Sept. 24, 2007

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's lacrosse team is the first athletic squad to join the Panther Club for the 2007-08 season.

In August, Panther Club President Dennis Lind '88 and the Executive Committee challenged coaches and administrators to get their student-athletes involved. Under the direction of first year head men's lacrosse coach, Gordon Purdie, encouraged his players to join. "While our main focus is lacrosse, as members of the Panther Club we as a team take one giant step towards becoming a major part of not only the Adelphi athletic department but more importantly a truly wonderful university," Purdie said

The student membership level is $10 and the players were able to restrict their membership donation to the men's lacrosse team. "It's good for the program and it will benefit us and bring us closer to the players that came before us," senior Donald Moss said. Senior Tyler Burton added, "It's good to know we have the support of our alumni to help the program".

In 2006-07, the Panther Club saw its membership jump by 83 percent under its new initiatives to target specific teams and alumni. Last year the Panther Club supported several alumni events and also purchased the women's lacrosse 2006 NCAA Championships rings that were presented during Homecoming.

The Panther Club is Adelphi University's primary organization for providing direct support to all men's and women's athletic programs. For more information on how you can become involved in the Panther Club to support Adelphi Athletics, log on to our web site at www.aupanthers.com