College Crosse - Conference Realignment: Johns Hopkins Reconsidering Its IndependenceAll the lacrosse news you can handle and plenty more!https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48527/crosse-fave.png2013-06-04T11:01:04-04:00http://www.collegecrosse.com/rss/stream/36963232013-06-04T11:01:04-04:002013-06-04T11:01:04-04:00A Lacrosse Primer for Big Ten Fans
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CpdfK3xlkpK6T-0q6DGEEkpYh68=/0x0:997x665/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/14162719/20120324_pjc_sb4_191.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There's no reason to yell "Stranger! Danger!" Let me help you through this fantastic new thing you have on your hands.</p> <p>Are you a fan of a Big Ten school? Did Jim Delaney just change your universe with yesterday's announcement that the league would sponsor men's lacrosse starting with the 2014-2015 academic year? Do you only know about Johns Hopkins University because you watched <em>The Rock</em> and decided to also get your master’s and doctorate from the school like Dr. Stanley Goodspeed? If so, you're luck: I'm here to help you through this great new wonderful.</p>
<p>Lacrosse has officially achieved "a thing" status, and the Big Ten will drastically change the volition of the game at the Division I level. Whether you know it or not, your league -- and, most importantly to you, your school of preference -- is now a driving factor in one of the fastest growing games in the nation. <em>Big Ten lacrosse is going to matter</em>, and given how the conference took the unique step to invite an associate member into the league to give the conference the legs it needs to immediately succeed, <em>lacrosse matters to the Big Ten, too</em>.</p>
<p>
You probably have questions or concerns about all of this. Here's a dirty primer to get you up to speed on the things you need to know about Jim Delaney's newest toy.</p>
<p><strong>"No, you don't understand. I don't care about lacrosse."</strong><br>
I am also to assume that you still watch <em>Seinfeld</em> and <em>Everybody Loves Raymond</em> reruns. Look: I can't make you watch or even give a damn about lacrosse. However, there are few games that are as fluid, uniquely skilled, freakishly athletic, fast-paced, violent, and tactically interesting as college lacrosse. If you're looking for a nice bridge from hoops to the summer barbecue season, lacrosse is your answer. You may not completely understand what you're watching right off the bat, but the game has a way of sticking in your skull. And what's your alternative to lacrosse? Baseball? If you want to watch the combination to static nothingness with small glimpses of excitement, I suggest watching C-Span while drinking bleach instead of staring at baseball games. Give your spring some action.</p>
<p><strong>"Just how big is this college lacrosse thing? Is it just Princeton and 10 schools that aren't Princeton?"</strong> <br>
63 schools -- primarily east coast, but with Midwest influences -- played at the Division I level in 2013. Five more schools -- Boston University, Furman, Monmouth, Richmond, and Massachusetts-Lowell -- will play at the college game's highest level by 2015. With rumors swirling about a handful of schools considering adding men's lacrosse to their varsity athletic offerings (and not just schools that are known to you only because they accidentally sent you an admissions prospectus 10 years ago), 70 schools playing at the Division I level in the not-too-distant-future isn't out of the question. For reference, 59 schools currently sponsor a Division I men's hockey program, and Division I men's lacrosse has grown -- in terms of participating membership by 2015 -- 21 percent since 2007 when just 56 schools participated (and that includes Presbyterian coming and going). Schools are pursuing men's lacrosse; the game isn't just the Ivy League, ACC, and Johns Hopkins anymore.</p>
<p><strong>"Speaking of Johns Hopkins, what exactly is a 'Johns Hopkins'?"</strong> <br>
Good question. </p>
<p>Johns Hopkins, even as the Big Ten's associate member, is going to serve as the league's tent pole program. Syracuse has more NCAA titles than any other school (the NCAA started sponsoring a men's lacrosse championship in 1971), but Hopkins has more national "championships" than any other program with 44 titles (the USILA and ILA used to name national champions prior to 1971, many of them shared). The Blue Jays are basically the Alabama of college lacrosse, and they're just as happy to announce all of their famous success that was earned in non-tournament play. So, yeah. Good luck with all of that.</p>
<p><strong>"I only care about this if the Big Ten is going to be any good. I like winning, okay? It's why I went to [insert gigantic state school] instead of [insert smarty pants liberal arts school]. Is the Big Ten going to be any good?"</strong> <br><a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/6/3/4392036/conference-realignment-big-ten-b1g-johns-hopkins-lacrosse-conference-ratings" target="new">Probably</a>.</p>
