OT- UConn Lacrosse

[UofCT]

How do we not have a top tier lax program in the United States? I live in Fairfield County and it seems like every school around here is nationally ranked and each team is flooded with D1 talent.

 

[husky8273]

Title IX

 

[johnhuskies95]

If UConn moved up to the varsity level in Lacrosse they would be top 10 in the country in no time if they had even a decent coach.

 

[Waquoit]

Cause LAX is a lousy, boring sport?

 

[babysheep]

Cause LAX is a lousy, boring sport?

You obviously know next to nothing about the sport.

And none of them come here because our team is garbage and there are already good schools to go to like Cuse, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Military, etc. If UConn was never good at basketball AD would never consider coming here.

 

[husky8273]

If Athletics can figure out complying with Title IX, in short order they can compete for talented CT and Northeast lax players that are now going to Fairfield, Quinnipiac, Bryant, Hofstra, Villanova, Providence and the like who have broken into the top 20 in recent years. Bring in CT (Wilton) native, Mike Pressler, as coach and a national program will evolve. It took Chris Smith staying home before MBB recruiting jumped to the next level. Warde saw Michigan jump from club to D 1. Hope springs eternal.

 

[Poe]

With so few D1 lacrosse teams plus increasing interest around the country, I think UConn would quickly become a top tier program.

 

[B1GEast]

I think you will see lacrosse added to Uconn sports in the future

 

[uconnell]

If Athletics can figure out complying with Title IX, in short order they can compete for talented CT and Northeast lax players that are now going to Fairfield, Quinnipiac, Bryant, Hofstra, Villanova, Providence and the like who have broken into the top 20 in recent years. Bring in CT (Wilton) native, Mike Pressler, as coach and a national program will evolve. It took Chris Smith staying home before MBB recruiting jumped to the next level. Warde saw Michigan jump from club to D 1. Hope springs eternal.

I second Mike Pressler. Wilton squad was ST Champs for about 20 years and I loved to watch lacrosse games, found lacrosse to be a fast exciting game, more so than soccer.

 

[PWS]

Title IX is the answer

Read the article on the move to Hockey East on how many scholarships have to be doled out to women's teams. That is your answer. Not saying it can't be done, but it is much more expensive than you think

 

[MattMang23]

You obviously know next to nothing about the sport.

And none of them come here because our team is garbage and there are already good schools to go to like Cuse, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Military, etc.

Perhaps our team is "garbage" because it doesn't exist? It's pretty hard to be good at a sport you don't field a varsity team in.

We have a club team and, as I understand it from a good buddy who played for them, they are pretty decent.

 

[freescooter]

Title IX issues for a sport that is never going to draw any support. Don't think about what you WANT it to draw. Look at actual attendance for lax programs in New England. it is a friends and family sport. UMass is really really good. 15-0 right now and ranked #1. they had their largest crowd of the year, 3200, for the CAA title game at home, with that and a few other good home crowds, though the next highest one was 2100, they average 1800 per game. Which means for lots of games there were a couple of hundred watching. And they are the #1 team in the nation. And they are far and away the highest attendance of any program in New England...I could see it happening at some point, but I doubt it is ever all that successful...

 

[stamfordhusky]

How do we not have a top tier lax program in the United States? I live in Fairfield County and it seems like every school around here is nationally ranked and each team is flooded with D1 talent.

Fairfield County produces a lot of good lax players, but it is not as good as you portray it. In most recent years, Fairfield has had one top 25 team (usually Darien) and perhaps one or two more in the top 50. So that's two or three nationally ranked schools out of maybe 30 who play lacrosse. Fairfield County is not as strong in lax as Long Island, Baltimore area, Philly area, or parts of NJ.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Maybe in 12 years. UConn has seemed to pick a program to build every 12 years or so--and it has seemed to work so far. Around 1977 it was the Soccer program. Around 1989 it was the Basketball program. Around 2001 it was the Football program. Around 2013 it is the Hockey program. So get your support ready for a 2025 focus on Lacrosse!

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

How do we not have a top tier lax program in the United States? I live in Fairfield County and it seems like every school around here is nationally ranked and each team is flooded with D1 talent.

Cause all the kids that are great at lacrosse in fairfield county go to to Virgina or Cuse or down south to play

 

[stamfordhusky]

If Athletics can figure out complying with Title IX, in short order they can compete for talented CT and Northeast lax players that are now going to Fairfield, Quinnipiac, Bryant, Hofstra, Villanova, Providence and the like who have broken into the top 20 in recent years. Bring in CT (Wilton) native, Mike Pressler, as coach and a national program will evolve.

If UConn were going to go varsity in lax, hopefully they can do better than some on your list. Providence and Quinnipiac are always horrible - never even close to the top 20. Bryant has yet to field a top 20 team but under Pressler they have been close. Hofstra and Villanova sometimes are top 15 teams and Fairfield occasionally hits the top 20 (although only once in the past 7-8 years).

