The Reverb: Sport in Flux
- Opinion
- Atlantic Lacrosse Conference
- Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League
- Continental Lacrosse Conference
- Lone Star Alliance
- Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference
- SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference
- Southwestern Lacrosse Conference
- Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference
- Western Collegiate Lacrosse League
- Air Force Academy Falcons
- Florida Gators
- Florida State Seminoles
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- San Diego State Aztecs
- UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
- UC Davis Aggies
- Wake Forest Demon Deacon
- North Dakota State Bison
- Tampa Spartans
- Cal Poly Mustangs
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Washington (Mo.) Bears
- Santa Clara Broncos
by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us
LA CROSSE, Wis. – I read recently in Forbes that Ohio State’s football players earned a combined $20M during the Buckeyes run to the first 12-team college football playoff this winter. It’s a staggering total, especially for those of a certain age who were raised in the ‘sanctity’ of alleged amateurism.
I don’t begrudge the football players – and to some degree men’s basketball, women’s basketball and various tertiary sports – for grabbing a slice of the pie. With the current portal system, there’s a huge opportunity for individuals to make some nice scratch, whether they are headed to the professional sports ranks or to the 9-to-5 grind.
There will be blood, however.
With some lawsuits coming down the pipeline and other decisions to be made about collectives and “NIL” deals, there is a very real possibility that college athletics departments are going to be put to the test. No longer will football and men’s basketball be propping up entire varsity rosters. Now, all that money is going to go back into those sports in order to keep them competitive in this Wild West atmosphere.
Throw in potential Title IX mandates, and there is trouble brewing for men’s lacrosse.
Unfortunately, I fear lacrosse may be one of the many Division I sports that gets squeezed in the process. Lacrosse could benefit from having a manageable 12.5 scholarships available, but there are still all of the sundry expenses – equipment, travel, facilities, etc. – that are taxing departments with, relatively speaking, zero television and ticket revenue.
If left on their own with a small institutional stipend, can NCAA lacrosse survive through sponsorships and donors alone? I think it would be an interesting discussion, but chalk me up as a pessimist. There will be the stalwarts who can survive any kind of headwinds, but what of the secondary and tertiary lacrosse programs that are hanging on by a thread already?
We’ve seen Texas Tech declare its priorities for its departmental cash, and it is a chilling revelation for all but four sports. Cleveland State – a school that doesn’t even have football – announcing the cutting of its wrestling program is another stark reminder of some potentially new realities for college athletics.
What does it mean for the MCLA?
The organization needs to be proactive in setting up a structure that makes it a potential landing spot for disavowed varsity lacrosse teams. This will mandate that the association graduate from its current parochial model filled with hard-working volunteers or stipend-based administrators to a dedicated professional staff whose singular focus is the organization.
It’s not something that has to happen next year, or maybe in the next five. But the planning should go into place now.
To be very clear: no one is rooting for NCAA lacrosse to lose its well-earned place among the up-and-coming sports in the country. There are, however, bigger forces at play currently that are creating some serious concerns. The MCLA needs to be ready.
Speaking of in Flux…
Yes, I’ve returned to the MCLA on an interim basis. My role will not be as comprehensive and I’ll be heading back out the door on July 31, but I’m going to get the association through this season. As always, fire any good concepts or feature ideas to me: coyne@mcla.us.
What Did We Learn?
- Florida State looks like it knows how to score. It also looks like they’ll need to score – a lot – in order to remain in the highly competitive SELC race. Giving up 15 in a loss to Georgia Tech in the season opener is understandable. Giving up 16 in a win over West Virginia puts a glaring spotlight on the defense. Fortunately, we’re just into February and everything is still fixable.
- With its 16-10 win over Denver in the season opener on Friday night, Air Force has jumped its highest hurdle in earning a bid to the RMLC tournament in its final year of Division II. The Falcons have Colorado Mines and MSU Denver remaining – a pair of teams they combined to outscore, 56-12 last spring. Not to say the Orediggers or Roadrunners won’t give the USAFA a run, but the Falcons need just one win out of the two to qualify for the postseason. Doubling up Oregon on Sunday just proves that Air Force will do just fine in D-I next spring.
- San Diego State is not done yet. For the third straight season, the Aztecs took down UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The 10-9 victory sets up SDSU to once make a run at nationals in an SLC that looks relatively top heavy (at this point). The ‘Tecs have a two-week hiatus before a trip to Cal Poly, but they are in great shape right now. The Gauchos now have to re-energize before hosting Cal next week.
- Florida’s win over South Carolina is a quality start to the season. Tennessee and Georgia on the road up next…big ups to Washington (Mo.) for the Florida trip. The Bears went 0-2 against Miami and Florida Gulf Coast, but this is a big step for a program with a lot of potential…Oregon win over Colorado State is a nice chip in the pile.
My Top Fives
Division I
1. San Diego State (1-0) – Knocking off a national semifinalist on the road. Nuff said.
2. Georgia Tech (2-0) – The Wreck transitioning into an all-offense program is funny.
3. Georgia (2-0) – Solid start. Next four games will determine the Dawgs fate.
4. Florida (1-0) – The Gamecocks win may prove to be better down the road, I suppose.
5. Cal Poly (1-0) – Sure, why not.
Division II
1. Air Force (2-0) – Tidy little weekend for the Falcons.
2. UC Davis (1-1) – Hung around with a solid Noma outfit before working over Stanford.
3. Wake Forest (2-0) – The Deacs held off a frisky Wilmington outfit.
4. North Dakota State (2-0) – I mean, it’s two wins. We’ll get the Bison in the mix.
5. Tampa (2-0) – Positive start for the second-year Spartans.
Slides & Rides
- Congrats to former MCLA national championship coach Manny Rapkin for getting his first win at Santa Clara, a 13-6 victory over Oregon State…Arkansas upending St. John’s is something for the Razorbacks to hang their hats on…the 2025 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance will be from May 5-10. Never too early to start preparing!...make sure your schedule and rosters are set before your first game to avoid complications.
- The new version of MCLA.us is obviously up and running, but we’re just in Phase I of the project. More information and functionality will be added over the coming weeks and months.
- Awards start this week! If you’ve got any nominees for Warrior Player of the Week or PEARL Goalie of the Week in both divisions, send them to info@mcla.us. Head coaches only, please.
VT’s Ashley Snags Player of Week Nod
A big day for the senior midfielder resulted in a huge road win for the Hokies
- General News