Trevecca athletics announces women’s lacrosse for the fall of 2025, but current athletes are running out of space

By Antonia Lopez

Sports Editor

Trevecca’s athletics department has announced the addition of a women’s lacrosse team for the 2025-2026 season.

The addition of a lacrosse program to Trevecca athletics follows an agreement with the Gulf South Conference (GSC) after the university was accepted into the conference in July 2024.

“The Gulf South Conference sponsors women’s lacrosse,” said Mark Elliott, Trevecca’s athletic director. “So what the Gulf South was saying to us was, ‘Okay, we’ll let you into the Gulf South Conference, but you need to start a lacrosse team.’ And we went, ‘We kind of want to, but we don’t really have a place to play just yet.'”

The addition of a lacrosse team also requires Trevecca’s athletics department to find a suitable location for team practices which adds to a growing need in the athletic department for space for a record number of athletes. 

Trevecca’s athletic department is attempting to raise $35 million dollars to build a new facility where the existing Moore Gymnasium stands, while adding extra space to the back, according to a 2023 TrevEchoes article.

According to  Dan Boone, university president, the athletic department is fundraising the first $20 million in the forefront, and then hoping to fundraise the other half before going public with the fundraising. 

Trevecca’s athletics department has been actively working on securing a space for multiple sports teams to practice, including track and field, cross country, and lacrosse in the spring of 2025.

According to Elliott, space has been a significant issue for recruiting athletes, as both cross country and track and field lack a dedicated practice space, and no viable plot of land near campus can be used to serve these teams.

“There’s no place on our entire campus where you can put a 400-meter track,” Elliott said. “We can’t put a track around our soccer field, and you can see it wouldn’t fit because it’s too small. A track is too big for that plot of land.”

Negotiations were underway with the Tennessee Preparatory School to lease their field and turf it for the use of both lacrosse and track and field. However, Elliott said those discussions fell through after a year and a half of negotiations.

Boone has been involved in trying to find space and said he’s aware of the strain it puts on athletes. 

“I think it’s critically important for the growth of that program to have that [space],” said Boone. “I’m really proud of that team for the way that they have adjusted to find places to run and practice and do everything that they would do.” 

According to Boone, Trevecca is still in a three-year recovery plan from COVID losses, so the university is not in a position to invest in more property. 

“With limited funding and no property that we currently own to do it, it’s just been a really hard pull for us,” said Boone. “We’ve been in conversation with four or five different entities about collaborative uses of their properties. And some of them have been quite friendly in their conversations. Others, we just haven’t been able to get them to move the needle to provide what we need in a reasonable way.”

Dayton Floyd, a junior, does a bit of everything for Trevecca’s track and field team. He practices and participates in 10 different events, while also cheering on his teammates.

“Some people might say ‘you’re crazy, that’s insane’ for doing [10 events],” said Floyd. “But it’s truly what I love, and I wouldn’t do it any differently than the way I do now.” 

Floyd said not having a place to practice on campus is frustrating, but he appreciates the efforts made by the coaching staff to accommodate to athlete’s needs and organize a space for them to practice. 

“Not having a track or field to practice on has always been hard, especially with me having to practice so many events and not having the place or equipment to do so, but we make it work with our coaching staff providing what we need,” said Floyd. “It has been a challenge for us season by season, but we always find a way to make it work.”

The athletics department hopes to have a coach hired for the women’s lacrosse team by this fall so recruiting can begin in the spring of 2025. The team is expected to be on campus by the fall of 2026, in compliance with GSC standards.