<p><strong>"OH MY GOD WILL THIS RUIN FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL?"</strong> <br>
Unless your athletic director is drunk at the wheel and careening toward a disastrous end, it's not likely. Look: Schools are limited to offering just 12.6 scholarships for men's lacrosse (virtually all players get partial rides, if any), Big Ten schools are already shipping cross country teams to league opponents and it hasn't ruined athletic budgets, there are enough schools in the Midwest to play to keep costs down, and dual facility use is common throughout Division I lacrosse. Your school's football and basketball futures are fine despite the creation of Big Ten lacrosse; screwing the pooch in New Year's bowl games and impossible-to-watch regular season basketball games against Wisconsin isn't going to change for the Big Ten with the addition of men's lacrosse to the league's offerings. And the Big Ten Network -- depending on whatever lacrosse package it chooses to platform -- isn't going to suddenly become 80-hours-per-week of lacrosse coverage. Things will be fine; it's just something new for the spring. Cool your jets.</p>
<p><strong>"So, you're telling me that my school actually has a team? They have uniforms and everything?"</strong> <br>
Yup, and your team is probably better than you think. You should really get out more, maybe put away your customized football jersey -- "DOCTOR DOOM #69" -- for a minute and pay attention.</p>
<p><em>Maryland</em>: The Terps haven't won a title since 1975 but they remain among the nation's elite. I'm assuming that most Maryland fans know about this kind of stuff, instead forgetting about what Randy Edsall does to their brains in the fall. Maryland will depart the ACC -- the nation's best league -- for the Big Ten, assumedly serving as a second tent pole for the conference.</p>
<p><em>Rutgers</em>: Things are getting better under Brian Brecht, but there's a long way to go in New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights will leave the Big East (a conference in which Rutgers never made the league's postseason tournament) for the Big Ten.</p>
<p><em>Penn State</em>: Jeff Tambroni, who came to University Park from Cornell, has invigorated the program, guiding the team to the NCAA Tournament this season after sitting on the bubble in the not-too-distant past. Austin Kaut was a first-team All-American this year, Penn State's first such selection in 73 years. The Nittany Lions are on the cusp of really breaking through. Penn State will wave goodbye to the Colonial Athletic Conference -- THUNDERDOME! -- for the Big Ten.</p>
<p><em>Michigan</em>: The Wolverines finished just their second season of Division I play, but have loads of promise down the road. Recruiting is going well, and there are plans to do impressive things. No program in the country is drawing the kind of interest from lacrosse fans as Michigan, mostly because the Wolverines are the biggest name brand to add the sport in a long time. Michigan is abandoning ECAC play for the Big Ten.</p>
<p><em>Ohio State</em>: Earned the three-seed in the NCAA Tournament this season, falling to Cornell in the quarterfinals. Nick Myers is building on the foundation that Joe Breschi put in place for the Buckeyes, and Ohio State is heading in the right direction after making its first national tournament just 10 seasons ago. Like Michigan, Ohio State will become a former member of the ECAC to make Big Ten lacrosse a thing.</p>
<p><strong>"When do I have to care? When does this all happen?"</strong> <br>
Fall ball -- lacrosse's equivalent to football's spring period -- starts around September and finishes up around Halloween. It's not a huge deal as the time is used mostly for scrimmaging, strength and conditioning, and getting some heat in summer-worn stems. The functional preseason for most teams will start in January, and the season itself will begin in early February (SPRING SPORT!). The regular season will run until the end of April, postseason conference tournaments will start right after, then the NCAA Tournament will begin -- a run that will end on Memorial Day. It's four months of badass action; even if you jump in after hoops finishes up its year, you still have plenty of time to drink in the wonder.</p>
<p><strong>"Lax bros are terrible people."</strong> <br>
I agree. You can watch lacrosse and not be a lax bro; doing so will not create a tear in the space-time continuum. Trust me.</p>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/6/4/4394612/conference-realignment-big-ten-b1g-lacrosse-johns-hopkins-michigan-ohio-state-penn-state-marylandHoya Suxa2013-06-03T12:28:17-04:002013-06-03T12:28:17-04:00Big Ten, Hopkins Become "A Lacrosse Thing"
