In reply to: The bubble shrunk by one posted by tf86
the NCAAs. It certainly hasn't happened in any recent seasons.
automatic qualifiers for an18 team tournament (two play in games to get to 16). So any ACC team has to be part of the 9 at large teams. A conference needs 6 teams to have an auto qualifier. ACC currently only has 5 men lacrosse teams.
with Maryland's defection. But that expired.
ND got an auto-bid when it won the ACCT in 2014, the last year the ACC had 6 teams.
conference qualifiers take 8 slots in the 16 team tourney but the two lowest ranked teams (no matter the conference) have 1 play in game so a total of 17 qualify. I was confused by the previous LAXpower article but the NCAA.com article linked here is clearer. Based on the April 22 reveal the ACC should have 3 at large (#1 Cuse, #4 ND, & #8 Duke) and Big 10 have 3 at large (#6 Hopkins, #7 PSU, & the loser of the #2 MD & #5 OSU B10 championship game). #3 Denver losing the Big East tourney still gets in for the 7th which leaves 1 slot remaining. Towson was #9 and they play UMass today at 10 am and Albany was #10 and they are playing Binghamton right now for their championship. If they both win the probable 8th at large will be the 4th ACC team-NC. If either or both lose that team (s) will compete with NC for the last at large spot.
Their club team has won last two conference championships, they have the resources, they have an ACC women's team, and they recently built new lacrosse facility.
Lacrosse has grown in the area with many high schools now fielding teams.
Bellarmine Univ. plays Div I lacrosse
Since ACC somehow missed out on grabbing Johns Hopkins when Maryland flew the coop, UofL would seem the next logical choice - or maybe BC?
Their program. I'll believe it when I see it because TitleIX makes it almost impossible. That's why it was amazing the UM did what it did. More P5 schools have gotten rid of their men's lax program (BC and MSU) then upgraded their program in the last 20 years.
The latest rumor is tha Utah will make move. We will see.
But no timetable set yet. See link. That would be a potential game-changer as to conference alignment, as you have to figure that Denver and Air Force would join a conference for lacrosse with Utah.
Other than that, there are plenty of P5 programs rumored for possible upgrades, but nothing definite yet. The only confirmed new DI men's lacrosse program in the next few years is St. Bonaventure, which is due to begin play in 2019.
Imho, there are 3 possible problems any ACC school considering adding DI men's lacrosse must overcome:
1. Costs;
2. Title IX considerations; and
3. Forming a competitive program.
Thing is, even if you have 1 and 2 under control, there's still 3 to deal with. Imho, if any one ACC program upgrades by itself, it will take several years before that program wins a conference game. For that reason, if you see any ACC expansion, it will likely entail two or more programs upgrading simultaneously.
#1 - Athletic Dept in the black due primarily to YUM Center deal. Plus they already have a fairly new stadium and facility.
#2 - Don't know their Title IX situation and they already have an ACC Women's lacrosse team. Not sure what women's sports they could add, but currently ND HAS 3 men's sports that UofL doesn't have (hockey, M lacrosse, fencing) so you would think they could make room - but I just don't know
EDIT: Quick look at sports offered ND vs UofL:
ND has 3 Men's sports that UofL doesn't have
Fencing
Hockey
Lacrosee
ND and UofL have the same number of woman's sports:
ND has Fencing, UofL doesn't
but UofL has Field Hockey, ND doesn't
Just by the number of sports offered, it would appear that Louisville should have room to add lacrosse under Title IX
By my count, ND is offering 35.1 more men's scholarships than UofL
UofL is offering 7 more women's scholarships than ND.
Assuming ND is in Title IX compliance, then Louisville should have 28.1 scholarships available to men (35.1 - 7 = 28.1)
#3 - As I mentioned above, their club team has been winning conference championships. The area is becoming a new hotbed for lacrosse and there is already a Div I lacrosse team in the city with Bellarmine