Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

There's been some push at UConn. The biggest obstacle to varsity men's lacrosse at schools that also have football programs is Title IX. I've heard that UConn would need to add another women's sport or cut a men's sport to add men's lacrosse.

West Virginia also looked at it and voted no, I believe for similar reasons.

In the most recent article about BE LAX, there was an indication that no other BE program was looking to upgrade their programs. BE LAX will only be the 7 programs that have it now (SU, ND, RU, GTown, Nova, St. Johns, Prov) and for the forseeable future. Programs that don't have the full amount of scholarships also committed to having their programs fully funded now too.

gosports1 Wrote:Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

USF has an excellent Lax team....

I just think that they are hamstrung by Title 9

JMHO

Higher probability more chick Lax programs will upgrade.

UConn would be my bet for the next men's program to go Div 1. As a Cuse fan I would relish the opportunity to have the Orange introduce them to the sport.

TyBull Wrote:

gosports1 Wrote:Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

USF has an excellent Lax team....

I just think that they are hamstrung by Title 9

JMHO

that would be a CLUB Team.

TyBull Wrote:

gosports1 Wrote:Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

USF has an excellent Lax team....

I just think that they are hamstrung by Title 9

Everyone who hasn't always had a LAX program is. Title 9 is dreadful.

TyBull Wrote:

gosports1 Wrote:Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

USF has an excellent Lax team....

I just think that they are hamstrung by Title 9

JMHO

Come again?

USF has a mediocre club team, ranked #78...they would be destroyed by a NCAA Div 1 program.

WVU's rifle team could shoot all opposition. Will that be of any help?

I thought Louisville would be a likely target. I dont know how far along their program is, but based on my limited knowledge of their sports program i would think they might make the jump. UConn would be interseting as well. They would be one of a handful of schools that have 1a fb, hockey and lacrosse. I think Seton Hall is the only BE school not to have any lacrosse at all. I think its only a matter of time b4 the B10 sponsors it. All of those schools have the $ to upgrade if they wanted to. I know BC is looking into bringing their varsity back as well so the ACC will grow.

Louisville would be my 2nd bet...however, UConn is position so well to take advantage initially of players who fall just short of gettin scholie offers to the best teams on the east coast. They could build up a team quickly. The best players are in Upstate NY, Metro NYC, Balt/MD. New England, PA and DC/NoVA aren't too far behind. Florida, Ohio, Atlanta/NC, Colorado, SoCal are up and coming.

Louisville's biggest problem is their isn't strong + deep HS Lax in KY/IN/SW OH yet.

TexanMark Wrote:

TyBull Wrote:

gosports1 Wrote:Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

USF has an excellent Lax team....

I just think that they are hamstrung by Title 9

JMHO

Come again?

USF has a mediocre club team, ranked #78...they would be destroyed by a NCAA Div 1 program.

I remember people saying that about their football program when they made the jump. There have been rumblings of Cincinnati starting up one, but I don't know how serious those are, or if it's even true.

CatsClaw Wrote:

TexanMark Wrote:

TyBull Wrote:

gosports1 Wrote:Is there any possibility that a current club LAX program would upgrade to varsity anytime soon?

USF has an excellent Lax team....

I just think that they are hamstrung by Title 9

JMHO

Come again?

USF has a mediocre club team, ranked #78...they would be destroyed by a NCAA Div 1 program.

I remember people saying that about their football program when they made the jump. There have been rumblings of Cincinnati starting up one, but I don't know how serious those are, or if it's even true.

My post stated the USF team would presently be destroyed by teams like Syracuse, Georgetown or Rutgers. In 5-10 years definitely not if they committed to Div 1 Lax.

LastMinuteman Wrote:There's been some push at UConn. The biggest obstacle to varsity men's lacrosse at schools that also have football programs is Title IX. I've heard that UConn would need to add another women's sport or cut a men's sport to add men's lacrosse.

So what you're trying to say is the biggest obstacle is funding.

rferry Wrote:

LastMinuteman Wrote:There's been some push at UConn. The biggest obstacle to varsity men's lacrosse at schools that also have football programs is Title IX. I've heard that UConn would need to add another women's sport or cut a men's sport to add men's lacrosse.

So what you're trying to say is the biggest obstacle is funding.

