Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Fresno State has dropped its women’s lacrosse program.
Citing financial concerns amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, Fresno State president Dr. Joseph I. Castro eliminated women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and wrestling at the end of the academic year. Castro said the athletic department will save roughly $2.5 million.
The Bulldogs’ women’s lacrosse program was added in 2009 and finished above .500 once in 12 seasons, amassing a record of 44-128. Westward expansion has been one of more consistent pushes in the sport of lacrosse, but with still so few women’s programs out West, travel costs are increasingly expensive.
Fresno State had played in the Pac-12 until 2018 as an affiliate member and spent the past two seasons in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, which dropped women’s lacrosse after 2020 season.
The ongoing financial difficulties presented by the pandemic leave programs like San Diego State and UC Davis — the MPSF’s two other former members — with major questions regarding scheduling. Operating under the assumption that there will be some sort of 2021 season, travel restrictions and costs will be major hurdles to overcome.
According to a story by Robert Kuwada in The Fresno Bee, Fresno State spends $1,086,505 on women’s lacrosse. Fresno State explored an endowment that would have funded all three eliminated sports, but the endowment would have totaled about $40 million.
2. What are the five best men’s lacrosse games of all time?
Paul Carcaterra, ESPN lacrosse analyst and host of the US Lacrosse Magazine podcast “Overtime,” is next up in our “5-and-5” series to discuss just that.
Carcaterra has witnessed some of the more memorable lacrosse moments in recent memory as a fan, player and analyst, so who better to break it down?
Check out our latest “5-and-5” here.
How do you boil five decades of NCAA lacrosse down to the five best games of all time? @paulcarcaterra is up to the task. https://t.co/IAFdja27L7
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) October 16, 2020
3. The next generation of stars took the field in Virginia Beach this weekend in the All-American games.
Inside Lacrosse recaps the busy weekend on both the boys’ and girls’ sides.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Esther Lim of The Daily Pennsylvanian checks in with Penn women’s lacrosse, which is still barred access to athletic facilities and Franklin Field because of the pandemic.
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What drives bullying behaviors? TrueSport helps us identify and combat bullying on and off the field.
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Lacrosse Bucket’s Tanner Demling writes that the North Carolina men are poised to compete for a national title this spring.
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Also from Demling, hear from Vermont commit Carson Boyle, an attackman out of Virginia.
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Jaylen Rosga, a junior at Henry Sibley (Minn.), is making waves in the Midwest for committing to play at Maryland.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Wearing the name and number of his late teammate Jack Toomb, Tyson Gibson of the Philadelphia Barrage exemplified the importance of patience on offense.
Patience pays off for @tysongibson19 pic.twitter.com/m8SUsWiqeI
— Philadelphia Barrage (@phillybarrage) October 19, 2020