Windy City Wishes: Lulu Hardy Always Wanted U of Chicago

Lulu Hardy went on many family vacations from Long Island to Chicago. That was her grandmother’s hometown, and her grandparents had a house on the South Side of Chicago where they would split time between the two locales.

Hardy’s mother would have her and her brother write in a journal on trips so they would remember what they did while on vacation.

Recently, Hardy’s mother found one of the journals in the basement of their family home. Inside was an entry Hardy wrote in third grade.

“If the University of Chicago had a women’s lacrosse team, I would love to play lacrosse there,” the journal read.

At the time, it was wishful thinking. The school didn’t have a women’s lacrosse team. Wishes became reality during Hardy’s recruitment, though, as the university debuted women’s lacrosse for the 2019 season. Hardy began her career with the Maroons just two years later.

Over four seasons, Hardy has broken records and helped the program win four consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships. Hardy returns for a fifth and final season of eligibility in 2025.

“I’m really lucky,” Hardy said. “If you had told me when I was a freshman coming in or a senior finishing my application to get here in the recruiting process, that my career would look the way it looked, I would have never ever believed you. I think my goal is just to have the most fun I can this season. When I’m having fun, I play better.”

Hardy was a four-year lacrosse player at St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), and she called the journey to the University of Chicago a random one. She remembered going into her freshmen year being one of the only few girls on her club lacrosse team, the Long Island Yellow Jackets, that hadn’t made a college commitment before rules curbing early commitments forced players to wait until September 1 of their junior year.

As a ninth grader, she thought it would be fun to commit to a Division I program, but in those two years, she realized she wanted to go to a Division III school with strong academic reputations and good lacrosse. She went to one showcase event. It was there that former Chicago assistant coach Randy Vite saw her play.

Vite spoke with head coach Kate Robinson. Hardy was a player they needed to get.

“We’re like, ‘Whoa! This player can really put the ball in the back of the net,’” Robinson said.

In addition to her childhood memories, Hardy liked the idea that the program was new. She believed it gave her an opportunity to make an immediate impact, and she was excited about the prospect of building the Maroons’ legacy.

Although she played low defense in high school and at the club level, Hardy was recruited as a midfielder that Robinson moved to attack after her first fall. The move paid off.

As a freshman, she played in 12 of the team’s 13 games, eventually working her way into the starting rotation in five of the final six. She finished with 34 goals and was held without a goal in only one game. There was only one other contest in which she didn’t score multiple times. She earned the CCIW Newcomer of the Year and a first-team All-CCIW selection.

That was a sign of things to come.

In the past four years, Hardy has set program records for goals in a season (69 in 2023) and a career (228 and counting) as well as obliterating the career points record (282 and counting). The Maroons have gone 58-12 during Hardy’s tenure with four consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, reaching the quarterfinals in Hardy’s freshman season.

Robinson lauded Hardy for her coachability and consistency. She called her a “rock star” and believes she will leave a long-lasting legacy at Chicago.

“I’m excited for 10 years to go by, or 15, whatever it is, to nominate her for the U of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame and her be the first-ever lacrosse hall of famer in the legacy of this department,” Robinson said. “She was so impactful for us as a new program. I couldn’t thank her enough for the work she’s put in and the hours and effort.”

Hardy still has one more season to add a few more lines to that eventual plaque.

She thought about what to do with her final season of eligibility since the end of the 2023 season and didn’t tell anybody about her decision until a few days prior to Senior Day the following year. That included her parents, who found out while walking her onto the field at that day’s festivities.

“My mom was like, ‘What? Did I hear that correctly?’” Hardy said. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I thought I mentioned that.’”

While she might not have done the best job communicating her intentions, she knew if she was going to play another year of lacrosse, it wouldn’t be anywhere but Chicago.

“Life is long, and, unfortunately, lacrosse is short for me, coming to an end,” she said. “So weighing that, something I love doing with people I love doing it with, it was kind of a relatively easy decision to make.”

It wasn’t just playing lacrosse that made her want to stay. It was everything about the city of Chicago. She called The Art Institute of Chicago the best museum she’s ever seen. She frequents Portillo’s and goes to The Billy Goat Tavern whenever her dad comes to visit. Her favorite food is in Chinatown, and she appreciates a good deep-dish pizza, although she said she would always choose a New York style slice if she was forced to choose between the two.

Her younger sister chose to attend the University of Chicago, too, so getting to spend a year with her was enticing.

The school is also located on the shore of Lake Michigan. Being on the lake reminds Hardy of her home in Setauket, N.Y., and also provides scenic views while on a run.

A two-year member of her high school cross country team, running is another passion of Hardy’s. She has gone for a run every single day for two-and-a-half years.

During lacrosse season, she doesn’t count practices as her daily run, so she still laces up her sneakers and goes out into the city. In October 2023, she ran the Chicago Marathon for the first time. In the fall of 2024, she ran the Chicago Marathon again, beating her previous time by 10 minutes. She ran the New York City Marathon, too.

“In the best ways, [running] hones your character,” she said. “It’s, obviously, a great source of discipline. It’s working hard. The thing I like about running, at the end of the day, is you can’t fake it. You have to run. You have to get out there and run to get better at it. There’s no cheat code. There’s no getting around it. It’s a testament to your hard work and how much you’re willing to put into it, which I think is a great thing.”

Putting in the work is not something Hardy has ever shied away from. During Hardy’s freshman year, Robinson said her future superstar was a good catch-and-shoot finisher on the inside but wanted to be able to handle the ball more and improve as a one-on-one dodger. The following year, she told Robinson she wanted to have a greater impact on the ride.

She said it’s been a fulfilling experience coaching someone so self-motivated.

“She worked her [butt] off,” Robinson said. “She just wants to be the best version of herself on and off the field.”

Hardy and her teammates will need that motivation this year. The Maroons have been unable to get over the hump in the NCAA tournament, losing in the second round each of the past two seasons. They will also have a more difficult path to the NCAA tournament this year, as they no longer play in a conference.

Hardy is competitive and will do her best but said she “wants for nothing.” She is feeling less pressure coming into the season than ever before. She just wants to extend her career as long as possible.

“If we made it all the way to the championship game, that would be phenomenal. I’d be over the moon, but as far as we can make it, that’s always my goal,” she said. “Selfishly, I love to play lacrosse, and the longer I can play it, the better. The more the season goes on works for me.”