This article was published in the NWI Times recently and underscores the use of lacrosse as a way to attract students and increase revenue to the schools mentioned. One theme is that whether the school is D-I or D-III, the lacrosse pool of students is a new source to mine. Most of the schools that are going in this direction are D-II and D-III. Names mentioned: DePauw, Wabash, Indianapolis.
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/private-schools-add-lacrosse-to-attract-students/article_ed02ec5b-8c9b-5e4f-9223-a2403782e534.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/private-schools-add-lacrosse-to-attract-students/article_ed02ec5b-8c9b-5e4f-9223-a2403782e534.html)
These other articles focus on the same strategy.
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/lacrosse_is_the_new_recruiting.html (http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/lacrosse_is_the_new_recruiting.html)
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-04-04/liberal-arts-colleges-lacrosse-students/54002080/1 (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-04-04/liberal-arts-colleges-lacrosse-students/54002080/1)
Running with the articles' premise, as a D-I university, Valpo would have to run a 'scholarship' program, but the D-I max is 12.6 men and 12.0 women which can be divided among all players - if at all. Lacrosse teams typically carry 33-60 players. So...... even with a full compliment of scholarships (not required by NCAA), if each program brought in 44 kids, that's 88 additional students @ ~ $45K, that generates $3.96 million, less the cost of scholarships (24.6 X $45K = $1.1 million) leaves $2.86 million in new revenue. If the cost of operations and travel of both a men's and a women's program (probably need to add both for Title IX reasons) was, say, $1.0 million, that still leaves $1.86 million in new revenue annually. With zero scholarships, it's a net of $2.96 million.
And the playing facility (Brown Field) is already in place and would only need another set of lines painted on it. Locker space is a different issue. It's an all-weather sport so no cancellations.
Worth discussing?
The first thing to consider is the same one concerning football. The players (at least 94%) receive financial aid. The total budget for next year for a student is close to 48,000, all in--tuition, room and board, books, fees etc. However the office of financial aid has this on their webpage:
Please note also that more than 94 percent of all students receive financial aid, and the average financial aid package is in the $29,000 range.
With that in mind, using a figure of about $20-25,000 net revenue per new student (before athletic scholarships) might be closer to the true number.
I'm all for adding new sports, especially niche sports. I think we've seen great success with our bowling program as we bring in high quality ladies and get our name out there in ways we haven't before. I'd rather see us pursue a hockey team, but that is pretty much a pipe dream given the costs.
If we want to attract more and better students, wouldn't it make more sense to focus our efforts on a new nursing building, a Fieldhouse, a new science building, at least two more new dorms, an improved old campus, a remodeled ARC, and a larger endowment? Plus I seem to remember that of the Horizon league schools, we already offer more sports than just about anyone else.
Paul
Quote from: 78crusader on July 18, 2014, 08:47:27 PM
If we want to attract more and better students, wouldn't it make more sense to focus our efforts on a new nursing building, a Fieldhouse, a new science building, at least two more new dorms, an improved old campus, a remodeled ARC, and a larger endowment? Plus I seem to remember that of the Horizon league schools, we already offer more sports than just about anyone else.
Paul
Jeez...did you swing your cane around whilst yelling, "get off my lawn" while saying that. With that said, anything that brings in MONEY is fine with me. To answer the Title IX question...we have one more women's sport right now, so we could add just men's lacrosse and not have to add women's lacrosse. As for hockey...I'd LOVE to see both men's and women's, but it's REALLY, REALLY expensive...there would have to be a huge endowment from someone, like at Penn State...plus where to play??? I guess adding a refrigeration unit or two to the ARC would work...there should be enough seating to be over the 2,500 minimum seating requirements...wish I had 80 million lying around, I'd fund the program...and I'd move back to Valpo to watch them play...LOL!!!
Title IX isn't about total sports being equal for men and women, but total athletic scholarships, I believe.
Lacrosse is a nice idea, but hockey would be a serious "game changer" for the athletic program. It is a pricey proposition, but it's a sport that is growing in popularity in the states, and is most certainly popular in the Chicagoland area. Also, hockey can add Canadian student athletes, contributing to the international diversity initiative.
