Updated May 6, 9 a.m. to include Hampton's Official Release

Hampton University has plans to add men’s lacrosse for the 2016 season, a Hampton athletic administrator confirmed to Inside Lacrosse Tuesday morning. The athletic administrator has begun reaching out to potential regional opponents in an attempt to build a schedule for next season.

Word of the addition of men's lacrosse at Hampton has circulated around the lacrosse world for at least the last year after a letter was disseminated to the student body, and indications are that women's soccer will be added in conjunction.

Athletic Director Eugene Marshall, Jr., who took over the role in July 2014, has been around lacrosse previously, having worked in the Army West Point department from 2005-10.

Located in southeast Virginia, Hampton is a historically black university with a student population of roughly 5,000. The Pirates compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and the athletic department currently offers 14 sports, including FCS football. One of the the most memorable moments in Hampton athletics history is the 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament upset of Iowa State, a 15-seed upset of a No. 2 seed.

Hampton does not currently offer women’s lacrosse and would be the lone MEAC men’s lacrosse program (though Morgan State famously fielded a successful team through the 1970s, the Bears’ program was dropped in 1981). MEAC schools Howard and Delaware State offer women’s lacrosse.

Hampton appears set to join Cleveland State as the 70th and 71st DI men's lacrosse programs when they begin competition next season. The Vikings announced a clarified path toward adding the sport in mid-April.

Hampton's nearest DI opponent would be the Richmond Spiders, just 85 miles to the northwest. Coach Dan Chemotti's team just completed its second season as a program and competes as an affiliate in the Southern Conference. Other in-state rivals are VMI and the University of Virginia. It's logical that Hampton could join the SoCon, which will have eight teams when Air Force joins the league in 2016, as an affiliate down the road.

The addition of men's lacrosse at a historically black university could hold significant implications for a sport in which racial diversity — specfiically the prospect of making access to the sport easier in conjunction with increasing racial diversity — has become a common conversation. A 2010 NCAA study reported that just 1.9% of DI lacrosse players were black, and fewer that 10% were non-white.

Check out LaxAllStars Publisher Connor Wilson's breakdown of the history of lacrosse at Hampton.

Hampton Athletics Official Press Release

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University Department of Athletics has announced the addition of two new sports for the coming 2015-16 academic year: men's lacrosse and women's soccer, both of which have been intramural programs at the school.

Both programs will compete as independents and play modified schedules.

With the additions, Hampton will feature 17 intercollegiate programs – seven men's programs, nine women's programs, and one co-ed program in sailing. Aside from sailing, all programs will be under the NCAA umbrella.

John McNabb will serve as head coach of the women's soccer program, bringing with him decades of experience playing and coaching the sport. He has worked at Hampton University in the Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, and McNabb has also played for Hampton International as part of the Virginia Rush Peninsula Adult League.

Having played for Hampton International since 2008, McNabb has been on several league championship teams, most recently in the fall of 2014. His specialty has been on the defensive side of the ball.

McNabb has obtained licenses from the United States Soccer Federation and Virginia Youth Soccer Association to coach U6-U8, U8-U10, and Under-12 squads. He also served as club coach at Hampton since the spring of 2013.

McNabb holds a doctorate and a Master's in physics from Carnegie Mellon, and he received his bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics, and history from Washington and Jefferson in Pennsylvania in 1995.

Lloyd Carter will serve as head coach of the men's lacrosse program after co-founding and coaching the university's club lacrosse team – a capacity in which Carter has served since 2010. A native of Baltimore, Md., Carter lettered in the sport in both high school and college – playing for Morgan State until the program was discontinued in 1981.

Carter's coaching experience began in Baltimore's Northwestern High School in 1999. During his tenure that stretched more than a decade, Carter was a four-time Baltimore City Lacrosse Coach of the Year, and he served as president of the Baltimore City Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Under his leadership, Northwestern won two regional, two city, and six divisional championships.

In 2003, Carter founded Blax Lax Inc., a club-level organization where college- and high school-level players competed in programs and summer leagues in Howard County, Md. From 2004-08, Carter co-founded and coached club lacrosse at Morgan State.

Carter received both bachelor's and master's degrees from Maryland Baltimore County.

