Lacrosse Growing in the NAIA

Over the past three to four years one sport has begun to explode across the NAIA landscape.  No its not bowling, which was recently approved as an emerging sport, nor is it wrestling which has seen its popularity in the NCAA dwindle, it is the dominately east coast sport of lacrosse. 

The popularity of the sport has grown in the recent decade, according to Jim MacKenzie, the integrated marketing manager at New Balance Team Sports, lacrosse is “the growth sport for team sports in North America.  The speed and strategies of the game and how the game is played matches up great with the other sports American kids are playing,” he said. “Lacrosse has elements of football and ice hockey as well as the constant movement of soccer. It’s natural in the spring for kids to move over to lacrosse.”  See statistics on Lacrosse’s popularity growth in Sports Business Daily.

With the majority of NAIA members being enrollment driven institutions, lacrosse appears to be a perfect fit for many.  It requires a large numbers of participants and low cost of start up.  Even land strapped-campuses can add lacrosse with the availability of cheaper more advanced athletic turf, the soccer field can now do double or triple duty.

So what does this mean for the NAIA, its members and the future.  Currently lacrosse at the NAIA level is not sanctioned by the NAIA, and all teams compete either independent or as part of a club league.  Yet the numbers have continued to grow, dispite some NAIA members moving their lacrosse teams and athletic programs to the NCAA.  Currently, there are more than 29 men’s varsity or club teams among NAIA members (with a few less on the women’s side).  The NAIA requires 25 members to sponsor a sport at a varsity level to consider recognition as an “emerging sport”.  Lacrosse seems to be on its way.

Currently lacrosse has not been recognized by any NAIA conference, but with Marygroves recent addition of the sport an their pending association with the WHAC, that conference will have 6 or its soon to be 12 members sponsoring the sport at a varsity level, one at the club level and another considering adding it in the near future.  I recently asked WHAC Commissioner Rob Miller about his conferences plans for the future of lacrosse.  He said the “WHAC Executive Committee will begin to look at proposals to add men’s and women’s lacrosse and bowling in January to see if we can add a conference championship in 2012-2013.  Still some hurdles, but getting close.”  When asked about the NAIA adding the sport, Miller commented that he believed they were still a little short of the magic number of 25,  and one issue is that “some (current members) have clubs but if they say it is varsity they could lose their current status” in their current league.  So many are reluctant to change status, and risk losing regular season matches from their schedule.  But he was confident emerging sport status was “coming soon”.

In my opinion, the NAIA should look to add a few more niche sports that are underserved to attract new members and retain current member.  By providing niche sports a home for national competition within the association even if it is only at limited participation level (rather than a fully funded championship level), it give a member institution an edge.  And lacrosse would be a great place to start,  for one lacrosse is referred to as ”Canada’s summer game”, thus as I laid out in a previous post, it helps to attract members from the great white north, it also is very popular in the Northeast and the lack of national competition in the NAIA has undoubtedly cost the association members in that region. 

Other sports the NAIA should add: ice hockey and cycling.  But those discussion will come later.