I try to update on growth in Division-1 every now and then, mostly because I think it’s interesting (and obviously as good thing for lacrosse across the country), but also because it will eventually have an impact on the teams in Michigan.
Boston University to D-1
The Terriers will face off in men’s Division-1 lacrosse in 2014. BU will join other Boston-area team Harvard, along with fellow Massachusettsians Holy Cross and UMass, and a few Rhode Island-based teams that are all within a couple hours driving distance.
Boston University’s sports primarily participate in the America East Conference, which is one that sponsors men’s lacrosse. After a transition period, expect the Terriers to compete in that league.
Monmouth to D-1
Monmouth will add men’s lacrosse in time for the 2014 season. A lacrosse program for a New Jersey school is totally logical, and it could be considered a surprise that it even took this long, I guess.
Monmouth’s primary athletics home is the Northeast conference, so they’ll naturally join the likes of Wagner and Mount St. Mary’s after a transition year.
Furman to D-1
I somehow failed to mention this a while back (mostly because it’s been a while since I’ve talked expansion), but Furman University has announced plans to add Division-1 lacrosse programs. They’re starting with the 2015 season.
Furman is a member of the Southern Conference, which does not sponsor men’s lacrosse. The Paladins would likely start out as an independent, and possibly be one of the key members of a lacrosse conference in the South that would also include Mercer, 2013 entry High Point, and possibly Jacksonville, should MAAC membership change.
Ripple Effects
There has been some talk/speculation that BU’s entry to men’s lacrosse would convince Boston College to make a similar leap, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, based on comments from AD Gene DeFilipo. Things can change – including Syracuse’s impending entry to the ACC – but for now, that appears to be one ripple effect that’s at the very least, far down the road.
This part of the post started getting really long, so I’ll break it off into a separate piece for later today.
Others Getting Closer?
I mentioned Texas’s new lacrosse facility not so long ago, and pointed out that it could be the first of many steps toward an eventual varsity program there (Title IX is less of an issue in Austin than many other places, because their athletic department may as well have its own U.S. Mint).
Although the club lacrosse program is still just that – a club – comments coming from the program sound like they want to up their game to the next level:
One of the reasons why Price chose Texas, of all places, was he thought the occasionally laid-back club model would fit his vision of the college lacrosse experience. Noah Fink, the previous coach at Texas who recruited Price, had a very different approach than Myers.
“Noah had the West Coast attitude that I’m used to with lacrosse,” said Price. “Brian, coming from Stevenson and playing at Towson, he wasn’t used to the whole MCLA-type deal that everyone was used to at Texas.”
It has been a learning experience for both player and coach, but regardless of the occasional angst at practice, Myers knows that Price will always be ready when the most is on the line.
I’m certainly extrapolating from a small sample size here, but that change in culture at Texas sounds like the beginnings of what Michigan went through when they went from club mentality to a true virtual varsity. There were obviously many intermediate steps that got Michigan to where they are today, and it’s not guaranteed – or even likely – that Texas takes the same path, but the foundation may be laid.
There has been some talk of whether Michigan’s unconventional method of creating a varsity program – essentially promoting a club squad – would be successful at the next level (early returns: certainly not in the first year!), and even lead to a trend of similar moves. If any school has a similar enough athletic profile to Michigan to make such a move, it’s probably Texas.
Again, a varsity program is something pretty far down the road from where Texas is now, but the potential is there. Keep an eye on Austin in the future.
Less reading of tea leaves required to see that Colorado State may be an option in the not-too-distant future.