Yes, I know this will not happen and I am dreaming. An indoor ice rink would also provide a great exercise alternative for the student body.
This may be a dumb question, but does Valpo currently have club lacrosse teams?
Many schools seem to first have club teams in non-athletics department sports, then upgrade later.
There was a previous string where we debated, at considerable length I recall, adding hockey/lacrosse/synchronized swimming (joking). And that got beaten to death. However, my point in starting this new string was two-fold based on the accompanying articles (which I hope posters have read before adding their thoughts):
(A.) A way for VU to bring in a
significant number of new students from an untapped pool and, therefore, increase gross revenue
(B.) A sport that can contribute to that strategy at a
minimal investment so as to increase net revenue
While hockey (assuming you bring in both a men's and women's team -- again a title IX issue, which, BTW I believe, is not based on scholarships per se but equal "opportunity," because Title IX applies to D-III schools as well), with maybe 50-60 new students, will address (A.), it does not satisfy (B.) because the startup cost (equipment alone is considerable and there is no on-campus facility readily available). Taking all of that into account, IMO, that would probably put it in the negative revenue column.
Lacrosse, on the other hand, would bring in more students (80-90) and has a more modest equipment investment -- basically helmets, sticks, a couple of pads and some shoes plus uniforms for the men and the same for women minus the helmets. And, as mentioned earlier, no investment in facilities.
Quote from: vu72 on July 18, 2014, 07:21:00 PM
The first thing to consider is the same one concerning football. The players (at least 94%) receive financial aid. The total budget for next year for a student is close to 48,000, all in--tuition, room and board, books, fees etc. However the office of financial aid has this on their webpage:
Please note also that more than 94 percent of all students receive financial aid, and the average financial aid package is in the $29,000 range.
With that in mind, using a figure of about $20-25,000 net revenue per new student (before athletic scholarships) might be closer to the true number.
72 you bring up a good point on financial aid and I do not know how that is handled. It might decrease the net directly, or, because it is taken from a separate source does not impact the net "on paper." But that would be true for any increase in students regardless of where they came from. But, you're right, it is a factor that would have to be considered when 'running the numbers" to see if there is feasibility here.
Quote from: 78crusader on July 18, 2014, 08:47:27 PM
If we want to attract more and better students, wouldn't it make more sense to focus our efforts on a new nursing building, a Fieldhouse, a new science building, at least two more new dorms, an improved old campus, a remodeled ARC, and a larger endowment? Plus I seem to remember that of the Horizon league schools, we already offer more sports than just about anyone else.
Paul, all of the above certainly would help to attract students, but at incredible cost, borrowing, etc. over a very long period of time. But this is a case for adding a sport to add students, regardless of how many sports we already have. Typhoon, hit the nail on the head. It was almost like out of nowhere, VU had a Bowling Team and it has added positively to the university profile with minimal cost for startup and operation. While more costly in terms of start-up costs for Lacrosse, it could be instituted in a single year with no construction or rental costs for operations.
Quote from: valpo95 on July 21, 2014, 08:20:18 AM
This may be a dumb question, but does Valpo currently have club lacrosse teams?
Many schools seem to first have club teams in non-athletics department sports, then upgrade later.
I do not believe they do. It is not listed on the athletics web site and the VU site has this:
Club SportsJoin an established club sport that may range from badminton to ultimate Frisbee. If you crave extramural competition, this could be the choice for you. Some clubs travel to other campuses; some compete in off-campus tournaments; some don't. Interested in Club Sports? Check out each team's page on the Club section of IMLeagues.com.
Men's Ultimate Frisbee
Women's Ultimate Frisbee
Men's Soccer
Women's Soccer
Tennis
Swimming
Having added that above, yes, it would seem prudent to start a lacrosse program off as a funded club first, because the team would consist of almost all freshmen with maybe some xfers and JC players. The schedule would probably start off with D-III and D-II teams (though they wouldn't be cream puffs) and not gain varsity status for maybe a year or two.
I was meaning to say athletic opportunities needed to be equal as well, not just scholarships, my bad. It has nothing to do with the number of sports being equal, but rather that the total number of athletes represented in the athletic program need to be representative of the student population (men vs. women).
