LaxNJ71 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 10:17 pm
INlaxstar wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 9:36 pm
MolonLaxe wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 9:05 pm
INlaxstar wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 8:15 pm
610Lax wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 7:25 pm
This was told to ‘24 recruits last Sept by at least one of the head coaches at the initial 3 Big 12 schools.
Guessing they didn’t release this now without talks being pretty far down the road with at least 3 other schools to join the conference for lax.
Geographically, Denver would make a lot of sense. They are affiliate members of the PAC12 in women’s gymnastics so they have a relationship with the conference.
Do you think any current BIG XII schools are gonna add? Another school to consider is Lindenwood in St. Louis. They fit geographically as well, they're between Cincinnati and Boulder.
SDSU
UC DAVIS
LINDENWOOD
Lindenwood is part of the ASUN and I suspect they signed a multi-year deal. I also don’t know that their football program is at a level to compete in the Big 12. They can compete in the Sunbelt conference though.
I was talking about all of the teams as affiliate members for women's lacrosse. None of them would be very competitive in BIG 12 football
I’ll be interested to see if any other schools in the Big12 take the opportunity to jump in - UCF, Baylor, Houston, etc. Florida is obviously hot for lax right now so UCF seems like a possibility, and the time is right for Texas (how can they have zero D1 teams still).
Otherwise the likely candidates are others who are affiliate members - SDSU and UC Davis the obvious candidates who are conference-less with the demise of Pac12. Beyond that, Lindenwood, Florida, Vanderbilt, Denver, JMU, Liberty, Kennesaw are all affiliates (or will be soon).
We can talk affiliates, but much of the conversation needs to be around schools that are part of the Big 12 creating a women's lacrosse team.
The ASUN schools are: Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Lindenwood, Queens, Stetson.
I consider it highly unlikely Liberty moves as an affiliate to Big 12, given their men's team just moved to Conference USA in 2023. Liberty also has a good shot of winning the ASUN, potentially multiple years in a row, if Jacksonville falls off (due to the coaching change). Liberty may have a ton of money, but they aren't going to swap conferences and miss an opportunity to win the ASUN. I'd rule them out for now.
It's highly unlikely Vandy makes the move to Big 12, given their football team's current conference. (I think this gives more fuel to the SEC to start Women's Lacrosse to balance out the scholarship numbers).
Lindenwood is also completely unprepared to move their football team to the Big 12. Lindenwood is now ASUN and while they had a decent first year showing as a D1 (3-4 in conference, 8-10 overall), they have a ways to go to become a competitive powerhouse. The Big 12 wouldn't be knocking down their door to pull them in. No way. No how.
Kennesaw State can be lumped in with Lindenwood in terms of performance. They are starting to pull some better athletes, but they were 3-4 in conference and 5-13 overall. The Big 12 doesn't need them.
The same can be said for the Queens (4-3, 10-8 overall) as a new D1 program, and let's be real on Stetson. They are bottom of the barrel of the ASUN, so unless they think the Big 12 will be easier (hint: it won't), I don't see them bailing either.
I don't see Denver moving either--Big 12 is a downgrade.
Here are my most likely candidates to start a women's program (existing in the Big 12).
Utah (has a men's program)
Arizona
TCU
BYU
TT
Highly unlikely to add women's lacrosse (exiting in Big 12) in the near term
Kansas (no base in KS)
Kansas State (no base in KS)
Baylor (don't care about womens athletics)
Houston (they aren't trailblazers)
Iowa State (no base)
OK State (no base)
WVU (no money and a small overall athletic department)
I think once the first Texas P5 school falls (going from zero to one is the hardest part), you'll see the other universities adopting lacrosse. The Texas HS football coaches hate the idea that lacrosse could compete with them in any way, shape, or form for facilities, field usage, or any other lucrative money grab, such as Spring 7s, etc. But once it happens, you'll see lacrosse spread across the Texas landscape like a prairie fire. They already have some solid club teams in Texas, so it's eventually coming.