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H3UIUxC-kyH4NRH0kbAA696okaU=/0x0:997x665/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/14112393/20120324_pjc_sb4_193.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Welcome to the great new wonderful.</p> <p>The Midwest is smiles and handshakes, deep fried everything, and Garrison Keillor telling you about a way of life that is a reality only if you have access to time travel. The East Coast is complaining about traffic, believing that anything west of the I-95 corridor is Russia, and delicious things that come from the ocean dusted in Old Bay seasoning. These are somewhat disparate experiences, and yet the two will come together as one: Abandoning 130 years of lacrosse independence, Johns Hopkins will officially join the Big Ten Conference as a lacrosse-only member, thereby giving the league – and the Midwest – an adventure it hasn’t pursued in its almost 120-year existence. It’s a different kind of relationship – one that almost sounded like nonsense six months ago – but one that will change the face of college lacrosse for, at a minimum, the near future.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/060313aah.html" target="new">The details are straightforward but the ramifications are somewhat opaque</a>: The Blue Jays, three members of the as-constituted Big Ten (Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State), and two additional members of the future-constituted Big Ten (Maryland and Rutgers), are coming together to make Big Ten men’s lacrosse a thing of the future and Johns Hopkins’ independence a thing of the past:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Big Ten Conference announced today that men's and women's lacrosse will become the conference's 27th and 28th official sports and that Johns Hopkins University has been accepted as a sport affiliate member for men's lacrosse only beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.</p>
<p>"We are excited to announce the launch of Big Ten men's and women's lacrosse and the addition of Johns Hopkins as a sport affiliate member," said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. "Johns Hopkins is an outstanding institution with a legacy of success in men's lacrosse that is simply unmatched in intercollegiate athletics. Lacrosse is an emerging sport among our current schools and is a long-held passion among our East Coast institutions. With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in all sports and Johns Hopkins for men's lacrosse, we will have the requisite number of institutions to make men's and women's lacrosse official conference sports, building upon our tradition of broad-based sports competition. We look forward to the start of the first Big Ten men's and women's lacrosse seasons in 2015."</p>
<p>Big Ten competition in both sports will feature Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers, with Johns Hopkins participating in men's lacrosse and Northwestern competing in women's lacrosse. Big Ten rules allow for a conference championship when six institutions sponsor a program in any given sport.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are some important notes here:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Big Ten will sponsor men's play starting with the 2015 season. Consequently, Hopkins will continue to play as an independent in 2014, Rutgers will play as a member of the reorganized Big East,<sup>1</sup> and Maryland (ACC), Ohio State (ECAC), Michigan (ECAC), and Penn State (CAA) will have awkward final seasons in their current leagues.</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/060313aaa.html" target="new">The Big Ten will earn automatic invitation status to the NCAA Tournament, thereby giving Johns Hopkins the safety net it wanted</a>.</li>
<li>
<a href="http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2013/06/03/sources-johns-hopkins-mens-lacrosse-join-big-ten-monday" target="new">The Big Ten will allow the Blue Jays to keep their ESPNU deal, keeping Hopkins' home games on the network for, at least, the duration of the school's contract</a> with the network. </li>
</ul>
<p>The unknowns, however, are argably more interesting than the knowns:</p>
<ul>
<li>With the Big Ten forming a lacrosse concern, how will the CAA and ECAC respond to the losses of their soon-to-be formerly affiliated programs? Specifically, the ECAC is in the most dire situation: With Denver (Big East), Loyola (Patriot), Michigan and Ohio State (Big Ten) out of the fold, a four-team league -- Hobart, Air Force, Bellarmine, and Fairfield -- isn't sustainable. With the potential deathblow to the league delayed until 2015, there is time for the ECAC to try and find tentpoles, but right now the situation is pretty bleak.</li>
<li>How will other leagues -- MAAC, Northeast, etc. -- respond to the potential death of the ECAC and the CAA's six-team future? Will those leagues make a push to round out their membership? Will they serve as fertile ground to sustain the CAA or ECAC? These are crazy times down at Costello Music. The formation of the Big Ten lacrosse league was the biggest realignment issue out there, and its effects are ill-defined.</li>
</ul>
<p>---</p>
