Michigan and Northwestern are the 2 top academic schools in the Big10. The Big 10 as a conference as a whole is only behind the Ivies. Amazing big schools flush with cash!
Rutgers is a clear top 10 program going forward for a long time.
Rutgers has been doing well but "clear Top 10 program" going forward might be a bit of a stretch. There are some really great schools that have had women's lacrosse for some time and they have really never been able to be competitive on a consistent basis. Although Hopkins is only in the Big 10 for Lacrosse it's another great academic school affiliated with The B1G... Add USC to the mix as well. Could ND & possibly Stanford Join The Big 10 in the future?
Until there are more kids playing the sport it is unlikely that we will see much of a change in the traditional Top 10-20, there is simply not enough talent out there.
LMAO. Writes that as IL ranks Rutgers 8th in early rankings
Good for Rutgers, they have been pretty good the past couple of years. That said, to assume that they will be a Top 10 program for a long time to come just might be a stretch. Anything is possible but that "Perennial Top 10" has been a very difficult group to break into. Ask Notre Dame how all of those "Preseason" rankings compare to the reality of the the "Final" rankings.
