Instead of easing into his first season, Van Arsdale put together a gauntlet of early-season games he hopes will prepare the Tigers to make a successful run at the first-ever Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in men's lacrosse.

“It's been a long time since CC lacrosse has had the opportunity to play for a conference title,” Van Arsdale said. “Being the first SCAC championship is even more meaningful.”

During the first month of the season, CC will scrimmage Division I Air Force, travel to California to face Division II foes Notre Dame de Namur University and Dominican University, and then return home to play host to Colorado State and Colorado, two of the most competitive club teams in the nation.

“We're not going to dodge anybody,” Van Arsdale said. “We want to play as good a schedule as we can possibly put together, keeping it as balanced as possible.”

Air Force, which finished second to Notre Dame in the Great Western Lacrosse League in 2009, is beginning its first season in the ECAC.

“We'll play it in game conditions, but it is an exhibition,” Van Arsdale said. “I have a feeling we'll learn a lot that day. They're a very good team, well coached and play the game at a very high level.

“For our players, it will be a great experience. We'll test ourselves physically and mentally a week before we open the season in California.”

The season officially begins on Feb. 12 at Notre Dame de Namur, located in Belmont, Calif. The the two-game trip to the Bay Area concludes with the contest at Dominican, in San Rafael, two days later.

“Those two contests are great openers for us,” Van Arsdale said. “We're kind of jumping right from the frying pan into the fire. It will be good stuff for us.”

Even though games against club teams don't count in the eyes of the NCAA, games against Colorado State and Colorado are significant in the state of Colorado. Both CSU and CU are members of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference, which has been one of the top conferences for club teams since it was formed in 1976.

“There is a pride factor in those games because we all have Colorado in our names,” Van Arsdale said. “The Colorado players are all familiar with one another, so there are some natural rivalries in there that add a neat flavor to what we're doing.”

The Tigers play their first Division III games midway through the month of March when McDaniel College and Fontbonne University visit Washburn Field.

McDaniel finished last season with a 10-6-0 overall record after falling to Haverford College, 9-8, in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference tournament. Fontbonne, from St. Louis, was picked to finish second in the Midwest Lacrosse Conference.

Colorado College will play the first of four SCAC games on March 27 when the Tigers travel to Birmingham-Southern College. The following week, CC faces Southwestern University in the first-ever lacrosse game between the schools. The Tigers play three of four conference games on the road, but still will be the favorite to win the inaugural SCAC title.

While the SCAC's automatic qualifier is still at least one season away, a berth in the NCAA Tournament could be at stake when CC makes its annual pilgrimage to Ohio on consecutive weekends to play Kenyon College, The College of Wooster, Denison University and Wittenberg University.

Another highlight will occur on April 24 when the Tigers play host to the first annual Alumni Game to benefit the Stabler Fund.

“We want our current guys to know the guys who paved the way for them and made their lives better and easier because of the hard work they put into the program over the last 40-plus years of CC lacrosse,” Van Arsdale said. “It's also great for our alumni to see the commitment Colorado College is making to the lacrosse program and to see first-hand the benefits of that.”

The SCAC title will be on the line the final week of the regular season when CC plays back-to-back games against Sewanee and Hendrix College in Conway, Ark.

“Playing for a conference championship is exciting,” Van Arsdale said. “And winning the first SCAC championship is certainly the motivation for us to prepare and get after those games with everything we have.”