<p><sup>1</sup> There hasn't been an official announcement as to Rutgers' lacrosse affiliation for 2014 (<a href="http://www.scarletknights.com/lacrosse-men/news/release.asp?prID=13298" target="new">it wasn't even mentioned in the school's release today about the Big Ten forming lacrosse</a>), but all signs point to the Scarlet Knights participating in the Big East next season with Denver, Marquette, Providence, Villanova, Georgetown, and St. John's.</p>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/6/3/4391766/conference-realignment-big-ten-b1g-lacrosse-johns-hopkins-michigan-ohio-state-penn-state-marylandHoya Suxa2013-06-03T10:22:42-04:002013-06-03T10:22:42-04:00Watch Hopkins Go B1G<blockquote>
<p><p>For those interested, today's Johns Hopkins press conference will be streamed live on <a href="http://t.co/2pTPPmBYKa" title="http://HopkinsSports.com">HopkinsSports.com</a> at 11 am <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23donttelltheboss">#donttelltheboss</a>— Corey McLaughlin (@Corey_McL) <a href="https://twitter.com/Corey_McL/status/341512702373552128">June 3, 2013</a>
<br /></p></p>
</blockquote>
<div class="source"><p><p>It's all happening today at 11.</p></p></div>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/6/3/4391352/watch-hopkins-go-b1gHoya Suxa2013-05-17T14:12:02-04:002013-05-17T14:12:02-04:00Realignment: Hopkins to Seek a Conference
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vdgWELAPnTOKsyqmHPk6Qd9HyJw=/0x0:997x665/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/13275679/20120324_tjg_sb4_231.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is all really happening.</p> <p>Johns Hopkins has made it official: The Blue Jays are looking to join someone's clubhouse and have all kinds of new friends. On the heels of a recommendation report issued from the school's Blue Ribbon Committee to Study Conference Alignment for the Men's Lacrosse Team (How much more Johns Hopkins-y could that committee name be? None. None more Johns Hopkins-y.), <a href="http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/051713aaa.html" target="new">the university today publicly issued a letter to the Blue Jays community</a> asserting that Johns Hopkins will active seek to eschew its traditional independence and fly the flag of a yet-to-be determined conference at Homewood Field:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The committee’s unanimous conclusion, transmitted to me last week, is that Johns Hopkins and its men’s lacrosse student-athletes would best be served by our seeking affiliation for men’s lacrosse only with an NCAA Division I conference. That conclusion was based on committee members’ conviction that such a move will provide our university and history’s most-successful lacrosse program the best opportunity for continued leadership at the highest level of intercollegiate competition. It was based on their conviction that joining a Division I conference for men’s lacrosse is the best course for our athletes, our program and our university, and that it can be done without compromise to our academic integrity or athletic traditions.</p>
<p>I agree with the committee’s analysis and have accepted its recommendations. Tom Calder and Dave Pietramala are also in agreement. Together, we intend to pursue an affiliation. As I mentioned in my March message, there already have been expressions of interest. I will report to you when there is a conclusion to these discussions.</p>
<p>The special committee’s report is available <a href="http://web.jhu.edu/administration/president/lacrosse_committee/JHU%20Blue%20Ribbon%20Committee%20Final%20Report%202013_05_10.pdf" target="new">online here</a>. To be clear, we intend, as previously announced, to compete as a Division I independent in women’s lacrosse. We remain deeply and philosophically committed to continued participation in NCAA Division III competition in all other sports.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are three interesting and important aspects to the report: (1) Independence is still on the table for Hopkins (the report only recommends pursuing an affiliated situation); (2) That it is Hopkins' "desire to maintain traditional rivalries with institutions such as Maryland, Syracuse, Navy, North Carolina, and Loyola" and that the university has had been in communication with these rival lacrosse programs and the feeling is mutual that the competitive relationships should remain "as long as possible" (the recommendation reports goes on to note that "the door should not be closed to developing new traditions" and that "conference alignment could forge exciting new rivalries with teams against which Johns Hopkins has rarely competed in the past"); and (3) Specific recommendations around what criteria should drive the decision-making process relative to agreeing to join a league. With respect to the final aspect of the report, the committee provided the following four criteria as drivers for league affilation (none are explicitly noted as deal-breaking points or otherwise overtly ordered in terms of importance):</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>RECOMMENDATION</strong></p>
