(02-24-2016 09:08 PM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote: [ -> ]Softball would require field space that we don't currently have. I like lacrosse, but what does it bring other than potential for success in a sport most schools don't have?
A chance to be a truly national player, rather than a regional player who occasionally makes a little noise, in less than ten years. And to do so without sacrificing anything academically.
The Ivies are on the decline due to the absence of athletic scholarships and the increase in roster sizes of the ACC / Big Ten teams. Even Cornell, which has been the class of the Ivy League the last decade, is now struggling due (in my opinion) to a poor head coaching hire. We have better weather, scholarships, and really strong academics. That's a pretty easy sell when the Ivies are no longer winning national championships.
The sport is growing and unlike soccer, there aren't 200-plus colleges with D-1 teams. The number of high schools offering lacrosse has grown tremendously, but the number of D1 programs has not. Right now there are 58. That results in a surplus of talented players, which is how you see a High Point beating Virginia, or Hofstra beating North Carolina.
If we start lacrosse, and join the CAA, we immediately become the most attractive program in the conference. Towson, Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, Fairfield and UMass all struggle to recruit against the Ivies and the Patriot League because frankly, most lacrosse parents want to send their kids to stronger schools. We wont have that problem. So in my opinion, we also immediately become a player for every kid with grades that our CAA rivals are recruiting, and also for every kid currently headed to the Patriot League.
Furthermore, lacrosse by and large attracts a demographic which is favorable to our current admissions standards. So with the exception of the very small number of kids that Denver, Virginia, UNC, Ohio State, and a few other schools are able to take with really low grades, we would be able to compete right away for anyone we wanted.
W+M is uniquely positioned to draw off kids who would otherwise be 2nd or 3rd line recruits at ACC and Big Ten schools and put them on the field immediately. Richmond has done the same thing. We offer an added bonus for Virginia kids, which is in-state tuition. And, we are a national top 50 school, which Richmond is not.
Plus, we could very likely secure "home and homes" from Day 1 with UNC, Duke, Virginia, Johns Hopkins, and Maryland. Sure, we'd lose big the first few years, but we'd build the relationship and these matchups would draw fans from Richmond, Norfolk and perhaps even Northern Virginia.
Finally, our name recognition and the generally low pay of D1 lacrosse coaching jobs (Nick Myers of Ohio State, for example, makes less than $100,000) means that we could attract an experienced head coach from a quality program (think Kevin Cassesse from Lehigh, Mike Murphy from Penn, Mike Daily from Tufts or Steve Koudelka from Lynchburg College) immediately. So unlike Michigan, which hired its club coach largely out of loyalty, we wouldn't be stuck with a poor hire.
Oh...and generally, on this thread I always get the "we will never compete with UVA" comment. Tell that to Richmond, who lost to Virginia by a goal last year. Virginia is currently on a downward spiral, and early recruiting means that they are likely stuck in it for at least the next 3-4 years. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Richmond become the best program in the state in a year or two.
Plus...right now, we have two D1 programs between us on 64...Hampton and Richmond. Do we really want to be the odd man out?