Update: College, HS Sponsorship and Participation Rates
Lacrosse at the high school level has grown over 40% just since 2001. While it may still not challenge the top 10 sports in terms of participation, it is certainly growing rapidly while most other sports are not. In fact, lacrosse remains the second fastest growing sport among those that are in the top 15 in popularity. Number 1? Well, that sport does involve lots of contact ... but it's between balls and pins.
Data on school sponsorship and student participation are compiled annually by the National Federation of State High School Associations, and we have again compiled a summary of the NFHS data, which includes both data tables and graphs that reflect figures from 2001 through 2005.
At the college level, the NCAA issues an annual report on sports sponsorship, participation, and squad size. Their most recent report contains detailed information by gender and division for the period from 1982 through 2004. Since the early to mid 90s, the number of schools sponsoring women's lacrosse has grown sharply and has surpassed the number for men. For men's lacrosse, the bulk of the growth has occurred in Division III, while for women's lacrosse, both Division I and (especially) Division III have enjoyed sharp growth rates.
For a full report, see our summary, which has numerous graphs that depict the trends for sponsorship, participation, and squad size. There is also a link to a PDF file that has tables for men and women, by division and overall, with the relevant numbers.
The links above can also be found in the right-hand Features column on the LaxPower main page.
http://laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=1540
