Posted by
Steve Ruthsatz
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Thu, Feb 26, 2009
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Men's Lacrosse
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WALESKA, Ga. -- Reinhardt College is adding the sport of men's lacrosse to its athletics program for 2009-10, and Binz Hansen has been chosen to lead the team as its first head coach, President Dr. J. Thomas Isherwood has announced.
"Athletics plays a vital role to the life of Reinhardt and our over 200 scholarship student-athletes contribute in many ways to our spirit," Isherwood said. "We look forward to bringing collegiate-level lacrosse to the College. It is an exciting and challenging sport that we believe will be of interest to our community."
Reinhardt currently sponsors 13 intercollegiate varsity sports, seven for women and six for men, which compete as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). Presently, men's lacrosse is considered an emerging sport by the NAIA.
"The addition of lacrosse brings a new and exciting sport to Reinhardt and will generate interest within our community as most people have only ever seen the sport on television," Reinhardt athletic director Bill Popp said. "Lacrosse is an up-and-coming sport here in the state of Georgia as well as nationally, and we are hoping to tap into the market for student-athletes who would like to stay close to home and play."
Hansen will be in charge of Reinhardt's men's lacrosse program and brings much experience in the sport as a player. Last summer, he played for Team Denmark in the European Lacrosse Championships and was a part of a summer league championship squad. Hansen was a four-year varsity player at NCAA Division III Goucher College in Baltimore, Md., where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in management in 2006. He is a graduate of the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was a member of a state championship team, and prior to that attended and played lacrosse at Roswell (Ga.) High School.
"I believe we have an excellent coach in Mr. Hansen," said Dr. Roger Lee, Reinhardt's vice president of student affairs and dean of students. "His knowledge and zeal for the game will be a tremendous asset to getting lacrosse launched at Reinhardt. He will be a great addition to Coach Popp and the athletic staff. We are excited that lacrosse is coming to Reinhardt." Lee conducted much of the search for a head coach.
Being a spring sport at the collegiate level, the Eagles expect to play their first matches in February 2010. Prior to that time, the recruitment of quality student-athletes will take place. In the community, the popularity of lacrosse has grown tremendously within high schools over the past few years.
