I think it definitely would if there was no Title IX.
I expect more lacrosse teams added in the P5 as they are flush with TV money and it is a decent sport to watch on TV. The games being over in 2 hrs is very TV friendly. I think millennials find it easier to watch it than baseball too.
It won't, at least not for decades. The amount of youth playing Lacrosse vs Baseball/Softball is still very small.
(07-22-2019 06:03 PM)TexanMark Wrote: [ -> ]I think it definitely would if there was no Title IX.
It's a very regional sport, basically the northeast corridor.
For now it’s going to be a regional sport but in certain pockets along the east coast I think it’s a real possibility
Lacrosse is growing rapidly in the big southern and western states
But as long as Title IX limits men’s sports then it will be extremely slow growth
Michigan converting from club to D1 and The Big 10 adding it does provide some growth opportunity though for other B1G schools
I could also see Florida State eventually adding it as Florida is a hotbed of lacrosse growth
So it will continue to grow but at a highly slowed rate because of Title IX
Unlikely. Lacrosse just isn’t engrained in American culture like football, basketball, baseball, and hockey (in half the country) are. Northwestern had a women’s lacrosse dynasty and the sport is invisible here.
Lacrosse is growing rapidly, especially as a replacement for Fball. With that said, i don’t think many realize how big baseball is in the south, mid atlantic and many P12 schools. It easily rivals bball in fan enthusiasm. I was shocked to see it myself when I moved to the deep south after playing college ball in the northeast in front of an average of a few hundred fans.
I think we'll see another 6-8 P5 programs added in the next 6-8 years.
As more northeastern folks move to the South it will continue to raise in popularity. The big shortage is in coaching down South.
Lacrosse stalled when it was apparent the small number of schools controlling the sport were not interested in supporting western expansion.
(07-22-2019 06:18 PM)quo vadis Wrote: [ -> ] (07-22-2019 06:03 PM)TexanMark Wrote: [ -> ]I think it definitely would if there was no Title IX.
It's a very regional sport, basically the northeast corridor.
By northeast, you mean cities like Dallas and Chicago- Right? Lacrosse is growing quickly. Illinois now has a high school state title. Baseball and football are being hit by young people playing lacrosse.
I announce 5-8th-grade lacrosse games. Any young people from the northeast and is a teacher should consider moving to markets like Chicago and Dallas. Schools are looking for lacrosse coaches with experience.
(07-22-2019 06:49 PM)wavefan12 Wrote: [ -> ]Lacrosse is growing rapidly, especially as a replacement for Fball. With that said, i don’t think many realize how big baseball is in the south, mid atlantic and many P12 schools. It easily rivals bball in fan enthusiasm. I was shocked to see it myself when I moved to the deep south after playing college ball in the northeast in front of an average of a few hundred fans.
I was just in Mobile, AL. The driver pointed out the field Hank Aaron played and how empty it is today. "Kids wish to play football and basketball."
I can see quite a bit a growth for women's lax, because of Title IX. Mens will be slower, though. Still will grow faster than hockey will.
(07-22-2019 07:28 PM)whittx Wrote: [ -> ]I can see quite a bit a growth for women's lax, because of Title IX. Mens will be slower, though. Still will grow faster than hockey will.
I am in the suburbs of Chicago. LAX is growing so fast. Parents are concerned about football. LAX become the replacement.
(07-22-2019 06:03 PM)TexanMark Wrote: [ -> ]I think it definitely would if there was no Title IX.
Where? Much more likely in the part of the country where the baseball teams are on the road for a month at the start of the season than in the part of the country that those northern teams are going to.
Akron in the MAC just went through a phase of shutting down baseball, and then doing the fundraising to get their on campus field fixed up to restart the program ... but in the middle of all of that they started up a women's lax team.
It may not happen in a big way in this coming decade, because the core contributor demographic lags behind the population, but we could well see a wave of baseball programs being replaced by lacrosse programs in northern universities, where travel makes the cost of baseball programs higher.
I could see it becoming the top spring sport in areas where college baseball isn't popular. To some degree, that's already the case.
(07-22-2019 06:55 PM)TexanMark Wrote: [ -> ]I think we'll see another 6-8 P5 programs added in the next 6-8 years.
As more northeastern folks move to the South it will continue to raise in popularity. The big shortage is in coaching down South.
It is an elitist Northeastern to Mid Atlantic sport. It has no market in the Southeast because the % of kids with exposure to is extremely limited, and most of those are private preparatory schools. And when football begins to decline the money won't be there for current Title IX programs which will lead to the cutting of men's sports already played. It's like team handball in the Olympics. The public knows it when they see it, but simply doesn't care enough to follow it. I'd rather watch water polo, which I find to be a grueling test of endurance. But the simple truth is when the cash cow of college football is dead, so too will be the cash to provide these kinds of sports. If it gains a nationwide corporate sponsorship then maybe we can talk about its rise.
Baseball remains the most injury free of the major sports and the only sport to require hand eye coordination, speed, and the ability to accurately throw. It's good for all around athletic skills. They'll probably wind up shortening the game of baseball to 7 innings. I don't like the pitch clocks, and some of the other attempts to shorten it. The only fair way to shorten a baseball game is to move to 7 innings. If TV learns to utilize advertise using he area behind home plate so they can advertise all game long, and we can just telecast it live with no commercial breaks that would shorten it too. The games really aren't getting longer, there are just many more of them being broadcast and the commercials lengthen them.
Given the challenges in funding all non-revenue sports, it's hard to see many FBS or FCS schools adding lacrosse unless they have money to burn, or have wealthy donors who want to bankroll a lacrosse team.
Not too many FBS athletic directors sit at their desks thinking, "We already have 20 varsity sports, but let's add a few more and make balancing our total athletic budget even more challenging."
(07-22-2019 11:13 PM)Wedge Wrote: [ -> ]Given the challenges in funding all non-revenue sports, it's hard to see many FBS or FCS schools adding lacrosse unless they have money to burn, or have wealthy donors who want to bankroll a lacrosse team.
So it has stronger growth prospects at the college level where it can replace an existing sport with dedicated facilities, relatively less support and high travel costs ... like baseball in the North, but quite UNLIKE baseball in the south.
College baseball could fight back for it's northern schools by shifting the NCAA championships to July to allow shifting the start date two weeks later in the Spring ... but it might not care enough to try.
(07-22-2019 11:28 PM)BruceMcF Wrote: [ -> ] (07-22-2019 11:13 PM)Wedge Wrote: [ -> ]Given the challenges in funding all non-revenue sports, it's hard to see many FBS or FCS schools adding lacrosse unless they have money to burn, or have wealthy donors who want to bankroll a lacrosse team.
So it has stronger growth prospects at the college level where it can replace an existing sport with dedicated facilities, relatively less support and high travel costs ... like baseball in the North, but quite UNLIKE baseball in the south.
College baseball could fight back for it's northern schools by shifting the NCAA championships to July to allow shifting the start date two weeks later in the Spring ... but it might not care enough to try.
Sorry. Michigan making the final in Omaha this year proves that no northern school can validly fall back on the weak "Waaaaaah, college baseball is too cold" excuse. Actually, Oregon State winning the CWS 3 times proved that already, except for everyone who thinks the entire west coast has the same winter weather as southern California.