MIAA going varsity?

[laxfan25]

I heard this evening from a fairly well-placed source that the MIAA has voted to go varsity in 2010. With Adrian and Tri-State already having varsity programs, Hope and Calvin being MCLA and Alma and Albion having club teams, 6 of the 9 schools in the conference already play lacrosse.
Lax seems to be the new recruiting tool for small colleges in the Michigan area.

[Andy Sharp]

The word I got was that all but 1 MIAA athletic director signed the recommendation to support lacrosse as a conference in a letter to the presidents. The presidents council then voted to move ahead and now it goes back to the schools to decide whether to add men's, women's, or both.

Calvin is still weighing the options, but word is the president has said that IF Calvin does make lacrosse NCAA DIII it would be both men's and women's, not just women's as some MIAA schools are considering.

It all comes down to $$$, facility capacity, and Title IX. Truth is, this is a very expensive sport, likely #2 to football for most of these colleges.

[John Paul]

As a two year Albion "alum," that is very exciting news and not completely unexpected. What a great step forward for lacrosse in the midwest if it happens.

While lacrosse is expensive, the nice thing about D3 is that you can offset much of the cost if you recruit well. With no scholarships, every additional player is also additional tuition income. For schools looking to add enrollment, or to add enrollment from a certain demographic, adding lacrosse makes good business sense.

I can tell you that adding more varsity programs in the state would not hurt the case being made at the D1 schools down the road either.

[laxfan25]

There is no doubt that there are a LOT more kids playing lacrosse in high school in Michigan that would like to keep playing. I know that EGR this year is sending four players to Wittenberg - hard to believe they all would have gone there without lacrosse.