Adrian College adding varsity lacrosse

[John Paul]

Adrian college (in Adrian, Michigan - about 45 minutes Southwest of Ann Arbor) made an official announcement today that they are adding Division 3 varsity lacrosse (men's and women's) for the 2007 season. They are also undergoing an $8.5 million renovation of their stadium, and it will serve football, lacrosse, soccer and field hockey. They will begin a national search for coaches soon.

Adrian is in the MIAA, a very competitive Division 3 athletic conference made up of small liberal arts colleges, mostly in Michigan. Schools are very similar to NCAC schools like Wooster, Kenyon, Denison, OWU, Wittenberg and Oberlin. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the other MIAA schools eventually follow suit.

After losing varsity programs at Michigan State (D1) and Northwood (D2) in the last decade, it will be good to have college varsity lacrosse back in the state.

[Sonny]

Found on LaxPower. Other new D3 programs coming down the pike.....

Becker (Mass.) 2006
Mt. St. Joseph (Oh.) 2006
Fontbonne (Mo.) 2007
Christopher Newport (Va.) 2007

[mholtz]

I'm glad to see that programs are starting to show up in Michigan. There is a lot of untapped potential in this state. I just hope they don't take too many guys from me.

[John Paul]

No D3 school is ever going to take guys from big schools like ours Matt. The education experience is completely different.

Plus, depending on the coaching staff they bring in and the support they give them, it could take a while before they're able to field a competitive team.

I just hope some of the other Michigan small schools follow their lead in the next few years.

[Zeuslax]

I wonder how likely others are to follow suit?

[lil lady lax fan]

Have to agree with John Paul on this one, it's apples and oranges when you're talking about the college experience. Most folks that go to a school like Adrian are looking for a small school environment. I must say that, for a small school, they do have a good academic program. Hope some of the other schools in the MIAA follow suit. Wouldn't surprised if they did.

Also found out from the Adrian College Athletic Department website that they are building a new stadium, not renovating the old one. They've been using a local high school stadium since the 1960's (Maple Stadium). Here's a blurb from their press release:

The stadium will seat at least 2,500 fans. Features will include state-of-the-art synthetic turf, stadium lighting, a fully-wired press box, and an endzone section of student seating. The design of the field may make the addition of new athletic programs possible in the future.

There will be an Alumni Picnic Pavilion at one end of the field. In addition, plans include a dome that will be inflated at the conclusion of the fall sports season that will cover half the field. It will be heated and will nearly double Adrian’s indoor winter athletic space.

Pretty impressive for such a small school.

[Sonny]

Newswise — Beginning in the 2007-2008 academic year, Adrian College will offer an opportunity for athletes unlike any other college or university in Michigan: the chance to play NCAA varsity lacrosse.

Adrian’s president announced on Nov. 2 that the College is adding men’s and women’s lacrosse to its NCAA Div. III athletic programs. The teams will play in a new $5.5 million performance stadium that will be ready next fall.

“Lacrosse will help Adrian to capitalize on the great history of the sport, and to take advantage of growing nationwide interest,” President Jeffrey Docking said. “It will allow us to extend and develop the playing careers of high school lacrosse players from across the country, and is an excellent opportunity for us to build enrollment.”

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHSA), lacrosse has the fastest growth rate of any high school sport over the past 10 years, at 188.6 percent. The Michigan High School Athletic Association recently adopted men's and women's lacrosse as fully endorsed sports, and awarded statewide championships last year.

Adrian College and others have club teams, but no institution in Michigan is currently competing as a fully qualified men’s or women’s NCAA varsity team.

The College will soon begin a national search for head coaches for both the men's and women's lacrosse teams, and will make selections by March or April of 2006. In addition, it will hire a coach for women’s field hockey, another sport that the new stadium will make possible. Field hockey makes a comeback at Adrian for the first time since 1990.

Adrian College is a private, residential college located in the city of Adrian in southeast Michigan. It currently has an enrollment of about 1,000 students. The College aims to raise the number to 1,400 over the next few years, and the new stadium and athletic programs are one part of that plan.

In addition to lacrosse and field hockey, the multisport performance stadium will be used for men’s and women’s soccer and for football.

Adrian College lacrosse players (L to R) Brent Simon, Susan Walden, Ashley Starkey, Chris Anderson, and Cody Nelson (back) are fired up that their club teams for men and women will become NCAA varsity programs by the 2007-2008 season. (Photo: Cibele Vieira)

[Andy Sharp]

Interesting thing, a member of the current club team mentioned to me that "we have had a lot of trouble with finances this year" . . . I guess the school "support" hasn't kicked in yet.

I don't know how other new NCAA teams get launched, but I wouldn't think that a school with 1000 students could expect to get all the varsity level upperclassmen players to transfer in the year they become varsity. I'd kinda think they would treat the current guys a bit better and kind of ramp support up a bit.

Can anyone tell me how the first years of varsity teams go and when they begin get players coming to the school?

Do first year teams usually have juniors or seniors playing for them?

[mholtz]

One of their players also told me that most of them have never played before.

They are going to have to recruit heavily to be somewhat competitive right off the bat.

[Mikelaw84]

It wouldnt suprise me if they became competitive relatively fast. With some quality high school programs in the Detroit and greater Michigan areas, they will have a good deal of tallent to pull from.

[UMD Lax]

We played them early last year which was one of their first games of the season. I was told the majority of there team were members of there football team and have never played before. I believe that they only have one or two guys with any experience. I know one of them was Forrest Marble who played for Eastern.

They were very athletic and I’m sure they won’t have any problem developing into a strong program. Congrats to Adrian.

[oaklandlax]

number 6 needs a smaller jersey

[trojanlax22]

They're the football jerseys...

[Pinball]

Found on LaxPower. Other new D3 programs coming down the pike.....

Becker (Mass.) 2006
Mt. St. Joseph (Oh.) 2006
Fontbonne (Mo.) 2007
Christopher Newport (Va.) 2007

Although i know absolutley nothing about these clubs/schools why do none of these newly established NCAA programs have any established and thriving club teams??

[Sonny]

Although i know absolutley nothing about these clubs/schools why do none of these newly established NCAA programs have any established and thriving club teams??

Because most of the time, the schools in question are trying to attract new students to their student body for athletics. The existance or absence of a club team on campus does not factor into the equation for most schools when deciding to add a varsity sport.