<p>Boston University has announced that it will have a new D1 mens Lacrosse team starting in 2014.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman in high school now and would graduate in 2016.</p>
<p>BU has started their recruiting, but how long does it take a school to create a "respectable" D1 lacrosse program from scratch?</p>
<p>This wouldn't be the main reason for "going" or "not going" to a school, but I was interested.</p>
<p>It’s a good question and, I admit, I don’t have a clue regarding Lacrosse but there have been a number of newly turned varsity squash programs in past couple years and some have earned tremendous “respect.” I think it comes down to the desirability of the school itself – are there enough recruits to field another good team? would they want to be at BU and weren’t considering it only because they didn’t have a lax program? how much $$ is being fed to the program so they can hit the ground running? Squash is much smaller and new teams have had success because there are more players every year looking for limited spots. </p>
<p>If BU generally fits your child’s wish list for a school without LAX, you should strongly consider it. It’s a wealthy school in a great location with a strong sports tradition; my guess is you’d be getting in on the ground floor of something exciting.</p>
<p>^ with BU and lax, agreed</p>
<p>BU has just joined the Patriot League, so that’s where they will be competing.</p>
<p>I think it has a lot to do with how completely the program is funded and who they have on tap to coach. While I don’t know Mens as well as women’s, you could look at Highpoint, Marquette and Michigan. All new to the NCAA DI ranks and certainly not horrible by any means. Is Boston going to come out of the gate and take down Lehigh? Probably not. But a school in the middle of the east picking up lacrosse is probably going to be able to hand pick at least a few high ranking prospects for it’s “close to home” appeal, if nothing else. It has a competitive advantage on this basis alone. Given a solid coach, they could very well come straight out of the gate as a contender. I know UMass did when they came went DI. As I recall, their first year was some sort of Cinderella story at the NCAA’s. </p>
<p>But honestly, the recruiting for lacrosse has come earlier and earlier and a verbal commitment during sophomore year is not the least bit unusual anymore. Do I think that’s a good thing? No, not particularly. I don’t think a kid knows what kind of academic OR athletic environment they’re looking for that young. But it is the nature of the beast these days. So if your kid is a freshman, the recruiting class of 2017/18 will start to come together next year and you can bet whoever is coaching is analyzing the talent already. The beautiful thing about Boston is a coach doesn’t have to go very far to assess the youth talent. You don’t say whether you’re in Boston yourself or not, but… </p>
<p>If you know who the coaches are going to be, research their bios and see if they are coaching any club/youth. If son also plays club or another summer program, I would suggest he write and say he’s interested and they’ll be at XYZ tourney this summer. Inviting the coach(es) to the games this season would depend on where you are and where your coaches live and if your freshman is at the impact level as a freshman. Not always the case and is why summer/club teams generally get better looks.</p>
<p>But it’s true what they say… early birds get the worms sometimes.</p>
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<p>That is interesting, and a good move by BU IMHO.</p>
<p>Truthfully, I think the answer lies with the Administration and the head coach they hire. If they are willing to invest in the fastest growing sport in the country it will be a success. I know squat about lacrosse but I love to watch it. </p>
<p>My alma mater (Bryant) recently went D1 and brought in a fantastic lacrosse coach (HC from Duke) in 2006 to re-start their program. The program has been a success from the beginning. Without question, my alma mater benefitted from the circus that the Duke Administraton created a few years ago with an off campus lacrosse team scandal. The coach was a scapegoat and later cleared. We’re glad to see him land on his feet at our school, and hit the road running.</p>