MU adding Lacrosse

[TallTitan34]

Woah!  That's actually pretty cool.  I guess all of the facilities are already in place so why not?

Still hoping for hockey at the BC someday........

[foreverwarriors]

FTA:
The average roster size for a Division I women's lacrosse team is 25.5 student-athletes compared to 44.8 individuals on the men's side

So out of 44 individuals on the mens team only 12 will be scholarship student-athletes?

here is the strategic study pdf MU put out on it. They call Lacrosse an equivalency sport which would mean student athletes receive partial athletic scholarships (see reason 3 to start lacrosse at MU)

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/marq/sports/m-lacros/auto_pdf/strategic_study.pdf

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I agree..

We need to go Balls deep on this thing. 

or balls deep in jasmine st. claire....

[TallTitan34]

[Blackhat]

or balls deep in jasmine st. claire....

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm wondering what the reason is for adding the sports.  I'm sure it will come out.

MU has 14 sponsored sports, the absolute minimum in Division I.  When I left MU we had 16 but they since dropped Rifle and Wrestling.

There have been rumors that there could be a reclassification of DI requiring a higher number of sports which would potentially "push" some DI schools into DII.  There's been a rift with some of the big schools that feel like the smaller schools with a $1 million athletic department are legislating against the $75M + schools and they don't like it.

I have no idea if the NCAA is going in this direction, just rumors I've heard over the years.  Or is it simply a move to show more commitment to the Big East.  Either is plausible as are a number of other reasons.

Whatever it is, wonderful to see a university ADD sports......better yet, a DI university added a men's sport without cutting another.  Almost unheard of in today's day and age.

[ChicosBailBonds]

or balls deep in jasmine st. claire....

We had Courtney Cumz in the office the other day...she and another "Hustler girl" were here doing a promotion on the marketing floor.  That was rather entertaining. 

[Blackhat]

We had Courtney Cumz in the office the other day...she and another "Hustler girl" were here doing a promotion on the marketing floor.  That was rather entertaining. 

....and they came into your office and demanded a contract or they'd teach you a lesson. 

Right?

[AZWarrior]

Are the local Indians offended by the white man playing the native game?  What compromises will mu have to make?

Well, for one thing, they are insisting Marquette change the name of the Lacrosse team to "Warriors".

[TallTitan34]

Both Marquette lacrosse teams will be fully funded with the maximum number of scholarships, and coaches, allowed by the NCAA. The average roster size for a Division I women’s lacrosse team is 25.5 student-athletes compared to 44.8 individuals on the men’s side, according to the latest NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report.

Does this mean they will have to add another women's sport to get the additional scholarships?

[ChicosBailBonds]

....and they came into your office and demanded a contract or they'd teach you a lesson.  

Right?

LOL.  They did come into my office, I was on the phone, politely put person on hold and shook both their hands as my boss was laughing her ass off behind them at the surprise visit and the look on my face as these two walked in.  They were in their Hustler t-shirts, etc.  The Adult Content department is three offices over from mine so there's always some interesting traffic and stories that happen on the floor.  

[Skatastrophy]

Now, as Stone Cold said, let's work on hockey. Not to mention speed skating, as was discussed here earlier.

I would rather dig our claws in deeper to the BEast with another sport than add Hockey (Hockey has their own conferences, right?).  I'm a huge hockey fan, but I deep-down need our bball team to be in a competitive conference.

[MU Chi_IL]

Did you know, Warrior is brand name for Lacrosse gear.

http://www.shopwarrior.com/WPTM158NV
http://www.warrior.com/

[jficke13]

just out of curiousity, why is this a really good thing for MU? (note: I'm not trying to suggest it's a bad thing. I just am not sure of the reasoning behind why it's so good.)

Do any LAX teams make money? Any that aren't Johns Hopkins or Duke? I was under the impression that was the only thing that mattered about "positioning during conference realignment".

[MUfan12]

just out of curiousity, why is this a really good thing for MU? (note: I'm not trying to suggest it's a bad thing. I just am not sure of the reasoning behind why it's so good.)

Do any LAX teams make money? Any that aren't Johns Hopkins or Duke? I was under the impression that was the only thing that mattered about "positioning during conference realignment".

It's a good thing for a few reasons. First, the costs to start are a lot less since the facilities are in place. Being only the 3rd D1 program in the midwest lets MU nab some talent from this area, as well as expanding its reach out east. It's a sport MU can be competitive in from the get go.

