has provided a boost on the recruiting trail.
“The number of recruits has not changed, but rather the level of recruit that we have access to,” Michigan men’s coach John Paul said. “We find ourselves now competing head-to-head with ACC programs for recruits when a couple years ago we weren’t.”
When Michigan joined the Division I men’s ranks in 2012, it added a lacrosse twist to the most celebrated and venomous rivalry in college sports: Michigan- Ohio State. The Buckeyes have won all three games in the series, including a 15-6 victory last April in the Showdown in the Shoe, vying for the Creator’s Trophy, an unofficial bragging right between Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State. “We wanted something that would bring the three schools together because we were in different conferences at the time,” Myers said. Now it’s official. “We’re going to continue to have it exist,” Myers said of the Creator’s Trophy, “between the pioneers for Big Ten lacrosse.” LM
NORTHWESTERN AND MARYLAND (ZOE STUKENBERG) NOW ARE BIG TEN FOES, WHILE PENN STATE’S MEN WILL CONTINUE TO VIE FOR THE CREATOR’S TROPHY AGAINST MICHIGAN AND OHIO STATE.
BIG TEN EFFECTS
How has the Big Ten changed the landscape of lacrosse?
2. MORE TV EXPOSURE
The Big Ten Network, which now reaches 60 million homes, will showcase women’s lacrosse Thursday and men’s lacrosse Sunday. MLL and NHL broadcasting veteran Joe Beninati will do play-by-play.
1. DEATH KNELL FOR LACROSSE-ONLY CONFERENCES
Say goodbye to the ALC and ECAC. With teams venturing their separate ways, including Florida women jumping from the ALC to the Big East and Bellarmine men from the ECAC to the Atlantic Sun, the Big Ten has welcomed many former ALC and ECAC members.
3. NORTHWESTERN- MARYLAND EVERY YEAR
They have combined to win nine of the last 10 NCAA women’s titles and have had some epic postseason showdowns, but the teams last met during the regular season in 2007.
5. APPEAL FOR OTHER BIG TEN INSTITUTIONS TO ADD LACROSSE
Could Michigan State reinstate lacrosse? Is
Minnesota seeing the explosive growth of the sport in its state? Does Northwestern want a men’s team?
8. BOOST SPORT’S PROFILE IN MIDWEST
“For a young boy growing up in Ohio, he’ll get to see an Ohio State team take on a Maryland, a Hopkins, a Penn State, and grow up knowing nothing else but the Big Ten conference for lacrosse,” Ohio State coach Nick Myers said.
laxmagazine.com
6. APPEAL FOR OTHER POWER FIVE CONFERENCES TO ADD LAX
Pac-12 women’s lacrosse seems like a logical next step, considering five Pac-12 affiliates (Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford and USC) currently compete in the MPSF.
9. BOOST FOR WOMEN’S LACROSSE ON TV
The Big Ten Network showed its commitment to women’s lacrosse even before the conference had it, rescuing fans from web streaming purgatory by broadcasting the 2011 NCAA final and regularly airing Northwestern games.
4. MORE HEAT FOR HOPKINS-MARYLAND
The longest-running rivalry in Division I men’s lacrosse now comes with conference implications.
7. BIG TEN VS. ACC
With Maryland fresh out of the ACC, an annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge would be spicy. The former ALC-ACC Challenge, which used to pit the Penn State and Ohio State women against the ACC’s elite, ended in 2009.
10. BIG TEN AS TRENDSETTER
With the power conferences making the headlines, the Big Ten could influence trends in the sport, from the officiating model in terms of assigning referees to aligning athletic departments.
october 2014 » LACROSSE MAGAZINE 41
©ANNE RYAN
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