Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/12/16
From Press Release
The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committees for Divisions I, II and III have announced the sites for the 2017 and 2018 men’s lacrosse finals and the 2017 and 2018 Division I men’s lacrosse quarterfinals.
Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, will be the site of the 2017 and 2018 Division I semifinals and final, in addition to the Divisions II and III national championship games. These championships will represent the fourth and fifth time that the home of the NFL’s New England Patriots has hosted the event. The championships also took place there in 2008, 2009 and 2012. Harvard University will serve as the host school.
The 2008 Division I men’s lacrosse title game at Gillette Stadium set a record for highest championship game attendance when 48,970 fans attended.
“We are excited about heading back to Gillette Stadium,” said Eugene Doris, chair of the Division I Men’s Lacrosse Committee and athletics director at Fairfield University. “The venue is one of the best in the nation and will provide our student-athletes with a memorable experience. Lacrosse in the New England area continues to explode, and we are excited to bring our event to the area to showcase what NCAA lacrosse is all about.
“It was a very difficult decision for the committee; there were a number of quality facilities and great communities under consideration,” Doris continued. “The committee is grateful to the communities that continue to support and show an interest in the men’s lacrosse championship.”
Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group and also owner of the Patriots, looks forward to the lacrosse events.
“We are honored to have earned the bid to host the NCAA men’s lacrosse championships at Gillette Stadium in 2017 and 2018,” he said. “We love to celebrate championships at Gillette Stadium and are eager to host the lacrosse national championship games for the fourth and fifth times. Lacrosse has seen tremendous growth at all levels throughout New England, and the passion and support by fans of the game were evident when we hosted our first lacrosse championship game and set an attendance record in 2008. We look forward to hosting record-breaking crowds once again in the years ahead.”
The 2017 Division I men’s lacrosse quarterfinals will be split between James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York, on the campus of Hofstra University and the University of Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware. In 2018, two quarterfinals games will be held again at Hofstra, while the other quarterfinals matchups will be at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. Hofstra has previously hosted the quarterfinal round eight times, most recently in 2014, while Delaware also held the event in 2014. Navy has hosted five times previously, including in 2015.
For more information on the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships, log on to NCAA.com/lacrosse. enjoy exploring and discovering our extraordinary cultural attractions and historical sites, in addition to watching great lacrosse at Gillette Stadium.”
