With two high school-aged children who play lacrosse, you don’t need to sell Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott on the sport. We caught up with Scott on the eve of the conference’s inaugural women’s lacrosse season.

How has the growth of women’s lacrosse impacted the Pac-12’s decision to sponsor the sport?

I’m delighted with the support that women’s lacrosse has received from our schools. It’s reflective and will help the exciting development of the popularity of the sport out west. This will be the first year it’s an official Pac-12 sport with a championship. It’s a big commitment on the Pac-12 Network. It’s a very exciting time to add a new Pac-12 sport and to have six strong programs that are going to debut for us.

What has the support been like?

It’s not easy in this day and age with the financial pressures on our universities. All the focus on expenses, it’s not easy to add a sport. The fact that we’ve added lacrosse is in recognition of the growing popularity and interest our schools have in competing at the highest level. In our conference, we need at least six universities that will add the sport at a varsity level. In a quick period of time, we got there.

How much do alumni and prospective donors impact the decision if you’re going to add a sport like lacrosse?

There’s a lot of enthusiasm at a grassroots level. As I come across families and daughters as I meet people in the lacrosse community, I’m really pleased to see the awareness and excitement that we’re adding lacrosse.

How much were you involved in Utah adding its men’s program?

I got asked by the athletic director and alumni there and other leadership at the university to weigh in and have a point of view. It’s a university decision. I talked to a variety of people there more broadly about my views on lacrosse. I gave an optimistic perspective on the trajectory and the benefits. It’s more complicated and challenging on the men’s side because of Title IX and football. The combination of the law and with football having 85 scholarships, it means the school has more flexibility and it’s easier to add women’s sports. But the growth in youth lacrosse, the growing popularity, is impossible to ignore. Even though it may be more complicated, I think in more time we’ll have schools look seriously at adding men’s lacrosse.

What’s the interest level of other men’s teams being added?

There’s a lot of interest. The footprint of our six states has a lot of lacrosse. They are all markets where youth lacrosse is booming. As a result, people close to our universities, like alumni and donors and employees, are evangelists of the sport. It’s on people’s radars, but it comes with challenges.