Piedmont College president Dr. Ray Cleere and the Board of Trustees announced Wednesday that the college will add women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport beginning in the 2011-12 school year. The initial year will be used to create the program’s recruiting base and scheduling with the goal of beginning competition in the spring of 2013.

“Our public announcement regarding adding women’s lacrosse to our intercollegiate sport offerings is timed to alert potential recruits and head coach aspirants about our plans for bringing women’s lacrosse to Piedmont,” Piedmont’s director of athletics, John Dzik, said. “We hope to create interest for both qualified student-athletes and an experienced head coach with this formal announcement.”

Piedmont becomes just the fifth NCAA Division III school in the state of Georgia and the third in the Great South Athletic Conference to formally add women’s lacrosse as an intercollegiate sport. The Lady Lions will join Agnes Scott College and LaGrange College as GSAC member schools who will offer women’s lacrosse, while Huntingdon College is expected to add the sport in 2013.

“We are all excited to expand our women’s athletic program offerings with the addition of lacrosse,” Dzik said. “Considering the rapid growth of the sport nationwide and in Georgia, the decision by our administration to implement the program at Piedmont is well-timed.”