Updated May 6, 9 a.m. to include Hampton's Official Release

Hampton University has plans to add men’s lacrosse for the 2016 season, a Hampton athletic administrator confirmed to Inside Lacrosse Tuesday morning. The athletic administrator has begun reaching out to potential regional opponents in an attempt to build a schedule for next season.

Word of the addition of men's lacrosse at Hampton has circulated around the lacrosse world for at least the last year after a letter was disseminated to the student body, and indications are that women's soccer will be added in conjunction.

Athletic Director Eugene Marshall, Jr., who took over the role in July 2014, has been around lacrosse previously, having worked in the Army West Point department from 2005-10.

Located in southeast Virginia, Hampton is a historically black university with a student population of roughly 5,000. The Pirates compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and the athletic department currently offers 14 sports, including FCS football. One of the the most memorable moments in Hampton athletics history is the 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament upset of Iowa State, a 15-seed upset of a No. 2 seed.

Hampton does not currently offer women’s lacrosse and would be the lone MEAC men’s lacrosse program (though Morgan State famously fielded a successful team through the 1970s, the Bears’ program was dropped in 1981). MEAC schools Howard and Delaware State offer women’s lacrosse.

Hampton appears set to join Cleveland State as the 70th and 71st DI men's lacrosse programs when they begin competition next season. The Vikings announced a clarified path toward adding the sport in mid-April.

Hampton's nearest DI opponent would be the Richmond Spiders, just 85 miles to the northwest. Coach Dan Chemotti's team just completed its second season as a program and competes as an affiliate in the Southern Conference. Other in-state rivals are VMI and the University of Virginia. It's logical that Hampton could join the SoCon, which will have eight teams when Air Force joins the league in 2016, as an affiliate down the road.

The addition of men's lacrosse at a historically black university could hold significant implications for a sport in which racial diversity — specfiically the prospect of making access to the sport easier in conjunction with increasing racial diversity — has become a common conversation. A 2010 NCAA study reported that just 1.9% of DI lacrosse players were black, and fewer that 10% were non-white.

Check out LaxAllStars Publisher Connor Wilson's breakdown of the history of lacrosse at Hampton.

Hampton Athletics Official Press Release

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University Department of Athletics has announced the addition of two new sports for the coming 2015-16 academic year: men's lacrosse and women's soccer, both of which have been intramural programs at the school.

Both programs will compete as independents and play modified schedules.

With the additions, Hampton will feature 17 intercollegiate programs – seven men's programs, nine women's programs, and one co-ed program in sailing. Aside from sailing, all programs will be under the NCAA umbrella.

John McNabb will serve as head coach of the women's soccer program, bringing with him decades of experience playing and coaching the sport. He has worked at Hampton University in the Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, and McNabb has also played for Hampton International as part of the Virginia Rush Peninsula Adult League.

Having played for Hampton International since 2008, McNabb has been on several league championship teams, most recently in the fall of 2014. His specialty has been on the defensive side of the ball.

McNabb has obtained licenses from the United States Soccer Federation and Virginia Youth Soccer Association to coach U6-U8, U8-U10, and Under-12 squads. He also served as club coach at Hampton since the spring of 2013.

McNabb holds a doctorate and a Master's in physics from Carnegie Mellon, and he received his bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics, and history from Washington and Jefferson in Pennsylvania in 1995.

Lloyd Carter will serve as head coach of the men's lacrosse program after co-founding and coaching the university's club lacrosse team – a capacity in which Carter has served since 2010. A native of Baltimore, Md., Carter lettered in the sport in both high school and college – playing for Morgan State until the program was discontinued in 1981.

Carter's coaching experience began in Baltimore's Northwestern High School in 1999. During his tenure that stretched more than a decade, Carter was a four-time Baltimore City Lacrosse Coach of the Year, and he served as president of the Baltimore City Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Under his leadership, Northwestern won two regional, two city, and six divisional championships.

In 2003, Carter founded Blax Lax Inc., a club-level organization where college- and high school-level players competed in programs and summer leagues in Howard County, Md. From 2004-08, Carter co-founded and coached club lacrosse at Morgan State.

Carter received both bachelor's and master's degrees from Maryland Baltimore County.