The Lindenwood men's and women's lacrosse programs announced this week that they have accepted an invitation to join the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (WILA). The Lions and Lady Lions will begin play in the NCAA Division II Conference during the 2012 season.

"This is a major step and exciting day for our lacrosse programs and our athletics department," said women's lacrosse head coach Jack Cribbin. "Our programs have shown constant improvement over the last eight years and we view this as a logical step as we strive to become one of the top teams in the country.

"We are thrilled with the advantages it'll give our student-athletes with the quality of competition. It'll also allow us to play in the areas where lacrosse is booming. The game of lacrosse is growing rapidly across the nation, and we are thrilled to continue to pave the way for the growth of lacrosse in the Midwest. This move will only accelerate the increase of the sport across the nation."

The WILA is made up of lacrosse programs west of the Mississippi River. On the men's side, Lindenwood will compete against Adams State (Colo.), Mesa State (Colo.), Dominican (Calif.), and Notre Dame de Namur (Calif.). On the women's side, other conference members are Adams State (Colo.), Fort Lewis (Colo.), Mesa State (Colo.), and Regis (Colo.).

The schedule format of the WILA calls for a home-and-home, double round-robin series between the conference schools. Those eight games will determine the conference championships.

The conference was founded for the 2011 season. Notre Dame de Namur won the inaugural men's championship with a 7-1 record, and Regis won the women's title with a perfect 6-0 mark.

The Lindenwood men's lacrosse team went 16-7 last season and advanced to the MCLA National Tournament for the sixth time in seven years. The Lions went 1-1 against WILA programs with a win over Adams State and a loss versus Mesa State.

The Lady Lions lacrosse team went 14-7 and advanced to the WCLA National Tournament for the fifth straight year. Lindenwood went 4-0 against WILA programs with two wins over Mesa State, and one win over both Adams State and Regis.