Most importantly, I think it helps MU with the Big East. Adding another school is a shot in the arm to the BE in Mens Lacrosse, which just started sanctioning it last year. Also, having a broader offering of sports beyond mens basketball is a positive in our favor in the ongoing realignment.

[brewcity77]

It's a good thing for a few reasons. First, the costs to start are a lot less since the facilities are in place. Being only the 3rd D1 program in the midwest lets MU nab some talent from this area, as well as expanding its reach out east. It's a sport MU can be competitive in from the get go.

Most importantly, I think it helps MU with the Big East. Adding another school is a shot in the arm to the BE in Mens Lacrosse, which just started sanctioning it last year. Also, having a broader offering of sports beyond mens basketball is a positive in our favor in the ongoing realignment.

I agree with all of this, and I would say that lacrosse is a good choice as it seems to be gaining popularity. Not that it will ever rival the likes of college football or basketball, but playoff games are now showing up on ESPN, the championship game is a lock to be on there, and if we do have some success, it will help raise Marquette's profile.

What's ironic is that the rise in popularity seemed to coincide with the Duke lacrosse team scandal. Who would have thought that such a black eye for the program and sport would be a precursor to a rise in popularity? Not saying they're necessarily directly related, but timing-wise, it is rather interesting.

[muguru]

LaCrosse is fine, but why not baseball and softball??

[dsfire]

LaCrosse is fine, but why not baseball and softball??

Wild guess: available facilities, growth of the sports, and conference ties.  Among other things.

[AZWarrior]

What's ironic is that the rise in popularity seemed to coincide with the Duke lacrosse team scandal. Who would have thought that such a black eye for the program and sport would be a precursor to a rise in popularity? Not saying they're necessarily directly related, but timing-wise, it is rather interesting.

Scandal?  The team turned out to be not guilty of anything.  Trumped up charges, etc.  The scandal was the way the team was treated by the university.

[Aughnanure]

Scandal?  The team turned out to be not guilty of anything.  Trumped up charges, etc.  The scandal was the way the team was treated by the university.

Rewriting history? It was a huge scandal. No one will remember how they got screwed by the school and the AG compared to all the allegations, trials, claims, accusations, etc that became the focus for the media for months.

[Aughnanure]

LaCrosse is fine, but why not baseball and softball??

Look at the locations of the best baseball programs and you will find your answer.

[jficke13]

Rewriting history? It was a huge scandal. No one will remember how they got screwed by the school and the AG compared to all the allegations, trials, claims, accusations, etc that became the focus for the media for months.

well there was a scandal. but the team was completely innocent.

[4everwarriors]

LOL.  They did come into my office, I was on the phone, politely put person on hold and shook both their hands as my boss was laughing her ass off behind them at the surprise visit and the look on my face as these two walked in.  They were in their Hustler t-shirts, etc.  The Adult Content department is three offices over from mine so there's always some interesting traffic and stories that happen on the floor. 

I'll be sure to come and check out your office floor the next visit into LA.

[NDLaxer76]

There should be no need to add anything. Mens and womens lax are both equivalency sports with mens lax getting 12.6 scholarships to fill its pot and the women receiving 12.  The 0.6 difference is present to take into account the numkbers that typically occur on rosters of D1 schools.  Men usually roster between 38-52 whilst women roster no more than 30.

Interesting that MU chooses the Big Man as a consultant.  Cottle certainly knows his sport, but has a lifelong history of flopping in the Big Dance.  I would suggest that on the womens' side of things the adminsitration try to poach Kelly Amonte-Hiller away from Northwestern as she could fill the talent pipelline immediately.  Starting from scratch will be a touhg road esp in the Big East.  Look at Florida's and Louisville's womens programs and on the mens side of things, Jacksonville and Bellarmine. 

There is some good talent in the Midwest but not as good as some of the other non-traditional hotbeds of (for women) Colorado, Cali, Texas and Florida.  For men there are some excellent D1 players from Ga, Cali and Tenn.  Whoever is placed at the helm for the womens team should ensure he/she look south at the Illinois HS players.  New Trier and Loyola Academy have sent a combined total the last two years of 9 players to D1 and this year each has a couple or early commits and a pair waiting on offers.

Overall, this is a good thing for MU. 

[TallTitan34]

Thanks laxer.