I find it amusing that an ACC fan is so angry and obsessed with the Big East to the point that you're hanging around the Big East message boards trying to throw potshots. Notice he said schools with football programs and not funding issues.

CatsClaw Wrote:There have been rumblings of Cincinnati starting up one, but I don't know how serious those are, or if it's even true.

Claw, UC has had a Men's Club Lacrosse team since 2003. Men's Bearcat Lacrosse Program

I for one would welcome a BE Men's lacrosse league. Cincinnati fields a women's team. Like others have said I am sure Title IX is the hold up.

Can't the title IX issue be cleared up by admittting less dames in these schools? ha ha

Well, ultimately it's all funding. Hell, with enough funding USF could have a ski team or Nebraska could have a sailing team if they wanted. There's no Title IX problem that can't be solved by spending a lot of money.

At UMass though we have all the worthwhile men's team sports despite not having a huge budget. Football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, baseball and soccer are all there, and all but baseball have seen the postseason at least once in the last couple seasons. Obviously FCS football gives us a bit more leeway in scholarships, but hockey alone eats up 18 of the extra 22 scholarships and is probably the second-most expensive sport. If you don't even have scholarship hockey, a men's lacrosse program should be doable even if you have FBS football. Either that or we're cheating somehow.

CatsClaw Wrote:

rferry Wrote:

LastMinuteman Wrote:There's been some push at UConn. The biggest obstacle to varsity men's lacrosse at schools that also have football programs is Title IX. I've heard that UConn would need to add another women's sport or cut a men's sport to add men's lacrosse.

So what you're trying to say is the biggest obstacle is funding.

I find it amusing that an ACC fan is so angry and obsessed with the Big East to the point that you're hanging around the Big East message boards trying to throw potshots. Notice he said schools with football programs and not funding issues.

I find it very insulting to suggest women's athletics are stealing or withholding scholarships from men's sports. Title IX is intended to offer equal opportunity to members of the student body. Servicing the student body, which is increasingly female, is at the core of every college's mission, whether they choose to offer lacrosse, football or any sport at all. Title IX is not to blame.
It's the choice to sponsor football that makes it difficult to balance scholarships. It's the choice to sponsor a sport like ice hockey that makes it difficult (hockey offers 50% more scholarships than any other men's sport). Title IX is about balancing scholarships, and honestly, how could any one be against schools offering opportunities for their students? (And don't give me that females don't play sports. They do. Heck, now a days, sports is essentially a required extracurricular activity of any college application resume.)

rferry Wrote:It's the choice to sponsor football that makes it difficult to balance scholarships. It's the choice to sponsor a sport like ice hockey that makes it difficult (hockey offers 50% more scholarships than any other men's sport besides football).

Fixed (I know you know that, just clarifying). But even so, hockey is at least in the same ballpark of the other sports in scholarship totals. You can almost form 5 hockey teams from the scholarships of a single football team. The other thing to remember is that you're allowed to field non-scholarship teams in every sport except FBS football. In FBS you're not even allowed to use less than 90% of your scholarship allotment. Title IX isn't just about scholarships though, it's also about funding, so if you start a non-scholarship men's sport, you might also have to start a non-scholarship women's sport to avoid compliance problems.

Some NCAA permitted scholarship totals, in case people are unfamiliar with them:

Men's Sports
FBS Football: 85
FCS Football: 63
Hockey: 18
Basketball: 13
Lacrosse: 12.6
CC/Track: 12.6
Baseball: 11.7
Soccer: 9.9
Swimming: 9.9
Wrestling: 9.9
Gymnastics: 6.3
Skiing: 6.3
Golf: 4.5
Fencing: 4.5
Tennis: 4.5
Volleyball: 4.5
Water Polo: 4.5
Rifle: 3.6

Note how much deeper into the depth chart football scholarships go than any other sport. Remove 10 4th string scholarships from football, and you can field a competitive team in any other men's sport. Even hockey, if you give the 2nd and 3rd lines only partial scholarships. (Partial scholarships are allowed in every sport except FBS football. Men's basketball might prohibit that too, but it's so close to the roster limit it hardly matters.)

I don't want to write down all the scholarship limits for women's sports, but the key thing to know is that the limits are always higher than the equivalent men's sport, except in lacrosse where it's .6 lower and ice hockey where it's equal. Of course, there's no women's equivalent to football, which is where there's more women's sports overall.