FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The upcoming 2015 season offers a great deal of excitement for Fairfield University men's lacrosse as Head Coach Andy Copelan will lead the Stags into an historic year for the program. Fairfield will host its six home games at newly-constructed Rafferty Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility on the University's main campus, and will begin its inaugural season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.

“The 2015 season will be a memorable one for our program,” said Copelan. “Playing our home games in a facility like Rafferty Stadium will help to elevate the profile of our program on the national level. In addition, we will also play our first season in one of the best lacrosse conferences in the nation. Our annual goal is to put together a schedule that will challenge our student-athletes, and I believe this year's schedule accomplishes that goal.”

The construction of Rafferty Stadium was made possible through the generosity of Fairfield alumni, parents and friends. The stadium is named in recognition of the principal leadership gift from Larry Rafferty '64 and his family, and the field is named in recognition of a gift from Tim Conway '76 and family. Several other locations around the stadium are named to recognize major supporters and contributors to the project, who will all be recognized along with additional donors on a plaque located inside the stadium.

Rafferty Stadium will seat 3,500 fans in grandstands spanning both sidelines. The FieldTurf playing surface is complemented by state-of-the-art lighting, which provides optimal light levels for both competition and practice, and a Daktronics high-definition video scoreboard. In addition, the stadium includes a terrace level with a fully-enclosed press box that includes a large media suite, two VIP suites, and production suite to support the video capabilities of the scoreboard, television broadcasts, and web streaming. On the ground level are two team rooms, food/beverage and apparel concessions, restrooms, a box office, and entry plaza.

Fairfield opens the 2015 campaign at home on February 14, hosting Holy Cross in the program's inaugural game at Rafferty Stadium. The schedule then sends the Stags on the road for five consecutive outings: Providence on February 17, Manhattan on February 21, Stony Brook on February 28, Yale on March 7 and Bucknell on March 10.

The team returns to its new home turf for two of its next three games beginning with a March 14 date against Colgate then traveling to UMass-Lowell on March 17. Fairfield will host a dedication ceremony for Rafferty Stadium on March 21 prior to facing off against Villanova. The month ends with the Stags' first-ever CAA contest on March 28 at Drexel.

Fairfield wraps up the road portion of the schedule on April 4 with a trip to CAA opponent UMass. The Stags then entertain Towson on April 11 to start a season-ending, three-game homestand against conference foes. The stretch at Rafferty Stadium also includes an April 18 meeting with Delaware and a visit from Hofstra under the lights on Friday, April 24 to close out the slate.

The top four teams in the CAA will advance to the conference championship tournament. The two high seeds will each host a semifinal on April 29 with the winners convening on the home field of the highest remaining seed for the 2015 CAA Championship Game on May 2.

Fairfield completed the 2014 season – its sixth with Copelan at the helm – with a record of 12-4. The Stags rose as high as No. 11 in the national rankings, winning the ECAC Lacrosse League Regular Season Title for the first time in program history and reaching the ECAC Tournament Championship Game for the third time in the last four campaigns.

Fairfield lacrosse season ticket packages are available now at FairfieldStags.com/tix. Season tickets are $75 each and include entry into all men's and women's home games this spring. Fairfield alumni from the graduating classes of 2005-2014 can purchase discounted Young Alumni season tickets for $50 each. For more information on season tickets and for group rates, please contact the athletics ticket office at StagsTickets@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4136 or visit FairfieldStags.com/tix.

All Fairfield men's and women's lacrosse home games in 2015 are scheduled to be broadcast live on FairfieldStags.TV. Year-long, monthly and single-game viewing packages are available for purchase.