<p>In light of the preceding discussion and considerations, it is the unanimous recommendation of this Committee that the University pursue a conference membership for the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse program.</p>
<p>In addition, the Committee highly recommends that if the University decides to proceed with conference alignment, it should take measures to ensure the stability of the program during this period of transition. Specifically, the Committee identifies four criteria it believes would be important in any agreement to join a conference:</p>
<ol>
<li>An initial membership term of five years</li>
<li>An opportunity to evaluate Johns Hopkins’ position in the conference after three years, at which point the option would exist to either extend the initial agreement or to part ways at the conclusion of the initial agreement</li>
<li>A guarantee that a decision by an existing full member of the conference to sponsor the sport of men’s lacrosse or the addition to the conference of a full member that sponsors men’s lacrosse will not jeopardize Johns Hopkins’ affiliation with the league</li>
<li>The ability for Johns Hopkins to maintain its existing television broadcasting relationship with ESPNU</li>
</ol>
<p>The Committee recognizes the significant changes occurring in intercollegiate athletics, and we see those changes impacting the sport of men’s lacrosse. We believe joining a conference at this time will ensure that the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse program will remain at the forefront of the sport for years if not decades to come. This move will help to preserve Johns Hopkins’s legacy in college lacrosse and to maintain the tradition of excellence that distinguishes the men’s lacrosse program and The Johns Hopkins University.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The biggest things that stand out from the four criteria are that:</p>
<ul>
<li>Specific criterion imply that Johns Hopkins wants short-term evaluation rights in an agreement while couching these desires in a report that continually speaks to long-term stability for the Blue Jays' program. This isn't necessarily a logical contradiction in light of continuing conference realignment, but it may be a hard leverage point for Johns Hopkins to get in its various conference alignment discussions with various leagues.</li>
<li>The desire for Hopkins to maintain its ESPNU deal is a significant factor for the university (and the conference alignment committee). How will this desire play in any potential Big Ten discussions (e.g., will the Big Ten permit Hopkins to keep broadcast rights for its home games -- including home games against Big Ten opponents -- while the Big Ten Network is permitted to only broadcast Hopkins road games?)? How will this impact potential discussions with the ACC (the league has a relationship with the four-letter network)? As for the Big East and ECAC, which have contracts with Fox Sports, Hopkins' ESPNU deal is a weird point of parliamentary procedure. We are all beholden to furniture that shows moving pictures.</li>
<li>Again, Hopkins is very aware of the movement occurring throughout the country and wants a home with relative stability. The membership term and agreement evaluation criteria are provisions that keep the Big East, ECAC, and other leagues that are potentially in membership transition on a short leash with the Blue Jays. Johns Hopkins is painfully aware of the landscape and where things stand.</li>
<li>The note about Hopkins' membership position not eroding if a conference full-member sponsors lacrosse seems directed -- most notably -- at the Big Ten or ACC (but primarily the Big Ten). <a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2012/10/15/3501732/minnesota-lacrosse-division-i-gophers" target="new">With rumors about Minnesota sponsoring Division I men's lacrosse lingering</a> (and Michigan State's past foray at the Division I level) and the Big Ten's historic reluctance for single-purpose membership a concern, Hopkins doesn't want to join the pot luck dinner only to have its seat pulled away when it uses the bathroom. The rumors of Louisville, <a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2012/9/5/3287688/florida-state-lacrosse-Division-I-expansion-seminoles-varsity" target="new">Florida State</a>, or another ACC school currently not sponsoring Division I men's lacrosse looking to play in what is going to become the most ridiculous lacrosse conference ever assembled is also a consideration point if Hopkins is winking at John Swofford's league.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Inside_Lacrosse/status/335450971373178880" target="new">Hopkins hasn't received a formal invitation (or invitations) at the moment</a>, but the process is officially underway to see what's out there for the most decorated men's lacrosse program in the country. If this is going to happen, <a href="https://twitter.com/Inside_Lacrosse/status/335454251637669889" target="new">Dave Pietramala believes that the 2015 lacrosse season</a> would be the preferred year to start conference play. </p>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/5/17/4340696/conference-realignment-johns-hopkins-big-ten-b1g-acc-big-east-ecac-lacrosseHoya Suxa2013-05-17T12:47:27-04:002013-05-17T12:47:27-04:00Hopkins Holding Conference Call Today to Discuss Conference Affiliation<blockquote>