Yeah, when you have a large roster sport like FB on the male side, you need an equally large female roster sport or more smaller roster sports to balance it. That's why in the past schools wound up dropping a lot of men's non-revenue sports to create that balance. :(
I think I've brought this up before, but I think it bears repeating -- what about a rowing team? We're close to Lake Michigan and have plentiful lakes in the area. A rowing team would have relatively low startup costs and allow us to compete against elite schools out east that we don't compete against in other sports. Notre Dame and IU have rowing teams but I'm not sure where they compete. Thoughts?
Quote from: okinawatyphoon on July 21, 2014, 09:34:56 PM
I think I've brought this up before, but I think it bears repeating -- what about a rowing team? We're close to Lake Michigan and have plentiful lakes in the area. A rowing team would have relatively low startup costs and allow us to compete against elite schools out east that we don't compete against in other sports. Notre Dame and IU have rowing teams but I'm not sure where they compete. Thoughts?
Crew is a wonderful sport. Most of the regattas are in the spring. My son went to Colby College in Maine where they had varsity women's and men's crew. As an example, the Colby rosters have 28 men and 38 women participating, so the numbers are good for enrollment increase. On the other hand, the shells are pretty expensive, but used ones are available as teams upgrade. The trick would be to find a calm stretch of fairly straight water on which to row -- NOT Lake Michigan. There's shell storage near the rowing location to factor in too. Travel requires a truck and trailer for the shells in addition to charter busses.
A college rowing database lists a total of 179 schools in the country with rowing programs. 25 are in the midwest (MN, WI, IL, IN, OH, KY IA, MI). A cursory look at these schools' rowing profiles show many have varsity women's programs and men's club programs. Many of the 179 only have rowing clubs. As you indicated, the majority of programs are in the east -- much the same as lacrosse ;) IU has a varsity women's program and men's club program. UND - same.
Here's the link if you want more detailed info:
http://rowingdb.sparksconsult.com (http://rowingdb.sparksconsult.com)
Actually it was a Dutch citizen that was on the IU women's rowing team that was one of the passengers that died in the Malaysian Airliner shot down over the Ukraine/Russian border recently.
:( That's a downer.
But as an aside for anyone who would like to find out more on the cost involved and some other issues, here's an article:
Collegiate Rowing: Its Costs, Popularity & Growth
http://www.bhfinder.com/Articles/Details/Collegiate-Rowing-Its-Costs-Popularity-Growth.html (http://www.bhfinder.com/Articles/Details/Collegiate-Rowing-Its-Costs-Popularity-Growth.html)
Quote from: VULB#62 on July 21, 2014, 01:52:00 PM
Yeah, when you have a large roster sport like FB on the male side, you need an equally large female roster sport or more smaller roster sports to balance it. That's why in the past schools wound up dropping a lot of men's non-revenue sports to create that balance. :(
I believe Butler had a lacrosse team for several years, but dropped it. Not sure if it was due to gender balance issues, cost, interest or all the these and more.
Concordia Lutheran High School has Crew. Here is a picture of them competing in the Head of the Eagle Regatta in Indianapolis' Eagle Creek Park. Many of the Midwest Crew teams/clubs compete at this event including a number of the Big Ten schools. (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/1oSOvC--oDkNq_Qkp-cG_-fUolLpXwB1lowL6FiS7SY=w292-h194-p-no)
Though I don't understand the finer points of the game, I find lacrosse highly entertaining and usually find myself watching the NCAA championship every spring. It also clearly has arrived in the Midwest (if ohio state, michigan, and nd all sponsor a sport, you know it is on the rise in the region).
I do have some concerns about cost though, especially where the startup money will come from. The university has been making significant athletic investments over the last 10 years and donor fatigue is a serious concern. With basketball being basketball, football getting a new investment push, and baseball/softball on the rise, I just don't see the money, especially with the non-athletic investments on the priority list.
I fear that something will suffer in the name of adding a new sport. I hope I'm wrong though.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: VULB#62 on July 18, 2014, 04:05:30 PMThis article was published in the NWI Times recently and underscores the use of lacrosse as a way to attract students and increase revenue to the schools mentioned. One theme is that whether the school is D-I or D-III, the lacrosse pool of students is a new source to mine. Most of the schools that are going in this direction are D-II and D-III. Names mentioned: DePauw, Wabash, Indianapolis.
