MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College announces the addition of men's and women's lacrosse as varsity sports, with competition beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. The lacrosse teams will bring the total number of varsity sports at the College to 22 — 11 men's programs and 11 women's programs.

"It's very exciting for Marietta College to bring back men's lacrosse and add a women's program, arguably the fastest-growing sport in the NCAA," said Marietta College President William N. Ruud. "We are committed to making sure our lacrosse programs will be competitive in the Division III landscape, which means recruiting student-athletes in different parts of the nation. PioNation will enjoy watching this fast-paced sport in the near future."

Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the United States at both the high school and collegiate levels. According to statistics from U.S. Lacrosse, the sport's governing body, participation in organized lacrosse teams has tripled in the United States in the past 15 years.

Within the NCAA, men's and women's lacrosse has seen a near 40 percent growth rate since 2009. The number of institutions sponsoring varsity lacrosse will exceed 500 when teams take the field in 2019, including 265 in Division III.

"We're poised to hit the ground running with men's and women's lacrosse," Director of Athletics Larry Hiser said. "Not only can our facilities can handle it, but they will be among the best in Division III. Our current coaching staff has built a culture of strong leadership and will be great mentors to our new colleagues."

In recent years, current students have been inquiring about a lacrosse program — therefore Hiser believes the timing is perfect.

"New growth is always exciting. It indicates that things are vibrant here at Marietta. And with the first Ohio High School Boys and Girls Lacrosse State Champions to be crowned in 2017, our timing is perfect," Hiser said.

Marietta is not a complete newcomer when it comes to lacrosse. The Pioneers fielded a varsity men's team from 1990-2002, and had a thriving club program in the 1980s. This will be Marietta's first women's lacrosse team.

Marietta is the 10th Ohio Athletic Conference member to add lacrosse with the other nine schools fielding both a men's and women's team. The addition of lacrosse continues a recent expansion of varsity sports at Marietta as the Pioneers will field new men's and women's golf teams in 2017-18. Prior to golf and lacrosse, the most recent expansion came in 2002 when cross country and track and field were reinstated.

A national search for a head men's coach and a head women's coach is underway, with plans to have both in place mid-May to begin recruiting for next fall.