re: 2021 NCAA MLAX Championship Tourney: UVA 17 vs. MD 16. UVA = Champs (2 in a row)

Notre Dame vs Maryland might be the best one yet

The MD goal to make it 12-12 was perfect.

That Maryland-Notre Dame game might have been the best game I watched since the 2010 Duke-UVA semifinal.

Almost had an All ACC Final 4, which isn’t surprising considering how good the whole conference has been this year.

Today’s loss is the first out of conference loss for an ACC team besides Syracuse all year.

I truly have no clue what will happen but if I had to guess, I would go with a Duke-UNC rubber match.

They won’t ever have a men’s lacrosse program due to title 9.

Utah, Michigan, Ohio State are all great examples of what you could do with more resources. They all were MCLA squads when I was in college and now they're D1. Same with Denver. Total debunking that you have to be an East Coast school.

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Utah had a Booster stroke a check for $15M.

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Heck, the OT could have that by the time lunch ends on Tuesday. Let's make it happen.

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While the sport is getting wider access, the top prospects are still disproportionately from Long Island, the suburbs of Philly and Boston, and the area from Baltimore to Richmond, VA.

Factor in that excluding some Iroquois players, there are less than 10 guys in the world who make a real living from playing professional lacrosse.

That way, it’s almost the exact opposite of college football recruiting. The talent is far away and no one is making their college decision based on pro prospects.

The Big 10 is a much more logical choice to encroach on the traditional powers or the new school powers, and they still haven’t gotten a ton of traction yet.

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I agree wuthering you to a point because there is a lot to unpack here.

Re: prospects origination

On a conservative year, Long Island (which for those that don't know Long Island NY is to lacrosse as HS fball is to TX) produces approximately 165 D1 prospects to D1 rosters. Well, in each of the last 3 years the cities/areas of DFW, Austin, & Houston have produced at least 25 D1 Rosters prospects. CO sent another 12+ & CA is sending g damn near 20+. Which is really impressive to get kids to leave CA for the entire cross country trip. Oregon & Washington are even producing D1. FL & GA have also seen an absolute explosion in HS participation & thus their D1 talent emerge..
I say all that to say this: if SEC schools open the doors to lacrosse = top prospects will flow in. Both regionally & from the hot beds. They've stayed in the NE for the last 100 years because they had nowhere else to go to play. But the country is opening up. The Athletics Wars are a huge recruiting tool.

Re: Making a living off of pro lacrosse

Those in the lacrosse world know the pro realities. That said, the PLL has opened a world of players ALL earning approx. $35k/season. When you tackle on their earnings from camps/clinics using their name & any college, HS, or travel club coaching &/or teaching they're doing & you get a whole host of dudes bringing in an easy $100,000. They don't have an office/9-5.
Now you consider the Ivy league & top financial colleges dudes from Duke/UVA/Georgetown/etc they're working those jobs & traveling 3 day weekends in season making a fine life for themselves. Lacrosse is decades away from guys making millions but this new generation is cool with a $100 Gs or more out of college/in their 20s.

The Big 10 has their conference & those schools are already reaping rewards. Ohio State, Rutgers, & Maryland have had a team for decades, now Michigan & Penn St are for the last decade or so & THRIVING with 40+ dudes on their Rosters & plenty more walk on there just to be a part of it all. The sport needs the SEC to jump in for the ACC & Big 10 to complete their natural conference schools to have to add on to keep whatever hold on the sport they can for the region. Because we all know when those kids get to enjoy SEC football life & then the best Spring weather of their young lives = it's all National Championship runs thru SEC like football & baseball.

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no one is making their college decision based on pro prospects.

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This
I feel like these kids end up working on Wall Street
And most of these kids go to schools that Wall Street also recruits from

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Well, ya. You think they're going to waste their elite degrees they had to pay for while having a full time D1 job. Way more upside in the white collar career path.

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I don’t think the Belmont Hill or Saint Paul’s kids care about that

Guys will play as long as they can.

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if & when the SEC ever goes all in on lacrosse (either but hopefully both men's & womens) the blue chip lacrosse programs are DONE.

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LOL no.

Are there SEC programs that could be competitive? Sure, but the ACC schools, Maryland, Ivies, etc aren’t going anywhere.

ETA: While the sport is growing, its popularity in the south is unlikely to ever reach what it is currently in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. It’s highly unlikely that Georgia, Florida, etc. can convince enough kids from Maryland, New York, PA, VA etc. to bypass UVA, UNC, Duke, Syracuse, etc on a consistent enough basis to pass those programs competitively with any regularity.