The Upper Iowa University Athletics Department announced a delay today for the debut of the women's lacrosse program until the 2020 spring season. The move to hold back the program for the upcoming 2019 season does not reflect the University's commitment to the addition of women's lacrosse to the Peacock athletics menu.  A small roster size prior to the team's first season of competition in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was the determining factor.
 
"It is with great disappointment that we are making the announcement to delay our women's lacrosse debut until the spring of 2020," said Hartzell. "We pride ourselves on giving our student-athletes the best experience and with the squad size as stated, that simply is not possible. We will continue to recruit and to develop our current roster through practices, strength and conditioning and good athletic training work.  We fully expect to have a team of 18-20 student-athletes in the fall of 2019, which will allow us to begin play in the spring of 2020 with a full team. We are totally committed to having a successful women's lacrosse program at Upper Iowa."
 
Hartzell continued, "I would like to apologize to the GLIAC, Commissioner Kris Dunbar and the opponents who were on our schedule for this spring. We look forward to our association with the GLIAC moving forward and thank them for their understanding and support as we navigate through this process."
 
Head Women's Lacrosse Coach Erin Doherty will continue to recruit and train the student-athletes on campus in preparation for the 2020 season. The lacrosse program has already signed six student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2019-20 academic year.