re: SEC Lacrosse

My kids are really into this sport and their high school here in Texas has produced some real talent going to Duke, UVA, Syracuse, Loyola, Georgetown, and several other top programs. I have no doubt that the SEC could produce pretty competitive programs of the financial backing was there.

Interestingly, several of the kids have played at A&M and LSU.

They go on the road and play against some of the Florida high school programs. Ponte Vedra and Jupiter had very strong teams.

quote:

---

are far down the road building broad based high school teams and sending kids to elite college programs every year

---

This is not what you think it is, there are 61 d1 lacrosse teams, they can provide 12.6 scholarships for 45 players, that is worse than baseball....less than half fund all of the scholarships...the 7-10 schools with real college experience like Ohio State, Michigan, UVA, Duke, NC dominate recruiting and steal good players from the other schools...the vast majority of college lacrosse players pay full vig at lower lvl d1, d2 and d3 teams...my son is getting called by a bunch of these...tuition is 50k+ and the schools are sub 5k enrollment...most kids at these schools get academic scholarships...they use lacrosse to get kids who want to say they play college lax, and are willing to shell out the full price

A lot of SEC and SoCon schools compete with club teams in the SELC lacrosse conference. Their logo is a rip-off of the old SEC logo

I’m surprised lacrosse isn’t a bigger deal across the college landscape. Wish OU had a team.

Can’t play lacrosse in the US anymore. It’s culture appropriation and got canceled

Currently, two SEC programs have varsity lacrosse teams for women, Florida and Vanderbilt. Florida has been a competitive top 10 program almost from their onset of play and is very attractive to girls wanting an education in warmer weather. Vanderbilt began its program before Florida and has played in one final 4. It has historically been a top 25 program. Almost all of the starting players on these two teams have been from traditional lacrosse playing states, many of which have established youth programs beginning at 5-6 years of age, coached by parents who played in middle and high schools and college. Lack of qualified coaches and officials is now a challenge for widespread lacrosse play in the South. We'll need presidents and athletic directors like Jeremy Foley, emeritus AD at Florida, who appreciated lacrosse from his days at Hobart (an historical D3 power for mens lacrosse) if lacrosse is to be adopted and promoted across the SEC. Most of the SEC schools certainly have the funds in their athletic departments to support lacrosse programs. Historically, only partial scholarships are available to most players in the ACC, Big 10, etc, so that is not an issue for the SEC. Fields would not be a problem since many SEC schools have varsity soccer fields that are used in the Fall season, while lacrosse uses a similar field and is a Spring sport. So the main costs would be for coaches (usually 3-4), a trainer, uniforms/equipment, and travel, along with a modest recruiting budget. So I don't see costs as prohibitive, just the lack of an appreciation for lacrosse and the will to promote the sport more widely by high-placed administrators and advocates. With more students coming South for their education from traditional lacrosse states and its increasing adoption at youth levels in the South, it is just a matter of time before lacrosse
becomes a serious SEC sport, at least for women.

quote:

---

Texas A&M has a very popular LAX program.
Would love to see the sport gain traction in the conference

---

Would be great.

We didn’t have Lacrosse when I grew up in Louisiana. But my son started playing last fall here in Colorado and it looks like a lot of fun.

quote:

---

Lacrosse is a yankee and coastal thing.


I don't think this is true anymore. Cali, Colorado, Texas, Florida, and the Midwest states are far down the road building broad based high school teams and sending kids to elite college programs every year

---

Yeah, didn’t know till we moved here, but LAX is huge in Colorado.

Lax is actually a pretty damn physical sport and is a much better secondary sport for football players than baseball or basketball, that's why it has gained a lot of popularity in Austin. I was a huge skeptic but then as my youngest played I came to appreciate it. Our HS just has a club team but we have had at least 1 kid go D1 every year.