Is Lacrosse an "Aristocrat Sport?"

[wgdsr]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

[Farfromgeneva]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

Agreed for a prep school in general and at that size it's insane. And the funny thing is next year there's going to be plenty of tax loss writeoffs so donations are less useful as an economic tool. Just gilded stuff. I need to start a high end prep school in Georgia!

[mdk01]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

[Farfromgeneva]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

It's nearly double Hobarts endowment. Granted we've been awful at raising and managing money for 3+ decades (was near $200MM when I left school and is like $250MM or so now, value destrcution and a president with a statue type presence on campus despite being afraid to ask for money and we've got Abigail Johnson of $15B+ net worth fidelity fame as an alum...)

[wgdsr]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

don't believe it's an annual fundraiser, either. it's still a lot of $$?

but so when you say "that level is almost always"... is that level common? who else has raised half a billion in one pledge drive?

[Typical Lax Dad]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

don't believe it's an annual fundraiser, either. it's still a lot of $$?

but so when you say "that level is almost always"... is that level common? who else has raised half a billion in one pledge drive?

Tsai go to Lawrenceville?

[mdk01]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

don't believe it's an annual fundraiser, either. it's still a lot of $$?

but so when you say "that level is almost always"... is that level common? who else has raised half a billion in one pledge drive?

That's at the top, and would have been unheard of 20 years ago. Andover is far and away the leader with an endowment over $1 billion. The $475 mil more than doubled Lawrenceville's endowment. And you have a bunch of preps with $100-300 million. But the new campaigns for, say, the Top 50, often have 9 figure goals.

[mdk01]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

don't believe it's an annual fundraiser, either. it's still a lot of $$?

but so when you say "that level is almost always"... is that level common? who else has raised half a billion in one pledge drive?

Tsai go to Lawrenceville?

Yes

[Typical Lax Dad]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

don't believe it's an annual fundraiser, either. it's still a lot of $$?

but so when you say "that level is almost always"... is that level common? who else has raised half a billion in one pledge drive?

Tsai go to Lawrenceville?

Yes

Thanks.

[Matnum PI]

Tsai go to Lawrenceville?

yup. graduated in '83, i believe. May've been '82. played varsity lacrosse as a junior and got PT. Strangely was cut as a senior and then started up again at Yale. And, yes, not a coincidence that L'ville and Yale are experiencing a golden age post Ali Baba going public. That's how the game is played in america...

[Can Opener]

The #1 Boy's HS team in the nation, Lawrenceville, just completed their annual fundraiser and they raised $475 million from just over 7,000 donors...

Chump change compared to what last year's #1 HS boys program can raise specifically for sports with all that Under Armor money. They raised almost as much from 1/7000th the number of donors.

Hardly chump change.

Under Armour is large but let’s at least scale it: Sub $6Bn in rev and that’s with heavily stuffing their channels if you see retail inventory issues and a mkt cap where $475mm would represent 8-9% of that.

It’s more than I’ve got but when everyone goes “all
That under armour money” seems relevant to actually out some scale around it.

plank donated $16 million 8 years ago is all i could find.

$475 million in one pledge drive is absurd. for 1,000 enrollment? 90+% of their students are likely gonna be convinced they hit triples. watch out for that crew.

I don't think it's an annual fundraiser. That level for a prep is almost always a multi-year campaign where they get whales like Tsai to kick it off with some major pledges and the follow up over a period of 3-5 years to achieve the stated goal.

don't believe it's an annual fundraiser, either. it's still a lot of $$?

but so when you say "that level is almost always"... is that level common? who else has raised half a billion in one pledge drive?

That's at the top, and would have been unheard of 20 years ago. Andover is far and away the leader with an endowment over $1 billion. The $475 mil more than doubled Lawrenceville's endowment. And you have a bunch of preps with $100-300 million. But the new campaigns for, say, the Top 50, often have 9 figure goals.

Depending on annual market performance, Exeter's endowment is as large or larger than Andover's. As of June 2020, Exeter's endowment was $1.3 billion which is bigger than most colleges and universities. This level of capital, along with annual donations, enables Exeter and Andover to provide about 20% more value than comparable schools, both in terms of programming and tuition discounts. For example, tuition, room and board at Exeter next year will be $65,000 while at Lawrenceville it will be $76,000. Spending per student and physical plant at Exeter are also significantly greater, giving a family much more bang for the buck. Exeter and Andover are both need blind, a rarity among private secondary schools.
https://dev.exeter.edu/sites/default/fi ... 20-web.pdf

[bearlaxfan]

I don't know if it is, disregarding the actual fact there's no official aristocracy in the US.

One thing I find interesting as an argument it's not aristocratic is the emphasis put on lax schools as an inside track to Wall Street. (Am I overestimating this?). I think if the sport really is for the upper-uppers there wouldn't be such an emphasis on filthy lucre. It's unseemly, don'tcha know.

[Farfromgeneva]

I don't know if it is, disregarding the actual fact there's no official aristocracy in the US.

One thing I find interesting as an argument it's not aristocratic is the emphasis put on lax schools as an inside track to Wall Street. (Am I overestimating this?). I think if the sport really is for the upper-uppers there wouldn't be such an emphasis on filthy lucre. It's unseemly, don'tcha know.

It was more of a feeder when the sales/trading side was more robust especially before public equities were completely commoditized and central clearing in agency MBS and the decline in securitized products from the 2000s took out the FI sales/trading. Was historically less of a Corp finance feeder which is a different skill set. Lots of guys from 80s-90s and early 2000s got into that route. Less robust funnel today.

