BALTIMORE ­– The Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse opener was record-setting in more ways than just being the first collegiate lacrosse game streamed live on Twitter. The stream also reached new levels of viewership.

More than 680,000 unique viewers watched on Twitter as Loyola hosted the University of Virginia, making it the most-watched Campus Insiders game on the platform of all time, beating out several college football and basketball games previously streamed.

“We are delighted with the response to the Twitter stream of Saturday’s game,” said Loyola assistant vice president and director of athletics Jim Paquette. “It reinforces the strength of the lacrosse community and its engagement in social media, but we are also excited that this stream reached viewers who may not have been lacrosse fans. It can only help to grow the sport and increase the Loyola brand globally.”

Adam Anshell, vice president of networks and live events for Campus Insiders, added, “Campus Insiders is thrilled with the response to the first lacrosse stream on Twitter. It’s a perfect match to be able to utilize the wide reach of Twitter to bring great content to the underserved and hungry lacrosse fan base. We’re excited to bring more games in the future.”

The game was also the most-watched Patriot League contest of all-time in terms of unique viewers across all platforms, including PatriotLeague.TV and CampusInsiders.com.

Last summer, Campus Insiders announced a deal with Twitter to allow the streaming of 300-plus college events from a variety of sports, and the Loyola-Virginia game was selected to be the first lacrosse contest to air.