NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Beginning in the spring of 2023, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will compete in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference, which was recently formed by combining the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference with the three schools in the New Jersey Athletic Conference that currently sponsor the sport.

Along with the Captains, the league will feature longtime rivals Mary Washington and Salisbury as well as NJAC foes Kean, Montclair State, and Stockton. The conference will consist of a single round-robin regular season schedule followed by a postseason tournament to determine the league champion. Following the NCAA-mandated two-year waiting period, the conference champ will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament beginning in 2025.

"We are very excited to be a member of the Coastal Lacrosse Conference along with Salisbury, Mary Washington, Stockton, Kean, and Montclair State," said Christopher Newport head coach Mikey Thompson. "This is a positive step for our men's lacrosse program moving forward, and we look forward to continuing some old rivalries and starting some new ones. Having six strong programs in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference will give our student-athletes the opportunity to compete at a high level every week in conference play, and we look forward to continuing to play one of the strongest out-of-conference schedules in the country."

The formation of the Coastal Lacrosse Conference will give student-athletes an opportunity for weekly and yearly athletic and academic honors along with a steady conference schedule and the chance to earn an automatic bid to the national postseason.

Last year, three of the Coastal Lacrosse Conference programs advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Christopher Newport and Salisbury both reached the national quarterfinals, while Stockton earned a spot in the second round after claiming the league title in the Colonial States Athletic Conference.

In addition to Stockton, Kean last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, while Montclair State reached the national playoffs in nine straight seasons from 2009-17. Overall, each of the six Coastal Lacrosse Conference teams have taken part in the NCAA Tournament since 2014, while they have combined for 22 total appearances over the last decade. 

Christopher Newport is coming off of a season in which the squad spent three weeks as the unanimous No. 1 team in the USILA National Coaches Poll before finishing the year ranked third in the country. Along the way, the Captains compiled an 18-2 record and won the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship for the first time in program history.

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