Big South Adds Three Associate Members in Women's Lacrosse
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – The Big South Conference announced today that it has added three associate members in the sport of Women’s Lacrosse -- Furman University, Mercer University and Wofford College, effective with the 2022 season. The three additions join Campbell, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, Presbyterian College, Radford and Winthrop and increases the Big South’s women’s lacrosse sponsorship to a league-high 10 programs.
The three schools previously competed in the Southern Conference, which announced it is no longer sponsoring the sport following the 2021 season. Furman was 12-5 overall last season and was the SoCon regular-season champion with a 4-0 record. Mercer was 7-8 overall (2-2 SoCon), and knocked off the Paladins, 14-13, to win the SoCon Tournament. Wofford finished 2-9 (1-3 SoCon) in 2021.
Furman began its women’s lacrosse program in 2015 and recently completed its seventh season of competition, all under the direction of head coach Rachel Whitten. The Paladins have compiled 68 victories, while capturing Southern Conference Regular Season Championships in 2019 and 2021. Furman boasts 21 All-Conference performers in its history, two Freshman of the Year selections, one Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year performers, and one Coach of the Year honoree.
Mercer began women’s lacrosse in the spring of 2015, and head coach Samantha Eustace has led the program to incredible success. Over the first seven years as a program, Mercer has compiled 56 wins and was the only program to win a Southern Conference Tournament Championship, doing so three times. Mercer qualified for its first NCAA Tournament during the 2018 season and again in 2019. The latest tournament appearance for the Bears came during the 2021 campaign.
Wofford began its women’s lacrosse program in the 2018 season. This past season, the Terriers landed a program-best four honorees on All-Southern Conference teams, including Elisabeth Ralph on the first team. Kim Eldridge became head coach in June 2019 and completed her second year at the helm this past spring.
“We are excited to be joining the Big South Conference for women’s lacrosse,” said Mercer’s Eustace. “They are a very strong conference and we have played a number of those teams every year. We appreciate everything the Southern Conference has done for Women’s Lacrosse. We look forward to competing for the Big South Championship next spring.”
“Thank you to both the SoCon and the Big South,” added Eldridge. “Our new alignment with the Big South is certainly an exciting milestone for the future growth of our program. While we are still a relatively new program, this alignment will have an immediate impact on our ability to recruit top players and strengthen the overall landscape of lacrosse in our region. I think it is both geographically and competitively a perfect fit for Wofford.”
“First, I want to say thank you to the Southern Conference for having women’s lacrosse these past four years,” commented Furman’s Whitten. “While we are sad to see it end, joining the Big South is going to be a new opportunity for Furman lacrosse. The location of a majority of the schools in the Big South made sense for us geographically as well as the competition we will have. We look forward to working hard and holding ourselves to a high standard as we represent the Big South.”