Interesting. I happened upon a UIndy men's lacrosse practice at the football practice field off Hanna Ave. recently. It had me puzzled thinking why would a local high school need to borrow the practice field at UIndy until I read this post.
Interesting mention of possible Lacrosse program at Valpo in the future:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/vu-finally-takes-possession-of-former-hospital-site/article_68c17e54-da5b-5405-9b57-aafbac960d0e.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/vu-finally-takes-possession-of-former-hospital-site/article_68c17e54-da5b-5405-9b57-aafbac960d0e.html)
Good catch 72. :clap:
Just the mention by a university executive is an indication that the idea must have been bounced around in decision-making circles. As I mentioned when I started the string, start-up costs are relatively reasonable given the number of potential new students (both male and female) it might attract for admissions and for increasing enrollment.
They are converting the clinic to the new Nursing building? I don't know much about that building, but a quick look on Google Maps makes that building look smaller than Lebien Hall. ??? Other than that, I'm excited at the prospect of Lacrosse and hope the University takes the possibility seriously.
No way does the existing building on the hospital property become the College of Nursing and Applied Health (is that the new name?). It's far too small to house the college, but would seem to be suitable for overflow space for offices and possibly a couple of classrooms. As for lacrosse, does anyone know why Butler dropped it? As I recall, one reason for starting it was to increase the appeal to students from the east coast but it was dropped after several years.
They provided little detail but here it is....
Men's lacrosse and men's swimming teams to be eliminated
Jan. 26, 2007
Butler University, Friday, Jan. 26, announced it will discontinue its men's swimming and lacrosse teams effective June 1. Athletic Director Barry Collier recommended the elimination of the two teams after spending several months analyzing the athletic program. Butler President Bobby Fong approved the decision.
"This action has been taken in order to focus our efforts and seek success in our remaining 19 sports," Collier said. "We are committed to the Butler Way, the success of our sponsored programs and the best possible student-athlete experience."
Members of the lacrosse team will have their scholarships honored through their senior year. Swimming is a non-scholarship sport at Butler.
Even with the elimination of the two teams, Butler will still have more teams then all other schools in the Horizon League, the league in which most Butler teams compete. The average number of teams at universities in the Horizon League is 16.
The men's swimming team is a member of the Horizon League. Butler's lacrosse team competes in the Great Western Lacrosse League.
"Intercollegiate athletics is an integral part of Butler University's commitment to educational excellence," Fong said. "As previously noted by our Board of Trustees, 'We shall strive for quality in all that we do, being selective in our offerings, realizing that we cannot be all things to all people.' "
Q&A
Q: What are you doing to assist the affected student-athletes? A: The continued well being of the affected student-athletes is our primary focus. Butler will honor all existing scholarship commitments. The student-athletes will continue to have access to the same services available to other varsity athletes including academic services and athletic training. This announcement has taken place now to give the affected student-athletes as much time as possible to make decisions regarding their future.
Q: How did you arrive at this decision? A: The decision to discontinue men's swimming and lacrosse at Butler University was made with careful consideration. This action is being taken to help ensure the long-term stability of the Department of Athletics and in the best interests of approximately 400 Butler student-athletes.
Q: Why lacrosse? Why men's swimming? A: The decision to discontinue lacrosse and men's swimming was made as a result of a total review of the athletic department. Included in the review was information gathered internally and an external comparative report of peer institutions. This comprehensive review uncovered the need to focus our efforts to ensure greater stability for the entire department.
Q: Will there be further cuts of remaining sports? A: We don't anticipate any further cuts. Through the focusing of our efforts we believe that each of the student-athletes and our remaining 19 sports will be better served.
Q: What will happen to the money saved? A: Money from scholarships, salaries and operating funds will be reallocated to the university's 19 teams.
Q: How do we compare with peer institutions when it comes to athletics? A: Even with two fewer teams, we still have more teams then all the schools in the Horizon League. The average number of teams for universities in the Horizon League is 16. We have 19.
Q: How long have we had men's swimming and lacrosse at Butler? A: Butler began lacrosse in 1993. Butler has had a men's swimming team since 1928.
