Women's lacrosse joins men's ice hockey and women's triathlon among sports added this season

Photo by Ben Moffat and Ben Moffat | The State Press Associate athletic director Rocky Harris (left), Athletic Director Ray Anderson and associate athletic director Scotty Graham announce ASU's addition of women's triathlon and women's lacrosse on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, at the Dutson Theater in the Carson Student-Athlete Center on the Tempe campus.

By Fabian Ardaya | 10/20/2015 10:03am

Grab your sticks and gear, ladies, because Sun Devil women's lacrosse is coming.

ASU announced Tuesday that it would be adding its third NCAA sport in the last 12 months — women's lacrosse and formally announced the addition of women's triathlon.

"I love these moments for our community and certainly for our conference," ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said. "We're here today to formally announce the addition of women's triathlon and women's lacrosse as ASU's 24th and 25th varsity sports."

The move comes 11 months after the University would add men's ice hockey as its 23rd varsity sport. In April, it announced it will be seeking to add women's triathlon as well.

Anderson previously told The State Press that it was "very likely" that women's lacrosse would be women's sport chosen over women's crew to fulfill the school's Title IX obligations after the addition of men's ice hockey.

Title IX regulations, which were passed in 1972, require that schools not discriminate on educational opportunities based on gender. In doing so, athletic departments must allocate certain funds to increasing opportunities for women to be comparable to those for men.

“For the sport of women’s lacrosse it is a very transformational and exciting time,” International Women’s Lacrosse College Association (IWLCA) president Alicia Groveston said in a statement. “With Arizona State adopting NCAA women’s lacrosse, not only are we adding another Division I school sponsoring our sport, but one with amazing name recognition.”

The Sun Devils are now the sixth program with Pac-12 affiliation to add women's lacrosse, meeting the minimum for the conference to become an automatic NCAA qualifier. The other programs — Stanford, USC, Colorado, Oregon and Cal, are currently members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) for women's lacrosse.

"If things work out, and Ray has assured me things will work out, the Pac-12 will have a championship and automatic qualifier from women's lacrosse," senior associate athletic director Scottie Graham said.

Graham said that the lacrosse program will likely use the women's soccer program's facilities, given that soccer is a fall sport and lacrosse will play in the spring.

Women's lacrosse has yet to name a head coach, Graham said.

"(Senior associate athletic director) Deana Garner-Smith and I will begin a national search and international search as well," Graham said. "We're going to make sure we look at some viable candidates to bring in to lead the robust base in lacrosse."

University president Michael Crow said in April that some of the $32 million donation to create the men's hockey program will be used to generate a new women's sport.

"The cost of (creating a women's sport) is built into the gift," he said. "One of the conditions of the gifts for hockey was that there's sufficient funding to start the other sport.

Anderson confirmed Tuesday that a portion of those funds, provided by donors Don and Chris Mullett along with another unnamed donor, will be put towards the new programs.

"When they pledged their $32 million dollars they enthusiastically said those resources are also intended to help to add women's sports," Anderson said. "That's the right thing to do, and then university-wise that will allow you to meet your obligations under the very necessary and very appropriate Title IX legislation."

Senior associate athletic director Rocky Harris said the addition of an emerging sport such as triathlon reflects the message of the athletic department under Anderson.

"As you've seen with Ray and hockey, he makes bold moves," Harris said. "Let's try it. Let's be the first Power 5 Division I athletics program to do this. Let's set the tone for everybody else."

The women's triathlon program, much like men's ice hockey with former beat writer Justin Emerson, had a key pitchman — Mary Lou Fulton Teacher's College grad student Nicole Truxes.

"Last year at the hockey announcement, we said that Justin Emerson was a student who kind of lit the fire under us to get us thinking seriously about hockey," Anderson said. "We had a repeat experience with Nicole. Nicole was the one who brought to us that US Triathlon had a grant program where triathlon is an emerging sport and was possible."

Harris said the move was last-minute, but panned out.

"She came to us about two weeks before the deadline to submit the $140,000 grant to USA Triathlon to get this off the ground," Harris said. "She didn't just come to us with an idea, she came to us with a plan and helped us implement the plan.

Truxes, 25, said one of her master's Philanthropy and Grants course assignments led to the fateful meeting with the athletic department.

"I wrote up a mock proposal for the final for that class and because of another project for school I presented the idea to the athletic department," Truxes said. "It was all just kind of happenstance of being in the right place at the right time and having the opportunity to have a very progressive athletic department.

Truxes is a former member of the University of Arizona club triathlon team during her undergraduate years, which drove her towards picking the sport for her proposal.

"I'm a triathlete myself and compete very seriously, and I love triathlon," Truxes said. "I love the idea of giving the opportunity to up-and-coming young women. I love the idea of connecting the pipeline gap between high school and professional Olympic racing. It's really exciting for the sport."

ASU is far from done in adding more sports, Anderson said.

"You name a sport, and it's on the list," Anderson said. "(Men's soccer), you got one. It's on our list. I promise you."

Anderson said its his mission to continue to be innovative and grow the athletic department.

"We're not going to sit back and be told we can't do it unless it is at the end of the world there just is no possible way to get something done," Anderson said. "All of those who are in the culture of saying we can't get it done, we thank all of you.

"If you have an idea to advance us or make us better, bring it on."

Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.

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