Agree that Pressler could do a very good job. However I wonder if the stigma of all that happened at Duke under his watch has worn off.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Cause all the kids that are great at lacrosse in fairfield county go to to Virgina or Cuse or down south to play

Also many go to Ivy or Patriot League schools, many of which are very strong in lax.

 

[Dann]

it would take uconn less than 5 years to crack the top 20. its brand name, soccer field and indoor turf on the post put it ahead facilities wise of almost every other school for lax. bring in the duke-bryant guy or grab darien or fpreps coach and goto work. there are a crap load of kids that go mid d1 and high d3 every year in ct. there are a small number of major major players. they goto jh/cuse/uva/md/unc/duke. it will take time to break in with those kids. its like keeping home a fball kid from bama or texas. but the kids that goto fairifield, army, umass(not this year but...), wneu, cortland, tufts etc u can win over being the home state big brand d1.

recruit ct/li/ny/mass pike hard. the nj/pa/rest of ne. easily fill a roster from there. and also recruit md/va/dc area a bit just to let those bacco schools know your in the game.

 

[Adios]

"A fully-funded Division I men's lacrosse team has a maximum number of 12.6 scholarships to hand out. On the women's side, the max is 12."

We just need to find 12-13 more scholarships to add for the females in some sport and we're good to go. UConn lacrosse can play in stadiums around the state, especially Harbour Yard in Bridgeport.

 

[freescooter]

"A fully-funded Division I men's lacrosse team has a maximum number of 12.6 scholarships to hand out. On the women's side, the max is 12."

We just need to find 12-13 more scholarships to add for the females in some sport and we're good to go. UConn lacrosse can play in stadiums around the state, especially Harbour Yard in Bridgeport.

Why would they play in Harbor Yard for 5-600 fans? Where does the womens team play? I'm sure that would be more than adequate for a mens team for the forseeable future...The Number 1 team in the nation averages less than 2000 per game. It is going to be many many years before a new team even gets close to that number. They'd be lucky to draw 25% of that number int the early years. Seriously...it is crazy to think otherwise. don't confuse attendance at the national championships with attendance at a mid-season game against Providence or Georgetown...

 

[UConn990411]

Personally I like lacrosse, but who cares?

There's like 15 teams in the country that play the sport - it will never be a big draw/money maker for the school.

 

[babysheep]

Maybe in 30 years if lacrosse becomes some kind of money maker. I mean pretty much the only time you see college lacrosse on TV is on ESPNU when they show a few playoff games, and the stadiums are nowhere close to full, even though the games are played by big schools that are dominant in the sport (e.g. Virginia, Cuse).

Lacrosse is still mainly a New England sport and has just started creeping down the Mid Atlantic and is just starting to pop up on the West Coast, so I don't see the university seeing a reason to fund it for a long time. It's a shame since it's a great sport with the violence people love to see (but with much much fewer concussions than football or hockey) and the speed and flow of hockey, but it just isn't popular enough yet. Plus, much fewer people play it because it is an expensive sport, especially compared to football or basketball (go figure, the two biggest college sports) so the player population/talent is far bigger and far more widespread for those sports.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Plus, much fewer people play it because it is an expensive sport, especially compared to football or basketball (go figure, the two biggest college sports) so the player population/talent is far bigger and far more widespread for those sports.

Is it an expensive sport, or just a rich sport?

I am not familiar, but how could lacrosse be an expensive sport to partake in? Don't you just need an open field and a lacross stick? Obviously, I don't know a lot about lacrosse, but your statement that it was an expensive sport just took me back a little. I get the impression that it is a rich person's sport (most of the players come from very wealth areas), not necessarily an expensive sport.

 

[rw005]

If UConn moved up to the varsity level in Lacrosse they would be top 10 in the country in no time if they had even a decent coach.

I agree with this, would have some awesome rivalries with Cuse, Virginia, and Cornell

 

[babysheep]

Is it an expensive sport, or just a rich sport?

I am not familiar, but how could lacrosse be an expensive sport to partake in? Don't you just need an open field and a lacross stick? Obviously, I don't know a lot about lacrosse, but your statement that it was an expensive sport just took me back a little. I get the impression that it is a rich person's sport (most of the players come from very wealth areas), not necessarily an expensive sport.

I'd say it's a rich sport now, especially given the economy. In high school (my school was a public school that was a state competitor year after year), unlike football, you have to buy all your own equipment. I dunno how much everything costs now, but back when I played a good helmet would run you at least $200. A head a shaft for a stick could be/usually were more. Then you have to buy gloves, which can be up around $80ish, chest/shoulder pads. And that's just the sport-required stuff; given the nature of the sport, it's also in the player's best interest to pick up a rib guard and maybe some elbow pads if they're younger. Then cleats. Then you have to consider how that kid is growing and that you're going to have to refit them at least a few times throughout their early careers. Heads will need restringing and replacement, shafts get hammered and bent/broken and need to be replaced. By the time high school's done, at least $1000 has gone into playing the sport. Not many people can afford to do that when football and basketball are as available.

And you hit it on the head: look at the counties that are the best at lacrosse: Fairfield and a bunch of counties on Long Island and some private schools in Jersey.