I was on a call w a group that included a post 2010 IL #1 recruit who had a pretty solid career at a school in the finals last may who is perhaps a little title inflated but a director at a smaller private credit shop. He doesn’t seem to like talking lacrosse much and get the sense he may be burned out on the sport in that little he did share at the beginning of a prior few calls

[3rdPersonPlural]

I don't know if it is, disregarding the actual fact there's no official aristocracy in the US.

One thing I find interesting as an argument it's not aristocratic is the emphasis put on lax schools as an inside track to Wall Street. (Am I overestimating this?). I think if the sport really is for the upper-uppers there wouldn't be such an emphasis on filthy lucre. It's unseemly, don'tcha know.

It was more of a feeder when the sales/trading side was more robust especially before public equities were completely commoditized and central clearing in agency MBS and the decline in securitized products from the 2000s took out the FI sales/trading. Was historically less of a Corp finance feeder which is a different skill set. Lots of guys from 80s-90s and early 2000s got into that route. Less robust funnel today.

I'm not sure if the Lacrosse channel to a lucrative Trading Desk gig fading is a good thing or a bad thing.

Here's what I know:

Context: I don't golf or enjoy sitting on a very big boat very much, and I'm divorced, and I love lacrosse, and I'm a pretty experienced ref, so my idea of a splendid weekend is a trip to a 2- or 3-day Offseason Lax Tournament and a half dozen or more games-a-day while I'm there. It's simultaneously exhausting and clarifying, I suppose.

Observations: We take rooms at the best hotel in town. Every morning we ride the elevator to the lobby and share breakfast space with kids-in-uniform and their attendant adults. We find our rental amongst their expensive S-Class and Escalade rides. When we get to the Park there are very few vehicles in the lot that don't declare loudly "Wealth".

Activities: I talk to 'rents between games. Most are doing what they can and spending what they need to get Junior into the best school they can. Ivies, ACC, NESCAC, Georgetown, Hop, Haverford....ya know. And most of the 'rents who recognize me are from the bobblehead fields. I'm old and slow....

Lacrosse matters there, so it matters for these attentive 'rents.

Conclusion: These 'rents aren't necessarily Aristocrats, but they appear to be generational wealth families with six figure personal incomes and they're taking their parenting responsibilities seriously. "If Junior loves to play lacrosse, let's see where that takes us..."

[OCanada]

If your conclusion is correct have lent support to the affirmative with the generational wealth observation if i understand it correctly

[jhu06]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... sions.html

lacrosse is not mentioned here nor in the supporting article on athletes and admissions. Interestingly pole vaulting and track and field are because some of the coaches are hard to find making certain parts of the sports more exclusive.

[3rdPersonPlural]

If your conclusion is correct have lent support to the affirmative with the generational wealth observation if i understand it correctly

You didn't

[OCanada]

Then perhaps “generational wealth” was not the best refetence given the large numbers of people who do not have access to it. Anyway thanks

[Typical Lax Dad]

Then perhaps “generational wealth” was not the best refetence given the large numbers of people who do not have access to it. Anyway thanks

Probably could have gotten by without “generational”..

[Farfromgeneva]

I don't know if it is, disregarding the actual fact there's no official aristocracy in the US.

One thing I find interesting as an argument it's not aristocratic is the emphasis put on lax schools as an inside track to Wall Street. (Am I overestimating this?). I think if the sport really is for the upper-uppers there wouldn't be such an emphasis on filthy lucre. It's unseemly, don'tcha know.

It was more of a feeder when the sales/trading side was more robust especially before public equities were completely commoditized and central clearing in agency MBS and the decline in securitized products from the 2000s took out the FI sales/trading. Was historically less of a Corp finance feeder which is a different skill set. Lots of guys from 80s-90s and early 2000s got into that route. Less robust funnel today.

I'm not sure if the Lacrosse channel to a lucrative Trading Desk gig fading is a good thing or a bad thing.

Here's what I know:

Context: I don't golf or enjoy sitting on a very big boat very much, and I'm divorced, and I love lacrosse, and I'm a pretty experienced ref, so my idea of a splendid weekend is a trip to a 2- or 3-day Offseason Lax Tournament and a half dozen or more games-a-day while I'm there. It's simultaneously exhausting and clarifying, I suppose.

Observations: We take rooms at the best hotel in town. Every morning we ride the elevator to the lobby and share breakfast space with kids-in-uniform and their attendant adults. We find our rental amongst their expensive S-Class and Escalade rides. When we get to the Park there are very few vehicles in the lot that don't declare loudly "Wealth".

Activities: I talk to 'rents between games. Most are doing what they can and spending what they need to get Junior into the best school they can. Ivies, ACC, NESCAC, Georgetown, Hop, Haverford....ya know. And most of the 'rents who recognize me are from the bobblehead fields. I'm old and slow....

Lacrosse matters there, so it matters for these attentive 'rents.

Conclusion: These 'rents aren't necessarily Aristocrats, but they appear to be generational wealth families with six figure personal incomes and they're taking their parenting responsibilities seriously. "If Junior loves to play lacrosse, let's see where that takes us..."

They were lucrative, not as much these days. Debt is all on Trace now and the money center/global banks have all retreated since the financial crisis. Equities, even the long/short fund route which is much harder to get to without being exceptional is a tough gig. Private credit is the new play now but those gig require more both analytical and metaphysical qualities than a typical MBS/ABS sales guy in 2003 or 1995. Lot of kids get great sheepskins from lacrosse but not all degrees and underlyng recipients are equal if you catch my drift. If it's sell bonds on a golf course, shooting range, etc with a client or be a D3/D1 assistant coach and camp/clinic hustler to make $50 - $100k for a decade is the alternative it's a good thing.

I come from a upstate NY background on this though. If you come from Baldwinsville or Corning East type places and can get a great degree, that's cool but then use it to improve your lot.