I am all for men's and women's lacrosse. You only need so many more scholarships, but gain a lot more student admissions specific to those programs. I really like the direction of our university as a whole, but am impressed with the athletic program vision! We don't need to build a new field as Brown Field can be used, and the field house is getting built anyways, and can be used by the teams in bad weather.
Cleveland State is adding Lacrosse...
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/cleveland_state_university_wil_5.html (http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/cleveland_state_university_wil_5.html)
From that article, some of the things we previously discussed. Nice to see an estimate of cost.
CSU would also add a women's sport, either lacrosse or indoor/outdoor track and field, said President Ronald Berkman and Athletics Director John Parry.
Adding two sports would cost about $900,000 a year for coaches, equipment and scholarships, Berkman said. But officials believe the investment is worth it to attract new students to the fast-growing sport.
In recent years lacrosse has become the latest recruitment tool for private universities in Ohio and other Midwestern states.
Relatively inexpensive to start, the sport has grown in popularity at high schools, especially those with middle-class students.
Interesting that the only other school with LaCrosse (D1 only??) in Ohio is Ohio State.
I just checked the usual suspects including ND, IU and the former ICC members, and only found ND and DePauw with LaCrosse programs. Interesting dynamic relative to recruiting. Unlike say, golf or bowling, the total number of athletes would be closer to soccer.
Actually more, 72. Soccer teams normally carry 22-25 players. Lacrosse, because they sub like hockey, carry more like 40-50. Start up Men's and Women's LaCrosse and you have between 90 and 100 "new" students X tuition, minus need based aid and minus the $900K basic cost. There should be a net gain.
Seems that AD John Parry tenure at Butler ended before they dropped lacrosse and after a few years at CSU that school brings in lacrosse. Wonder who likes lacrosse.
Quote from: IndyValpo on November 21, 2014, 09:52:36 AMCleveland State is adding LaCrosse
a bit outside their recruiting footprint
Quote from: vu72 on November 21, 2014, 10:25:00 AMthe only other school with LaCrosse
is North Judson
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 21, 2014, 10:46:17 AMMen's and Women's LaCrosse
well what else is there? i doubt they have a sizable transgender population
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on November 21, 2014, 01:13:02 PM
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 21, 2014, 10:46:17 AMMen's and Women's LaCrosse
well what else is there? i doubt they have a sizable transgender population
......... as opposed to "another" women's sport like field hockey in the fall. But how about co-ed Ultimate Frisbee? ;)
just teasing everyone that spelled lacrosse LaCrosse is all. carry on.
That's BS on Cleveland State's part! Bring back baseball, instead, since it is a HL sport. Lacrosse has to be more expensive...
Maybe. But maybe not. LAX only plays 13-14 games. 6-7 road trips. 6-7 home officials expense.
But I do agree that all HL schools should have Baseball. Even though the snow in Cleveland will probably be there till next August :lol:
Speaking of schools that need to upgrade their overall athletic programs, I went to UWGB for the MSO match a couple of weeks back. They don't have a baseball team and their athletic "complex" was a joke. D-I? Give me a break. Massasoit CC in Brockton, MA had a better complex. Soccer field was better and their baseball diamond was first rate. They even had a track (but no team).
Lacrosse at Valpo would be a great addition for many of the stated reasons. It probably would not need many scholarships to get started because many players come from an upper class or middle class background and just want a chance to continue playing in college. The new fieldhouse would have to be built first, however, because right now the ARC really can only handle Volleyball, Basketball, and Intramurals. The best sport to bring in relative to its ease to start is Men's Volleyball. One- you can start using the Arc. Two- an experienced coach is already on staff. Three- you can have an excellent team right away, like Women's Bowling, by recruiting one or two players each who would now be going to midwest powerhouse programs but sitting on the bench. Programs like Ball State, IPFW, Lewis, and Loyola are all nationally ranked D-1 schools with up to 16 players on the team. Loyola won the national championship last year, hosted the final four, and made a nice profit to boot. The bottom line is, a high level Valpo administrator wants to see lacrosse first.
As long as adding another sport doesn't require us to get rid of any current sports, I would be ok with adding Lacrosse. I don't want a Cleveland State situation, where they got rid of baseball several years ago, and are now considering Lacrosse.
