Cautionary Pig Tale

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Shortly after the 16-team Division II field for 2025 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance was announced, a tweet went out.

It was as excruciating to write as it was to read. To anyone familiar with the process, it meant a team was being swapped out after the toothpaste was out of the tube. It’s never a great look for our organization and it is unfair to everyone involved.

As everyone knows now, the team being swapped out was Arkansas, the ersatz Lone Star Alliance Champion.

The Razorbacks actually entered the season ineligible for nationals by its own conference bylaws. Having transitioned from Division I to Division II this spring, they had to wait a year to have a crack at the conference AQ. They could get in as an at-large, but not grab the LSA quick ticket. It’s a standard practice. Having a delay when a team moves down is not rare. It acts to discourage programs from bouncing back-and-forth in pursuit of nationals.

Arkansas should not have been in the initial LSA tourney field to begin with, but in its largesse, the conference gave the Razorbacks a bid. It was a dangerous game. The WCLL allowed UC Davis to play in its conference tournament in 2022 knowing that the Aggies would not be able to travel to Round Rock, ostensibly because the state wouldn’t approve funds for travel to Texas because of some typically nutty California reason. Davis won the title, affirmed they wouldn’t take the bid and burned WCLL D-II AQs in both ’23 and ’24.

A complete own goal.

The LSA was on the precipice of making the same mistake, but with Arkansas steamrolling its way through the quarters and semis of the league tourney by a combined score of 49-20, the conference membership got on the good foot. They called an emergency board meeting and amended its conference rules to allow for the Razorbacks to be eligible this spring. Arkansas rolled up Tulane in the championship game, 14-9, clinching the AQ.

There was joy in Fayetteville. For a bit.

After the Hogs were slotted in the No. 15 seed against Grand Valley State, Arkansas’ recent history came back to haunt them. In 2023, the Razorbacks – back when they were Division I – had committed to play in a weekend event at Iowa State. They didn’t show up. Skipping out on contractually agreed upon non-conference games is one of the more egregious sins in the MCLA. It typically comes with a significant fine and a postseason ban (there are some mitigating circumstances).

Arkansas and the LSA appealed the decision to the board of directors, and were handed a ruling that lessened the fine and erased the postseason ban under one condition – that they show up in 2024 in Ames to play the Cyclones and two other teams to rectify their error. The Razorbacks agreed to make it right.

Come the weekend of April 6 of last year, Arkansas was slated to play Iowa State, Illinois and Creighton. They no-showed. Again.

Because the transgression happened during Arkansas’ Division I days, it wasn’t part of the initial Division II quality-control protocol at the conclusion of the selection process. It was caught on a secondary review, and required immediate action. The Razorbacks had to be replaced.

Why air this dirty laundry? Because that’s certainly what it is. There were no winners at any point in the process. The MCLA, the LSA and Arkansas; we all took Ls.

Alas, it’s important to put a little daylight on the situation in hopes that it can be a cautionary tale for programs, coaches and players going forward. Specifically, understanding that actions – or inactions – taken at one point can have monumental impacts on players several years down the road. The 2024 decision not to take the trip to Iowa State probably didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but it ended up costing a good team with dedicated players a shot at their dream.

Enjoy your four years playing lacrosse at an MCLA school, but understand it doesn’t just end when you leave. There are guys coming up who are counting on you.