Featured photo by Caitlyn Hajek
Story by Jenna Roberts
Murfreesboro, TENN- As of Sept. 24, 2023, the Middle Tennessee State University Lacrosse Club Team will be joining the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). This is all thanks to a few driven students and a faculty advisor who helped them get there.
Lacrosse Club President Ian Arentz and the Lacrosse Club Treasurer Andy Solima traveled to the Bolles School co-educational college in Jacksonville, Florida to officially request for the club team to join the MCLA.
After thorough preparation, Arentz and Solima presented in front of representatives from every team in the conference as well as conference executives and were accepted to join the MCLA under the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) Division 2. Before this, the MTSU Lacrosse team had been independent for over 20 years.
The MTSU lacrosse club team was established by their current faculty advisor Paul Mosey in 2000 while earning his M.E.D. at MTSU. Mosey joined the Aerospace faculty at MTSU in 2003 as a temporary assistant professor. He assumed the position of Chief Flight Instructor/Flight Training Manager at the MTSU flight training center in 2006. He held that position until August 2021 when he rejoined the Aerospace faculty as an assistant professor.
“I have been with the aerospace department for 20 years and I was getting my master’s and decided to start up a club here, technically so I could continue to play,” Mosey said.
Mikey Ford, a 2023 MTSU graduate played for the team as a junior in 2021-2022. Now, Ford is an assistant coach. While the team was less organized at the student level, the team was successful in conquering teams like UAB and UTC and even putting up an impressive fight against a Division I Vanderbilt team.
“It was Ian and Andy who came to me about two months ago wanting to get the team back together,” Ford said. “They turned this club around really quickly, like night and day compared to what it was when I was playing. I am really excited to be a part of it and watch these guys develop, especially playing under the MCLA.”
The MTSU Lacrosse Team is a student-led organization that distributes its responsibilities among a certain number of players. More specifically, Ian Arentz and Andy Solima. They are responsible for establishing fundraisers to help fund the team, managing player dues, scheduling games and practices, managing the team’s social media page, managing travel expenses and managing the team’s equipment. They have currently scheduled 15 games for the spring semester against teams like the Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt, and UAB.
The development of this team is an outstanding reflection of not only its determined players who made it all happen but also of the university itself. In a recent study carried out by the NCAA, both men’s and women’s lacrosse were labeled the fastest-growing sport in America over the past 15 years.
In one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports, Arentz and Solima gave the MTSU hockey club a privilege that it had never experienced before. After 20 years of independence, the club is ready to take on new challenges and adventures in the MCLA.
Jenna Roberts is a sports reporter for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mtsusidelines, or on X @MTSUSidelines.
