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INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Tuesday that Davenport University will join the league as an associate member in the sports of men’s lacrosse and wrestling, beginning with the 2020-21 season.
A private university located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Davenport will compete in men’s lacrosse alongside 10 other institutions in the league, including full-time members University of Indianapolis, Lewis University, Lindenwood University, Maryville University, Quincy University, and Rockhurst University. The University of Alabama Huntsville, Lander University, Montevallo University and Young Harris College also compete as associate members.
The Panthers will join six other GLVC wrestling programs in 2020-21, including Drury University, UIndy, Lindenwood University, Maryville, McKendree University and Ouachita Baptist University, which also competes as an associate member. Bellarmine University currently wrestles as a full-time member of the GLVC, but is set to resign at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season to reclassify to NCAA Division I.
“We are thrilled to welcome Davenport University to the GLVC as an associate member for the sports of men’s lacrosse and wrestling,” said GLVC Commissioner Jim Naumovich. “The addition of the Panthers will enhance the quality of competition in the league and also expands the conference scheduling opportunities for our current programs.”
Davenport will be entering the ranks of NCAA Division II lacrosse for the first time during the 2019-20 season. Head coach Chris Esquivel is entering his fifth season at the helm for the Panthers and has posted a 43-21 record competing in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The Panthers won the 2011 MCLA Division II National Championship and also captured the inaugural NAIA Invitational in 2016. DU has produced nine different First Team All-Americans.
"Our institution is very grateful to be able to partner with the Great Lakes Valley Conference in men's lacrosse and wrestling,” said Davenport Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Paul Lowden. “This gives our student-athletes a great platform to compete in a quality conference against other institutions that share the same values as Davenport. Being able to join this conference brings so many more opportunities for our student-athletes."
Davenport, which is a full-time member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and currently competing in its first year as an active NCAA Division II member, is currently in its sixth wrestling season all under head coach Jamie Boyd. The 2020-21 season will mark the first time that the wrestling program will be affiliated with a conference after years as an independent in NAIA and NCAA Division II. The Panthers set a school record in 2016-17 with seven dual match wins and also placed fifth in the NAIA Midwest Regional. The program has had five different student-athletes reach nationals during its history.