Lacrosse has been a staple sport to the Fairfield University community since its origins as a club team in 1971. 54 years later, the sport only continues to gain traction as the program grows. While fans of Fairfield lacrosse can come and go or stick around, no single fan can outshine the attention that Roger Yergeau ‘73 has given the men’s lacrosse team since that fall in 1971- when he founded it.
The story of the team started off with a club fair in the Oak Room. After lunch in what is now the Tully Dining Commons, Yergeau came across the club fair and found Robert Groen ‘72 and Frank Reeves ‘73, who were recruiting members of their new lacrosse club. Yergeau decided to join along with a few others, and took on the position of vice president.
Yergeau recalled the first few steps of starting the club, “We had to get teams to play. We drove to Boston to Brine Sports to pick up a starter kit. We had to figure out how to get officials.”
The founders of the lacrosse team had built the program from the ground up, literally. “I don’t think either one of us had ever lined a field before,” Yergeau explained with a chuckle. “We had to figure out the dimensions of the field and things like that. It was a tremendous experience in learning how to start something up.”
The next steps for starting the club were fundraising and getting a moderator for the team. That’s when Father Oliver Nickerson, Yergeau’s English professor, “graciously agreed” to be the moderator and show up to their games.
With all the components of a legitimate club team together, the lacrosse program rooted its humble beginnings. In 1972, Yergeau went on to serve as club president before graduating the following year.
Time skip to in 1997, when the 1972 lacrosse team was given recognition for their achievements. The team was back on campus watching a game, when Will Mraz ‘73 suggested Yergeau start a newsletter to update the founding team on all things Stags lacrosse.
Through word of mouth, email chains and locker room circulation, the newsletter became a hit among the Fairfield lacrosse community. Today, Yergeau’s newsletter has over 250 subscribers made up of alumni, fans and families. When asked about his expectations for the newsletter, Yergeau responded simply: “I didn’t know how many people were reading it.”
When commenting on his visit to campus for his induction into the Hall of Fame, Yergeau shared a piece of Fairfield lacrosse culture, “I would come to home games and we had a tradition of sitting on the top step by the 50 yard line for the founders.”
Yergeau takes the title of a founder very seriously, and includes it in his signatures on emails. Now, he’s excited about the addition of his Hall of Fame status. “Anytime I do any communication with people in the university, it’s Roger Yergeau ‘73 Founder. Now, I get to put HOF after my name. It’s a very proud moment.”
Another proud moment for Yergeau comes from his marathoning in New York City post-graduation. He started running when some friends suggested he live closer to his job, so he could walk to work. The added cardio sparked an interest in running, but he ran into an issue, “I couldn’t get once around. With my type-A personality, ‘Well why can’t I do once?’ Get once, why can’t I do twice?” With some advice from “Runner World”, which Yergeau described as the “Bible for runners”, he joined a run club. He ran his first marathon in May of 1978 in Yonkers. Training got more efficient, and Yergeau ended up winning the 50-mile Metropolitan Championship in Central Park in 1982.
Whether it was in the city running or on North Benson playing lacrosse, Yergeau has gained a slew of lifelong friendships he looks back on for good times.
“Those friends from Fairfield are your friends for life.”
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