<p><p>Hopkins' committee report recommending pursuing conference affiliation: <a href="http://t.co/wVs6gTsgDR" title="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/jhop/sports/m-lacros/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/mlaxconfcommreport.pdf">grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools…</a>— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) <a href="https://twitter.com/D1scourse/status/335435241562972160">May 17, 2013</a>
<br /></p></p>
</blockquote>
<div class="source"><p><p>While excluded from the NCAA Tournament, Hopkins is still drawing attention in mid-May.</p></p></div>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/5/17/4340684/hopkins-holding-conference-call-today-to-discuss-conferenceHoya Suxa2013-04-29T13:00:05-04:002013-04-29T13:00:05-04:00Realignment: Ohio State's A.D. Affirms Discussions
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sEzPgTDCxaLIb2L6swXe0YGPj_c=/0x0:997x665/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/12405717/20120324_pjc_sb4_191.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Gene Smith specifically notes two important things.</p> <p>With Johns Hopkins' loss to Loyola on Saturday, the Blue Jays have likely situated themselves in a position that Homewood Field hasn't had to deal with since 1971: Despite being arguably among the 16 or so best teams in the country, Johns Hopkins -- based on their record, RPI ranking, and RPI wins (among other things) -- is likely headed for a lacrosse-starved May. Without a conference tournament and automatic bid at their disposal to potentially earn a back-door invitation to the NCAA Tournament, Johns Hopkins' postseason desires rest on a date with Army and the hope of a disturbing level of anarchy -- on the field and in a hotel room where Selection Committee members are sequestered -- to occur over the next few days.</p>
<p>This, of course, brings about a recurring question: Just how close are the Blue Jays to joining a conference and changing the historic philosophy of the program? <a href="http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2013/04/21763/gene-smith-on-changes-in-the-big-ten-night-games-in-ohio-stadium-and-twitter" target="new">Ohio State's athletic director -- Gene Smith -- recently conducted an interview with <em>Eleven Warriors</em></a>, indicating that the Big Ten (one of the proposed destinations for Hopkins should the school look to affiliate with a conference) is in a prolonged discussion about sponsoring lacrosse and potentially bringing in an unnamed lacrosse-only member:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>11W</strong>: Is there still a discussion to have a Big Ten Lacrosse Conference?</p>
<p><strong>GS</strong>: There is a discussion. There’s talk about bringing in an affiliate member. The bylaw says you have to have six. Because of the nature of that sport and its growth and Maryland’s success, we’ve discussed identifying an affiliate member and possibly creating a Big Ten Lacrosse Conference.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Smith's comments shouldn't make faces melt, but it is affirmation, once again, that the Big Ten is seriously considering making lacrosse a thing and that affiliated membership -- which Smith specifically notes -- is on the table for a league that has been decidedly against such relationships in its past. The Big Ten is squarely within the "if" phase of its lacrosse sponsorship journey -- although the progress of that conversation is seemingly well past initial consideration -- but the dominating issue concerns "when" the Big Ten may pursue this.</p>
<p>Hopkins has to be antsy about getting into an auto-bid league (or a future auto-bid league) given where their season went this year. Maryland has another season in the ACC (at least at the moment), <strike>but Rutgers' future next season isn't set in stone: With the "new" Big East forming next season, will the Scarlet Knights join Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, and Villanova in a six-team conference (contingent upon what that league does relative to affiliate membership) for at least one season of play? </strike> (Note: Good catch here from BruceMcF: <a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/4/29/4280178/conference-realignment-big-ten-b1g-lacrosse-conference-johns-hopkins-maryland#159852529" target="new">Rutgers will play with the basketball schools next season</a>. I don't know how I missed that.) Then there is the issue of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State departing their current lacrosse-only leagues to form a Big Ten lacrosse conference. There remain a lot of moving parts here, and it doesn't appear as if the Big Ten is going to have a workable model in place for the 2014 season. 2015 appears to be the first instance in which the Big Ten could conceivably put a sponsored product on the field.</p>