Quote from: valpotx on December 05, 2014, 01:08:38 AMI would be ok with adding Lacrosse
If we're going to talk PCC, shouldn't this discussion be in "National Conference Realignments"?
; )
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on December 05, 2014, 08:31:26 AMQuote from: valpotx on December 05, 2014, 01:08:38 AMI would be ok with adding Lacrosse
If we're going to talk PCC, shouldn't this discussion be in "National Conference Realignments"? ; )
Sometimes you gotta explain your humor a little better, LAA, because I'm sure a lot of posters didn't get it.
Porter County Conference (PCC)--Boone Grove, Hebron, Kouts,
La Crosse, Morgan Twp, South Central, Washington Twp and Westville.
That's the Joke (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk#)
Quote from: historyman on December 05, 2014, 10:44:10 AM
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on December 05, 2014, 08:31:26 AMQuote from: valpotx on December 05, 2014, 01:08:38 AMI would be ok with adding Lacrosse
If we're going to talk PCC, shouldn't this discussion be in "National Conference Realignments"? ; )
Sometimes you gotta explain your humor a little better, LAA, because I'm sure a lot of posters didn't get it.
Porter County Conference (PCC)--Boone Grove, Hebron, Kouts, La Crosse, Morgan Twp, South Central, Washington Twp and Westville.
Again, LAA needed someone else to explain his blargle.
http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/ (http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/)
This is where I need to learn how to imbed these things...
(http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/shaking_head_breaking_bad.gif) (http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/)
Quote from: covufan on December 05, 2014, 11:29:14 AMAgain, LAA needed someone else to explain his blargle. http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/ (http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/) This is where I need to learn how to imbed these things...
See the items just below the picture. One of them is "HTML embed."
Just copy and paste
(http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/rolling_eyes_neil_degrasse_tyson.gif) (http://www.reactiongifs.us/neil-degrasse-tyson-rolling-eyes/)
Of course how many hours with vulgar puppeteers did Fred Rogers spend before he finally cracked up and did this
(http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/fu_mr_rogers.gif) (http://www.reactiongifs.us/mr-rogers-gives-the-finger/)
Here's the thing, though, if you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't.
In the entire history of comedy (which began when Cain made a "your mom" joke), explaining a joke has never once made it funnier, or even funny.
Quote from: historyman on December 05, 2014, 11:36:46 AM
Quote from: covufan on December 05, 2014, 11:29:14 AMAgain, LAA needed someone else to explain his blargle. http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/ (http://www.reactiongifs.us/shaking-head-breaking-bad/) This is where I need to learn how to imbed these things...
See the items just below the picture. One of them is "HTML embed."
Just copy and paste
(http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/rolling_eyes_neil_degrasse_tyson.gif) (http://www.reactiongifs.us/neil-degrasse-tyson-rolling-eyes/)
(http://i.imgur.com/LlUnmHy.gif)
Quote from: LaPorteAveApostle on December 05, 2014, 12:32:50 PMHere's the thing, though, if you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't. In the entire history of comedy (which began when Cain made a "your mom" joke), explaining a joke has never once made it funnier, or even funny.
I thought it was funny when Cain said to Adam........"so God gave you Mom but me and Abel are stuck with our sisters? I gotta extra rib too!"
It's lacrosse season. Theoretically, if Valpo were to field a fully rostered D-I Men's Lacrosse team next year in 2016, here's a guess at what the 12 game schedule might be, based on the fact that there are 69 D-I teams in the NCAA and that the schedule would be 100% D-I. I projected a need for geographic proximity (or at least ease of travel) to limit travel expenses and a southern trip in March.
