Over the next nine days, we will be looking at the top nine stories of the year in lacrosse, based off of our most read and covered stories. Today is #5 with a look at the new NCAA programs in 2013.
College lacrosse is growing at a torrid pace at all levels with several new programs beginning play in 2013 and several more being announced for 2014. 2013 saw new teams emerge with High Point and Marquette beginning play. Marquette went 5-8 last season while High Point went 3-12. Both are non-traditional lacrosse markets with North Carolina and Wisconsin.
In 2014 High Point will play top teams like Duke and North Carolina while Marquette will face off with Ohio State, Duke, Notre Dame and Denver.
2014 will see some new programs as well at high levels. Boston University, Richmond, Furman and Monmouth will begin play this season. Boston University, a strong division one team in hockey and basketball, has been playing MCLA the past few years. Richmond will be in Virginia, a typically strong lacrosse region.
Richmond will kick off their season with two strong opponents in Hartford and Virginia. They will play in the newly formed Atlantic Sun conference with High Point and some other south eastern teams.
Furman is in South Carolina and will also be a part of the Atlantic Sun conference. Currently there are no division one lacrosse teams in South Carolina. They will play Duke and North Carolina this season.
Monmouth joins as a team from New Jersey and they will play in the MAAC conference. They don’t have a very strong schedule their first season, but they will play a potential rival in Rutgers as an in-state team.
Lacrosse is growing rapidly with so many new teams joining this past year and into the next. Beyond 2014, more is to come.