<p>Two things, however, are clear: Big Ten people are continuing to talk about lacrosse and affiliate membership is definitely on the table.</p>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/4/29/4280178/conference-realignment-big-ten-b1g-lacrosse-conference-johns-hopkins-marylandHoya Suxa2013-03-12T10:20:40-04:002013-03-12T10:20:40-04:00Realignment: Notre Dame and Hopkins Updates
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wRoHRfB3BhleifBke1T75l6nPGQ=/0x0:997x665/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9555837/20120324_pjc_sb4_193.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Irish's lacrosse future is now cemented and Hopkins' gameplan is becoming clearer.</p> <p>There's something special about conferences like the Patriot League and THUNDERDOME!. The lacrosse played in those leagues is exceptional, and the fact that those conferences are generally comprised of the under-elite with notable talent, skill, and competitiveness -- programs that have, on occasion, experienced the life of the ultra-elite but aren't quite in that caste -- makes following those leagues arguably more fun than simply staring at the top six teams in the country and wondering which will stand victorious on Memorial Monday.</p>
<p>Of course, the ACC is going to shatter that uniqueness to itty-bitty pieces next season when Notre Dame comes aboard to form the Death Star of lacrosse conferences. <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9042949/notre-dame-big-east-agree-irish-exit-2-years-early-join-acc-source-says" target="new">As Andy Katz and McSources at ESPN.com report</a>, the Irish are going to dig a big canal or something from South Bend to the Atlantic Ocean in order to become members of the ACC starting next season (or they'll just give the Big East a bunch of cash delivered in a sack with a green dollar sign painted on it):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Notre Dame and the Big East have reached an agreement allowing the Fighting Irish to leave the league two years early and join the ACC on July 1, sources told ESPN.</p>
<p>Notre Dame will pay about $2.5 million to exit the league, sources told ESPN.</p>
<center><p>* * * * * </p></center>
<p>The Fighting Irish's move to the ACC will be official, pending the expected approval from the Big East's presidents in a Tuesday morning teleconference. The league is expected to announce Notre Dame's departure by noon Tuesday.</p>
<p>Notre Dame announced last year it was joining the ACC in all sports except football.</p>
<p>The ACC had been planning for months to accommodate Notre Dame if it was able to join for the 2013-14 academic year. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Just because it can't be written on the Internet enough: Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Virginia -- all in the same league for one season. (<a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2012/11/19/3666054/conference-realignment-maryland-rutgers-big-10-ten-lacrosse" target="new">Maryland will depart the ACC for the Big Ten for the 2014-2015 academic year.</a>) There has never been anything like this in college lacrosse, and the likelihood that the ACC will -- even more than it does now -- completely engulf our collective interest is more definite than Bill Tierney expressing his distaste with various officials at decibel levels concomitant with trench warfare. It's big time lacrosse programs in a big time conference, each team setting aside five games next year to bludgeon each other for an opportunity to hoist the most valuable regular season title the ACC has ever offered. Then, of course, there is the ACC Tournament, which will actually become a real thing next year and not just an automatic trip to RPI-town where qualification for the playoffs requires only membership in the league.</p>
<p>Also: This obviously takes Notre Dame off the table for whatever plans the Catholic Seven have or had for developing a lacrosse arm to their basketball operations. Keep working those phones, athletic directors and conference presidents.</p>
<p>As for Johns Hopkins, the Jays are getting more overtly serious about conference affiliation. Hopkins has been rumored to be seriously considering joining a conference (notably the Big Ten, should that league pursue sponsoring men's lacrosse once Maryland and Rutgers join the fold), <a href="http://hub.jhu.edu/2013/03/12/mens-lacrosse-conference" target="new">and the school took a big step today in announcing that it formed a committee to examine and recommend options about joining a conference</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Johns Hopkins University will formally explore conference affiliation for its men's lacrosse program, President Ronald J. Daniels announced in an email to members of the university community this morning.</p>
