Big East to vote on forming Lacrosse league

[TyBull]

www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-preston0226,0,941452.column

baltimoresun.com

Lacrosse close to forming Big East

Mike Preston

7:07 PM EST, February 26, 2008

For years, there has been talk about a Big East Conference for men's lacrosse, and it finally might come to fruition in a couple of months. League play could begin as early as 2010.

According to several coaches, conference officials are expected to take a vote on forming the league in May. The seven teams are expected to be Notre Dame, Syracuse, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John's, Villanova and Providence.

"I think it's going to happen," said Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan. "As a matter of fact, it's not a matter of if it is going to happen, but when."

Apparently, the holdup centers on the question of whether Villanova and Providence can come up with the money for the number of scholarships and assistant coaches to meet NCAA Division I requirements.

Previously, Syracuse was rumored to be one of the teams holding out because, as an independent, the Orange didn't want to give up an attractive schedule that included such teams as Johns Hopkins, Towson or Loyola.

But the Orange appears to be on board now.

"When we first had preliminary talks, I talked with our athletic director about the strength of schedule, RPI rating and having some flexibility in who we scheduled," said Orange coach John Desko. "We don't want to give up the Blue Jays, Tigers or Loyola.

"We had local rivalries with Albany, Cornell, and 45 minutes down the road we have Colgate and Hobart on the schedule," said Desko. "I don't know where we're at with it, but I do hear it's moving along."

Notre Dame is one of the driving forces behind the creation of Big East lacrosse, and it's easy to understand why. The Fighting Irish are currently members of the Great Western Conference, which includes such schools as Ohio State, Denver, Air Force, Bellarmine and Quinnipiac.

Who? Notre Dame has had problems scheduling the big name schools from the South and East. To get to South Bend, Ind., or for the Fighting Irish to travel east requires a team flight, and can eat up a great deal of a budget. Remember, this is college lacrosse, not major college football.

Plus, playing at Notre Dame is tough. Opposing teams go in mesmerized by the aura of the university and "Touchdown Jesus."

"I guess you could say that," said Corrigan, when asked if Notre Dame was out front in trying to form the Big East. "But this is not just good for Notre Dame, but lacrosse, as well.

"There is value in being a BCS quality conference playing sport," he said. "There are no other major conferences playing this sport. We have the ACC, but they only have four teams."

According to Corrigan, if you look at the rosters of the seven schools that would make up Big East lacrosse, 75 to 80 percent of the players are from the areas where the schools are located.

He said the league would also get an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division I tournament, but three to five teams might make the tournament because of the caliber of play.

"If you look at the season we had last year, it was an off year, but if we were in the Big East, we still might have had a shot at the tournament," said Desko.

Corrigan said: "We have some powerful reasons why we don't need to be locked out of the room so to speak, out of our own conference, when it comes to lacrosse."

Georgetown, St. John's and Rutgers currently compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Villanova is in the Colonial League and Providence in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

If the eight-member ECAC loses three teams, it would have to pick up another (six is the minimum), or lose its automatic qualifer, according to Loyola coach Charley Toomey. The Greyhounds are also a member of the ECAC.

"We would like to continue to play Georgetown; that's a nice game for us, and hopefully for them, as well," said Toomey. "I think we have a good league, and even if those teams left, I don't think it would be disbanded. We're aware of what's going on with the forming of another possible league, but I think we'll be able to get through it."

mike.preston@baltsun.com

Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun

[USFan]

Great for the Big East...

We need to continue to add sports when possible.

[TB Bulls]

I know what lacrosse is but I've never seen it live.  Does any college or anybody in Florida play that?  Anyone know?

[USF-PMR]

All for this - Lacross is a very fun, exciting, and physical sport.  USF could form a team and compete with Syracuse for 1st in a few decades.

[cygnus34]

There was no mention about Louisville and I wonder why.  The CARDS fielded there 1st womens lacrosse team last week and the new field is in place including stands.  It would seem strange to me they would do all that just to have womens only lacrosse.

[80mins]

There was no mention about Louisville and I wonder why.  The CARDS fielded there 1st womens lacrosse team last week and the new field is in place including stands.  It would seem strange to me they would do all that just to have womens only lacrosse.

Women's only lax for the Cards wouldn't surprise me--there are several teams that field lacrosse teams for women only for Title IX compliance, leaving the men's teams for club teams, often which compete in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association.

[80mins]

I'd love to see it happen, and what's more, it make sense. You've got 7 teams that compete in the Big East and field lacrosse teams across 4 different conferences (plus Cuse as an independent). Why not bring them together in an already existing conference? Even if it's not all of the teams competing, not even half, that doesn't stop the ACC from fielding a conference with just UVA, Dook, Carolina, and UMCP. And with a 13 game schedule, you don't lose your ability to schedule the other lax heavy hitters.

An amazing coup would be if we could snatch up the other independent (national champion Johns Hopkins) for a lacrosse-only membership, but realistically, that's probably up there with reigning in Notre Dame for Big East football.

[smazza]

it is silly having sports where not all teams participate and we have nd in for all sports but football

makes big east look weak

[80mins]

it is silly having sports where not all teams participate and we have nd in for all sports but football

makes big east look weak

It's sillier having a critical mass of teams which compete in a given sport and yet are NOT able to compete on behalf of the Big East. Syracuse could have brought those 8 national championships home on behalf of the Big East, not simply themselves as an independent.

[bull2saintleo]

I know what lacrosse is but I've never seen it live.  Does any college or anybody in Florida play that?  Anyone know?

Saint Leo University (north of Tampa) has a men's lacrosse team, visit saintleolions.com for their schedule.