IDP NUT

While I agree with your sentiment entirely, I just wanted to put in my quick two cents here.

I was a 4 year starter in college and played against some of the teams you've listed here, but you've definitely pulled a wide range of programss from different, divisions, conferences, and even leagues.

Hopkins, Princeton, and Duke are members of the real elite class of NCAA DI schools that compete for the NCAA championship year-in and year-out.  Denver and Notre Dame, although still NCAA DI, don't compete on that level.  They occasionally break into the top 25 and even make it to the post-season on occasion, but neither has ever been in the running for a national title.  I love Denver because I'm from there and a lot of my high school teammates played for them, but they have yet to establish themselves.  Lacrosse is exploding in Colorado though, with the Mammoth and the Outlaws becoming a staple of the professional sports diet in Denver.  You should expect big things out of Colorado lacrosse in the next decade.

Michigan and Cal, however, are in an entirely different league entirely.  They are a part of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), which is a functional alternative for every major lacrosse program that cannot get NCAA sanctioning because of Title IX and various financing issues.  These are teams that I played every year.  Cal was in our conference and Michigan was one of our rivals.  Cal used to be a powerhouse at our level in the early and mid-90s, but they are not the team they used to be.  They've struggled for a lot of years, but I'm hopeful they will someday restore their program to what it used to be.  Michigan, on the other hand, is a powerful and dangerous team.  They have a larger endowment, better facilities, and more talented players than most every other NCAA DI program outside of the top 25.  They are truly a program that is held back for purely political reasons, money isn't even an issue for them.

It's truly disappointing that something as well intentioned as Title IX was when it was created (almost 30 years ago) has come to stand as such an unfair impetus to the growth of new sports like lacrosse.  Until schools can find a way to battle back against the iron-clad provisions of Title IX, lacrosse's intense growth will not be shared at the NCAA level.  It's disappointing, frustrating, and disheartening.  Lacrosse is undeniably the fastest growing sport in the country.  It is exploding at the youth, high school, and professional levels and growing at a rate that no other sport has been able to match in the last 50 years.  Yet, the college game is constantly held back because of an antiquated solution to a much improved problem.  I think there are more effective ways to attempt to battle gender disparities in collegiate athletics, and all Title IX does now is unnecessarily hurt men's programs and hold back the growth of any new sports.

Anyways, sorry for the mostly unrelated rant, but I'm really glad to see that someone else on here has a strong interest in lacrosse.  I love these discussion boards, and I'd be overjoyed if CBS ever decided to bring the oldest game in North America into the mix.  We've got history, traditions, intense competition, speed and excitement, and an intensely loyal fan base.  Whether CBS clues in or not, lacrosse is THE next big sport.

Fresno St has added womens Lacrosse and many high schools in the central valley of California are also adding this exciting sport.This is no longer an east coast sport and it will surely rival soccer and other less covered sports in fan appeal.