<p>Though JHU has competed as an independent with no conference or league affiliation for the entire 130-year history of its men's lacrosse program, the changing landscape of the sport has prompted the university to consider its options, Daniels said.</p>
<center><p>* * * * * </p></center>
<p>Daniels said that Johns Hopkins had not received any formal invitations to join a conference, but have been approached by more than one seeking to gauge JHU's interest in becoming an associate member. He announced that he was forming a special committee to look into conference affiliation options. The committee will submit its findings and recommendations by May 15.</p>
<p>"We have made no commitments," he wrote. "We have made no decisions. We have concluded only that it is time to consider this question in the Johns Hopkins way: with care, deliberation and transparency."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I still can't believe that Hopkins is seriously considering this -- the Jays don't do easy, and affiliating with a league is the easy way out -- but I can understand where Hopkins is coming from. It's just . . . weird, you know?</p>
<p>For more on these two items, make sure to get yourself updated with the appropriate StoryStream:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/1/30/3932282/conference-realignment-johns-hopkins-lacrosse-big-ten-10-b1g-big-east-ecac" target="new">Conference Realignment: Johns Hopkins Reconsidering Its Independence</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2012/12/13/3762368/conference-realignment-the-big-east-is-a-big-mess" target="new">Conference Realignment: The Demolition of the Big East</a></li>
</ul>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/3/12/4093528/conference-realignment-notre-dame-acc-john-hopkins-lacrosse-irish-blue-jays-b1g-big-tenHoya Suxa2013-02-20T10:00:04-05:002013-02-20T10:00:04-05:00The B1G Kind of Has a Men's Lacrosse Website
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sRICpLq_cPDxHblWIAnypWoAc40=/0x0:997x665/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8232675/20120324_pjc_sb4_191.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>College Crosse's</em> readers remain the best.</p> <p><a href="http://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/1/30/3932282/conference-realignment-johns-hopkins-lacrosse-big-ten-10-b1g-big-east-ecac" target="new">Is the Big Ten getting serious about pursuing a men's lacrosse conference</a> with, presumably, Johns Hopkins as an associate member for lacrosse purposes? <a href="http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-lacros/big10-m-lacros-body.html" target="new">If a skeleton website</a> with a picture of a female soccer player, a bunch of circular and placeholder links, and an existence that requires some link-cracking (<a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=big+ten+lacrosse+&oq=big+ten+lacrosse+&gs_l=hp.3..0l6j0i30l2j0i8i30l2.685.2864.0.3113.17.12.0.0.0.0.436.1479.0j2j3j0j1.6.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.4.hp.hzHHmJkUcAk" target="new">or a simple Google search</a>) to find means "Yes, definitely," then Johns-Hopkins-to-the-Big-Ten conspiracy theorists have a little more fuel today than they did recently:</p>
<center>
<p><a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2177093/Big_Ten_Lacrosse_Page.png" target="_blank"><img alt="Big_ten_lacrosse_page_medium" class="photo" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2177093/Big_Ten_Lacrosse_Page_medium.png"></a></p>
<p>(Click to grow!)</p> </center>
<p>Please note that the web address is specifically tailored to men's lacrosse; a quick link-crack (and Google search) for a women's lacrosse page <a href="http://www.bigten.org/sports/w-lacros/big10-w-lacros-body.html" target="new">yields an equally maddening result</a>. As noted in the underlying StoryStream, a potential Big Ten men's lacrosse conference -- as currently discussed (not including those rumors currently flying around about some other schools) -- would include Michigan (a current ECAC member), Penn State (a current THUNDERDOME! member), Ohio State (a current ECAC member), Maryland (a current ACC member but a future ronin), Rutgers (a current Big East member but a future ronin), and Hopkins (a current Hopkinspendent) as an associate member to get the league's constitution to six teams, the baseline number necessary for an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>You may now draw all kinds of tenuous conclusions in the comments.</p>
<p><em>Man hug: Anonymous and The Google Machine</em>.</p>
https://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/2/20/3995442/conference-realignment-big-ten-10-b1g-lacrosse-johns-hopkins-michigan-penn-state-ohio-stateHoya Suxa