The Colorado College men's lacrosse program will join the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, as announced by the conference office on March 18. Colorado College and Centenary College will join the league as affiliate members.           

The NJAC will begin sponsoring men's lacrosse as a conference championship sport for the first time in 2026-27. The conference will feature six men's lacrosse-sponsoring institutions in total, including four full-member programs in Kean University, Montclair State University, Stockton University, and SUNY New Paltz, in addition to Colorado College and Centenary.   

With six sponsoring institutions, the NJAC will be on track to secure an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament beginning in the 2028 season following a one-year waiting period as mandated by NCAA legislation.       
 
"We couldn't be more excited to have found a home for our men's lacrosse team in the NJAC," Colorado College Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine said. "I know how much this means to the program and for the past, current and future student-athletes. I want to thank head coach Mike Horowitz for his relentless pursuit of conference opportunities as well as to Commissioner Terry Small and the NJAC members who are committed to championship opportunities for their student-athletes. We can't wait to jump in and be proud members of the NJAC."
 
Colorado College has competed as a Division III independent program since 2023, which was the second of two seasons as a member of the Heartland Conference. CC captured the HCLC tournament title each year. Prior to that, the Tigers played in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) from 2010-14 and 2019-21, winning five league titles in 2010, '11, '13, '14 and '19.
 
CC has appeared in the NCAA Division III Lacrosse Tournament eight times since its debut in 2011, including a trip to the quarterfinals in 2022.
 
"We are thrilled to be joining the NJAC," Colorado College fifth-year head coach Mike Horowitz said. "The opportunity to compete for a conference championship and to have our players nominated for conference honors adds so much to the student-athlete experience. To be associated with and pushed by the great programs in the NJAC will only elevate our program. Every student-athlete should be able to dream about lifting a trophy and having multiple paths to the NCAA tournament. I'm so excited our team will have that opportunity starting in 2027."
  
NJAC men's lacrosse will be comprised of two divisions - a three-team Gold Division and a three-team Blue Division. Colorado College and Centenary will always remain in the Gold Division, while the third Gold Division team will be based on a rotation that will feature one of the NJAC core member programs rotating into the Division for a two-year period.
 
The two divisional winners will advance to the NJAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Game which will take place annually on the Saturday prior to the NCAA automatic qualification deadline.
 
"We are excited to welcome both Centenary and Colorado College as the newest affiliate members in the NJAC," NJAC Commissioner Terry Small said. "They both are programs that were in need of a conference home, and we feel that participation in the NJAC will be of great benefit to both programs' student-athletes. We're also excited that men's lacrosse will become the 21^st NJAC championship sport next year, giving our men's lacrosse student-athletes the opportunity to compete under the NJAC banner. I also would like to thank our presidents and administrators for their hard work in developing a competition model that will be beneficial to all parties."