I don’t know if all the big programs will be fine. Let’s face reality. Colleges are losing millions of dollars over this crisis. Lacrosse brings absolutely no revenue to a college. Networks don’t have bidding wars to televise a lax game. Maybe 2000 people attend the actual games, some of these stadiums seat 80 to 100,000 people. Some places don’t even charge for tickets. I hope this doesn’t happen, but colleges are businesses. People who need to cut costs running a business, non revenue parts of the business are the first to go.
while I hear you re revenue, I would love to see donations broken down by sport at the school by their alumni base. I am willing to wager that by in large lax programs are heavy donors and they have 40-50 players per team. I have always said this and thought this was a good impetus to grow the sport. Unfortunately I have never seen any study.
12.6 scholarships for a team so the majority pay full (yes I know about academic scholarships and financial aid) but in general lax players pay for their way to go to college and then if they donate in a large amount its fresh money for the school.
What's occurring at this moment is the reason why there isn't any substantial force at the collegiate level to grow the sport. Big money donors will always support revenue sports, where TV, merchandise rights, etc all come into play. NBA, NFL have their eyes on Duke basketball, LSU football, can care less about lax. Give Paul Rabil a few years to age. No longer will he be able to run around in his skinny jeans, and tight tee shirts, he will be come a thing of the past very quickly. Further, Lax will never become more than what it is now, period.
This attitude is silly. I cant imagine most parents or kids and especially colleges have even a scintilla of thought that lax is LSU football or Duke basketball. However, college is just not about football and basketball. If that was the case we wouldn't have baseball, crew. cross country, fencing, golf, hockey, soccer, water polo, field hockey, gymnastics, softball, swimming, wrestling, tennis, track & field, tennis etc. Most everyone does not think lax needs to be bigger or better however why begrudge those (Paul Rabil) who try. There is a place for it just like all of these other sports. Higher learning encompasses all aspects of education and that includes theater, band, choir, AND SPORTS etc . . Getting back to the sports I just mentioned, some may make money for their schools like Penn state wrestling or Utah gymnastics but for the most part they don't. Some of them have professional status to make millions - baseball, tennis, hockey golf, soccer, etc . . and others are just olympic based for the most part - swimming, track and field (yes, some can make millions, Phelps and Bolt and others). All in all I hope colleges embrace the smaller sports and I hope the Paul Rabil's of the world try to grow the game just like Phelps did with swimming. Believe it or not there is a world wide professional league for swimming. Are millions made no but people perform their craft bc they love it.
