The sport of lacrosse has, for the most part, dodged the axe when it comes to college teams being dropped during the economic downtown of the last two years. Unfortunately, sports such as Wrestling, Swimming, and Track have taken the brunt of the sports cuts. (For a good reference on athletic department cuts check out Ultimate Sports Insider).
Moravian College however, was unable to avoid the axe. Located in the wrestling crazy region of Lehigh Valley, PA and having little success in the programs 6 year history the university ultimately decided to drop it due to budget reasons. At Phillylacrosse.com you can read how the students have reacted to their program being cut.
Movarian College Eliminating Men's and Women's Lacrosse
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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US Lacrosse Releases 2009 Participation Survey
Thursday, February 25, 2010
US Lacrosse recently released it's 2009 National Lacrosse Participation Survey. Nationally, participation was up 8.4% to 568,021. If growth continues at this rate in the next decade we will see 1 million lacrosse players playing organized lacrosse.
Other highlights include a 12.1% increase in youth participation with more than 30,000 players under the age of 15 having begun to play the sport in 2009. High school participation also increased in 2009 topping off at 227,624 participants nationwide, a 4% increase. College play also grew steadily at a rate of 6%. The only net participation loss was in the professional ranks due to the MLL downsizing last summer.
2010 Thus Far
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
As we kick things off at The Growth Blog we figured we would take a look at what 2010 has offered thus far when it comes to the growth of the sport.
The Big East and new men's program Jacksonville University are two new additions to the Division I world. Speaking of new programs, we will maintain a directory of new NCAA varsity programs as athletic departments add the sport.
Georgetown and St. John's played the first conference game in Big East Men's Lacrosse history, a 9-6 victory for the Hoyas. The Big East has also released a Men's Lacrosse Media Guide and began posting their weekly awards. The conference has television covered too with a Television Schedule Press Release which is essentially a portion of the ESPNU master schedule. Altogether ESPNU and the ESPN family of networks will be broadcasting 57 games. Laxpower lists over 90 games broadcast when you include CBS College Sports and several other networks.
In industry news lacrosse manufacturer Talon, know for it's durable wooden shafts, has been purchased by Easton-Bell, a leader in the sport manufacturing world. Easton is probably best known for it's Baseball/Softball and Hockey products. The company also owns Ridell which is a force in the football market, and makes the Revolution Series lacrosse helmets. You can find an interview with one of the founders of Talon at the LaxBuzz blog.