Is Lacrosse on Boston College's New Athletic Director's Agenda?

Hi! Are you new here? Or, rather, do you have a suspect memory, possibly due to having a piano fall atop your head while chasing a road runner through what I can only assume is Nevada wasteland?

If you answered "Yes" to either question, then it's probably worthwhile to bring you up to speed on something around these parts: This site, in conjunction with SB Nation super-bloggers BC Interruption, really want the Eagles to have a varsity men's lacrosse team again. (Also, if you answered "Yes" to the second question you are a fictional coyote and should not be using the Internet.) It's a recurring issue here and over there, so pull up your britches and get used to it, college boy.

In a recent piece, I laid out an argument on why Boston College should pursue men's lacrosse once the university named a new athletic director. Now that the Eagles have officially removed the vacancy sign over their athletic director's office, it's probably time to revisit that notion again. Luckily, the BCI cats already took a look at that and, with a frowny face, the anticipated results aren't pretty if Bates' history is any indication:

One thing that does stand out in this analysis is the fact that Dr. Bates has worked at two of Division I-A's smaller athletics departments in terms of the number of varsity sports offered. I do think Bates will take a long, hard look at the mix of varsity sports offered and evaluate whether it makes sense to field so many different varsity teams

While I don't think BC is getting a varsity women's bowling or synchronized skating team any time soon -- or men's lacrosse for that matter -- I do think the department will be scaled down a bit during Bates' tenure as Athletics Director. The question is whether BC should stand pat or morph into a department that looks similar to Miami, Vanderbilt or Michigan.

Drats! Phooey!

Now, BCI's analysis is based solely on where Bates has been and what he may try to build at Boston College relative to his experiences. That doesn't necessarily mean that men's lacrosse is a dead issue on The Heights. Gene DeFilippo -- one of the biggest blockades to getting men's lacrosse back at Boston College -- is still gone; there is an opportunity for alumni to get into Bates' ear, continue to show financial support if Boston College were to elevate, and try and re-shape the face of the athletic department's offerings. There is still tons of value that the Eagles can receive if they do look to add men's lacrosse to the varsity slate (none of my prior arguments are washed away relative to Boston College's new hire); it' just a matter of whether Bates and the university have the courage and innovation to try and make big time lacrosse a thing again in Chestnut Hill.

So, while Bates isn't exactly coming from lacrosse-intensive environments, there's still opportunity to make things happen.