I have been seeing some banter back and forth regarding DI, DII, and DIII. There is a school for everyone. Its whatever fits the student and their family. The fact that Long Island has so many kids playing at the next level is amazing. We should be proud of all our players regardless of what ones opinion is of the school. To be a collegiate athlete is a great accomplishment. Not many players get to play at the next level.

The NCAA allows each Division I lacrosse program 12.6 scholarships.That scholarship money is split up among as many as 40 players and in some cases upwards of 50. In Division II, there are 10.8 scholarships and the same division of funds applies to DII as D1. Not all teams are fully funded so they do not have as many scholarships as fully funded teams. Division III does not offer scholarships. NJCAA offers 20 scholarships. All schools offer academic money and financial aid. The amount of money you receive is based on your grades and financial situation.There are approximately 609 sponsored men's college lacrosse programs across the NCAA in Divisions I, II, III, NJCAA, and collegiate club.

Number of US High School Lacrosse Players 2016-17 111,842
Number of College Lacrosse Players across all programs 15,257
% of US High School Lacrosse Players competing at any College Level 13.2%
% of US High School Lacrosse Players Competing at NCAA I Schools 2.7%

Here is a breakdown of the top 50 academic schools as per Forbes and the division their lacrosse team plays in. The level of play varies from school to school and division. The point I am making here is there is a place for everyone. There are 17 DI and 12 DIII teams on this list. Playing DII is also an accomplishment. They may not be on the list of top academic schools but they have some strong programs.

#1 Harvard University D1
#3 Yale University D1
#4 Princeton University D1
#5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology D3
#7 University of Pennsylvania D1
#8 Duke University D1
#9 Brown University D1
#12 Dartmouth College D1
#13 Williams College D3
#15 Cornell University D1
#17 Amherst College D3
#19 Swarthmore College D3
#20 United States Naval Academy D1
#21 Georgetown University D1
#23 Bowdoin College D3
#24 United States Military Academy D1
#25 Haverford College D3
#26 University of Notre Dame D1
#30 Johns Hopkins University D1
#31 Washington and Lee University D3
#32 Tufts University D3
#33 Wesleyan University D3
#35 Bates College D3
#38 University of Michigan D1
#39 Middlebury College D3
#40 University of Virginia D1
#41 United States Air Force Academy D1
#42 Colgate University D1
#50 Vassar College D3