KCHS again hosts the event to benefit Catholic Charities’ Pregnancy Help Center and its ultrasound van
By Dan McWilliams
Knights of Columbus from Council 5207 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus as well as neighboring councils will staff the eighth annual Knights Cup Lacrosse Tournament at Knoxville Catholic High School on Saturday, April 18.
Proceeds from the yearly event sponsored by Council 5207 will benefit Catholic Charities of East Tennessee’s Pregnancy Help Center and ultrasound van. The Knights Cup has raised more than $85,000 in its history for CCETN.
Elementary, middle-school, and high-school lacrosse teams will play at KCHS’s Blaine Stadium and Connor Field beginning at 9:30 a.m.
About 50 Knights assisted at the 2025 event.
Seth Smith of Council 5207 is in his second year as Knights Cup coordinator. He succeeded Tom Ciaccia, who began leading sports events in 2004 for the Sacred Heart council, beginning with a single-day baseball tournament at the Knoxville Smokies’ stadium in Kodak.
Tournament sponsors can visit knightscup.org to learn how they can help. Different levels of sponsorship are available from $200 to $1,500 that can include sponsors’ names and logos on all promotional materials and corporate logos on the event website, corporate logos on the game program cover, ads in the game program, and “brought to you by” public-address announcements.
Tickets for the Knights Cup are $5.
Sponsors and advertisers may also contact Mr. Smith at ssmith765@hotmail.com or Mr. Ciaccia at tciaccia11@gmail.com.
Games will start at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and at 12:30, 2, and 3:30 p.m. on both fields.
The matchups at Blaine Stadium are, in order, Irish vs. Roane County Knights, McCallie Blue Tornado vs. West Rebels, Irish vs. McCallie, West JV Rebels vs. Kingsport Tribe, and Christian Academy of Knoxville Warriors vs. Gibbs Eagles.
The first game at Connor Field will feature the Blount County Bulldogs vs. Kingsport Tribe, followed by Johnson City Toppers vs. Blount County Bulldogs, Roane County Knights vs. CAK Warriors, Gibbs Eagles vs. Johnson City Toppers, and Irish JV vs. West JV Rebels.
Games will be played with 12-minute quarters and a running clock, except for injuries and timeouts, with an eight-minute halftime.
Each coach will select a player of the game from the opposing team, and those players will be presented medals on the field.