Spring Break
UMass and Penn State to join Drexel lacrosse in CAA
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 7/11/08 Section: Sports
Just as Drexel was beginning to dominate the conference, lacrosse competition will only get stronger.
UMass and Penn State will be joining the Colonial Athletic Association's men's lacrosse conference in 2010.
My initial reaction, like many others, was to jump to the conclusion that their additions would be purely beneficial to the CAA.
Adding these two storied programs that currently compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) to a conference that just two years ago had a representative (Delaware) in the Final Four and has compiled numerous high-profile victories in the past few seasons-most notably Drexel's shocking 11-10 triumph over No. 1 Virginia that same year-gave me no reason to believe any differently.
Even Dragons' head coach Chris Bates confirmed my original suspicion.
"It definitely strengthens our conference bringing in two teams that from a national standpoint are top-flight teams," Bates told me.
I mean all the proof was right there for me to read.
The Minutemen have appeared in 17 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships and recently made history in 2006 when they became the first team ever to reach the National Championship game by knocking off the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the tournament before eventually to losing to the top-seed and undefeated Cavaliers.
Penn State, like UMass, has enjoyed success at a national level. The Nittany Lions made the 2003 and 2005 NCAA Championships and have compiled over 200 wins during the 31-year career of head coach Glenn Thiel.
Obviously it was clear that come 2010, with these two programs in the fold, the conference's profile is going to rise.
And due to the enhanced profile, the CAA's champion will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships. The odds of the conference getting an at-large bid in the future also would increase.
"[But] it makes my job harder," Bates said.
Immediately I began to raise another question: How would it affect recruiting?
UMass and Penn State will be joining the Colonial Athletic Association's men's lacrosse conference in 2010.
My initial reaction, like many others, was to jump to the conclusion that their additions would be purely beneficial to the CAA.
Adding these two storied programs that currently compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) to a conference that just two years ago had a representative (Delaware) in the Final Four and has compiled numerous high-profile victories in the past few seasons-most notably Drexel's shocking 11-10 triumph over No. 1 Virginia that same year-gave me no reason to believe any differently.
Even Dragons' head coach Chris Bates confirmed my original suspicion.
"It definitely strengthens our conference bringing in two teams that from a national standpoint are top-flight teams," Bates told me.
I mean all the proof was right there for me to read.
The Minutemen have appeared in 17 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships and recently made history in 2006 when they became the first team ever to reach the National Championship game by knocking off the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the tournament before eventually to losing to the top-seed and undefeated Cavaliers.
Penn State, like UMass, has enjoyed success at a national level. The Nittany Lions made the 2003 and 2005 NCAA Championships and have compiled over 200 wins during the 31-year career of head coach Glenn Thiel.
Obviously it was clear that come 2010, with these two programs in the fold, the conference's profile is going to rise.
And due to the enhanced profile, the CAA's champion will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships. The odds of the conference getting an at-large bid in the future also would increase.
"[But] it makes my job harder," Bates said.
Immediately I began to raise another question: How would it affect recruiting?
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Ben
posted 7/14/08 @ 7:18 PM EST
Drexel needs to build a new field for the LAX team closer to campus. Its a pain to watch a game off campus. PSU will get all our recruits until we build a field near campus with a skyline view of Philadelphia. (Continued…)
Salvia Divinorum
posted 7/29/08 @ 5:13 PM EST
Hey Drexel Lacrosse is one of the best teams on the east coast, I wouldnt even want to mess with them, but in the end the PSU guys will end up with the better team taking all our recruits. (Continued…)
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