Southern Trip -- 2 games in 10 days (choose 2 from):
Jacksonville #58
High Point #36
Mercer #68
Furman #49
Remaining schedule in no particular order:
Marquette #14
Detroit #48
Bellarmine (KY) #51
Notre Dame #4
Michigan #22
Ohio State #31
Robert Morris (PA) #53
Canasius (Western NY) #57
Denver #6 * (Direct flt from Chicago)
Air Force #34 * (Direct flt from Chicago)
D-II Options for 1 or 2 Non-DI games if the schedule were to be a mix:Rockhurst (MO)
Ohio Valley
Lake Erie
Quote from: VULB#62 on March 03, 2015, 04:04:36 PM
It's lacrosse season. Theoretically, if Valpo were to field a fully rostered D-I Men's Lacrosse team next year in 2016, here's a guess at what the 12 game schedule might be, based on the fact that there are 69 D-I teams in the NCAA and that the schedule would be 100% D-I. I projected a need for geographic proximity (or at least ease of travel) to limit travel expenses and a southern trip in March.
Southern Trip -- 2 games in 10 days (choose 2 from):
Jacksonville #58
High Point #36
Mercer #68
Furman #49
Remaining schedule in no particular order:
Marquette #14
Detroit #48
Bellarmine (KY) #51
Notre Dame #4
Michigan #22
Ohio State #31
Robert Morris (PA) #53
Canasius (Western NY) #57
Denver #6 * (Direct flt from Chicago)
Air Force #34 * (Direct flt from Chicago)
D-II Options for 1 or 2 Non-DI games if the schedule were to be a mix:Rockhurst (MO)
Ohio Valley
Lake Erie
There could be some good games that are not too far of a drive for the team.
Speaking of University of Denver (or is it DU?) - if Valpo were to ever seriously consider lacrosse teams for both men and women, I would start with a conversation with this man:
http://www.denverpioneers.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/bill_tierney_901452.html (http://www.denverpioneers.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/bill_tierney_901452.html)
He instantly made DU a contender in lacrosse. I doubt he would come to Valpo, but he could define the things that are needed to compete in Division I lacrosse. He has sons and a daughter that are also coaches, and could also recommend someone that would be good for starting programs from scratch.
Tierney is a lacrosse legend and does it the right way. He would be an incredible resource and he would jump at increasing the sport's visability in the mid-west. They compete in the BIG EAST and fly all over the place to play.
I'd assume a Valpo startup program would begin a bit more cautiously with a year 1 hire coach and recruit phase, a 2 year club development phase that competes against "close-by" D-I, II, and III programs and then go full D-I in year 4 with a the first recruiting class in their junior year. don't think Valpo would sink the money into a startup like DU did.
Article on the advancing of lacrosse:
http://deadspin.com/5959185/no-lacrosse-is-not-a-regional-game-watch-how-its-conquering-america (http://deadspin.com/5959185/no-lacrosse-is-not-a-regional-game-watch-how-its-conquering-america)
Does Valpo jump on the bandwagon?
Quote from: covufan on October 28, 2015, 11:19:35 AM
Article on the advancing of lacrosse:
http://deadspin.com/5959185/no-lacrosse-is-not-a-regional-game-watch-how-its-conquering-america (http://deadspin.com/5959185/no-lacrosse-is-not-a-regional-game-watch-how-its-conquering-america)
Does Valpo jump on the bandwagon?
Perhaps, but not now. With Brown Field, now hosting three sports, I doubt an additional sports using the same field would be added at this time. As the sports complex becomes reality, it may make sense to add a team or two. Just my guess...
Quote from: vu72 on October 28, 2015, 06:12:48 PM
Quote from: covufan on October 28, 2015, 11:19:35 AM
Article on the advancing of lacrosse:
http://deadspin.com/5959185/no-lacrosse-is-not-a-regional-game-watch-how-its-conquering-america (http://deadspin.com/5959185/no-lacrosse-is-not-a-regional-game-watch-how-its-conquering-america)
Does Valpo jump on the bandwagon?
Perhaps, but not now. With Brown Field, now hosting three sports, I doubt an additional sports using the same field would be added at this time. As the sports complex becomes reality, it may make sense to add a team or two. Just my guess...
Keep in mind that Lacrosse is a spring sport and that would mean greater scheduling freedom as MSO and WSO are 'technically' fall sports. HOWEVER, those two sports (along with T&F) actually go year-round and have spring practice and game schedules. The other (and probably more constraining) issue is locker space and access to the training staff and their already strained facilities for what would be another 70-90 men and women -- cuz both MLAX and WLAX would have to be started to meet Title IX. So 72, I believe you're right about the timing.