UMass Dartmouth Expands Athletics Choices, Males’s Lacrosse and Males’s Swimming & Diving Return for 2026-27

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth will increase its athletics choices starting within the 2026–27 educational 12 months, highlighted by the return of males’s lacrosse and males’s swimming & diving as varsity packages and the addition of ladies’s flag soccer.

“Athletics is an important part of the fabric of our campus community. I’m excited that these new sports will create additional opportunities for student-athletes to compete, grow, and represent the University, while also helping us attract even more talented students to an already strong and vibrant program,” stated UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark A. Fuller, PhD., who at present serves as Chair of the Little East Conference (LEC) Presidents Council.

UMass Dartmouth’s males’s lacrosse and males’s swimming & diving packages shall be absolutely included into the LEC within the coming educational 12 months, giving the convention eight males’s lacrosse groups and 7 males’s swimming & diving groups. Both shall be instantly eligible for LEC Championships and awards, a brand new 2027 males’s lacrosse schedule shall be developed to welcome again the Corsairs. 

Current girls’s swimming & diving head coach Mike Kroll has been named the boys’s swimming & diving head coach. A nationwide search is at present underway to establish the subsequent head coach for males’s lacrosse.

“The success of our current student-athletes has paved the way for continued investment in UMass Dartmouth Athletics,” stated Dr. Lori Hendricks, Director of Athletics and Recreation at UMass Dartmouth. “We know that students are stronger scholars and more engaged community members when they participate in co-curricular activities; moreover, our athletics community contributes to the overall energy of the campus. My thanks to Chancellor Fuller and the University leadership for their support of this expansion. We are excited to continue the tradition of excellence into this new era of UMass Dartmouth Athletics.”

UMass Dartmouth is the second LEC establishment to announce the addition of ladies’s flag soccer; Eastern Connecticut State University introduced the addition of the rapidly rising sport in November 2025. LEC sponsorship of the game could start as soon as there are a minimum of six groups competing within the convention.