HUNTSVILLE | The Peach Belt Conference announced on Friday the addition of men's lacrosse for the 2021 season, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville is set to join the PBC as an affiliate member in the sport this spring. 
 
Four teams will comprise the inaugural season with the field expanding to six for the 2022 campaign. The first four teams will be UAH, Lander University, the University of Montevallo and Shorter University. Flagler College and Young Harris College will join the following year, bringing the total to six and allowing the PBC to have an automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament.
 
"We are excited about this new conference affiliation for our men's lacrosse program," stated UAH Director of Athletics Dr. Cade Smith. "We think competing in the Peach Belt with a more localized regional footprint will benefit our student-athlete experience."
 
"Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in our region and we are very excited about beginning our own championship," said PBC commissioner David Brunk. "It gives the schools coming in more regionalized competition, a solid conference structure and provides the student-athletes with an outstanding championship experience. We feel this is a sport that will continue to grow and now we are in a great position to grow with it."
 
The inaugural season will begin in February with teams playing a double round-robin conference schedule starting in mid-March. The PBC will hold its first tournament April 30 and May 2, 2021, with all four teams in competition.