Loyola Joins the Patriot League

Coming off one of the most successful athletic years in school history, announced a major change on Wednesday.

The university's athletic teams will be competing in the Patriot League next year. Other league members include American University, Bucknell University and the U.S. Naval Academy, according to a news release announcing the change.  

"Loyola athletics' primary mission is to support the development of student-athletes who thrive academically, athletically, spiritually, and socially," James Paquette, assistant vice president and director of athletics at Loyola said in a news release. "The Patriot League embraces and supports those values, and we are thrilled to become partners with the league. Its members' histories of academic and athletic excellence are impressive, and consistent not only with Loyola's past achievements, but our future ambitions as well." 

The school currently competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, but its men’s lacrosse team plays in the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the women’s team play’s in the Big East. 

All of the school's teams—besides men’s rowing—will compete in the Patriot League. The rowing team will still field a regional schedule, according to the release.

Last year the men’s basketball team and lost in the first round, the women’s lacrosse team fell just shy of reaching the NCAA championship game and the men’s lacrosse team .