin each day at 9 a.m.
The Division I field includes four Philly schools: Penn, Villanova, St. Joseph’s and Drexel, as well as Lafayette, Hofstra, Detroit, Mount St. Mary University, Rutgers and Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC).
The Division III field includes Philly squads Ursinus and Widener as well as Wesley College, McDaniel College, York College, Wheeling Jesuit and Scranton. The eighth team has yet to be determined.
Like in last year’s event, each team will have an honorary captain, someone who is dealing with blood cancer. Game schedules will be released in the next few weeks.
Each participating team will sell T-shirts on their campus to raise funds and awareness of this disease. Admission for the event is $10. There will be numerous vendors and refreshments available as well as all lime-green HEADstrong items such as helmets, t-shirts, sticks and laces.
Vendor Village will include lacrosse games and activities and feature the following vendors/partners: Brine, Lime Sportswear, Premier Lacrosse, Defender Mouthguards, Laxzilla, Lacrosse Unlimited, Maverick Lacrosse, Lacrossewear, Cascade, UnderArmor, Inside Lacrosse, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk.
The HEADstrong Foundation previously announced it is holding the inaugural Nick Colleluori Women’s Lacrosse Classic on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. That event – hosted by the Hofstra women’s team – will feature 12 teams from the Division I and II levels as well as several post-graduate club teams.
