The document proposes that the SEC launch men's lacrosse programs to capitalize on growing interest in the sport. It argues this would boost lacrosse's popularity by providing high-profile, in-conference matchups. Concerns over costs and Title IX compliance could be addressed by adding women's teams. With football facing concerns over head injuries, lacrosse offers a physical spring sport without the same risks. If the SEC backed lacrosse programs collectively, it could "fundamentally disrupt" the sport by establishing it nationally within five years.

1. 1
IT IS GAMEDAY IN THE SOUTH!!!
Imagine a crisp, beautiful Saturday day in
a Southern college town. People have
come into town the previous day, parked
their RVs or checked into their hotels. The
main drag is a bustling traffic jam with
pedestrians wearing their team’s colors;
little boys wearing their favorite player’s
jersey, their sisters with cute cartoon
mascot tattoos on their cheeks.
Everybody is excited and in a great mood.
Mom and Dad have brought the kids back
to where it all started, that wonderful
college campus where they first met, and
are hitting all their old stomping grounds
with the kids. Their favorite greasy spoon
breakfast spot, the famous burger joint,
the spot where Dad proposed, and, of
course, the bookstore to load up on
souvies.
Once the kids have had their fill and
gotten that perfect item from the
bookstore, it is time to set up the canopy
for the big tailgate picnic. Mom and Dad
have made plans to meet some old
friends. Most have brought their kids, and
some have even brought their parents.
The grown ups spend some time laughing,
catching up, and eating some more. The
kids are running all about, and even
though it’s a huge campus, it just feels
safe. Mom doesn’t worry and enjoys
herself.
Time to head into the stadium for the main
event. Once they find the right entryway
for their seats and head up the ramp, they
are affronted with all the sights, sounds,
and pageantry we’ve come to love about
football Saturdays in the South.
Nobody knows how to put on a show
better than college athletic department
game-day operations crews.
Finally, the players come out of the tunnel,
shake hands and do the coin toss with
with their opponents and the officials and
the game is set to begin.
The crowd roars as it is now time for the
opening faceoff! Wait, what? Yes, the
opening faceoff for the big SEC men’s
lacrosse matchup everybody came to
town to see.
It is Spring Lacrosse in the
South, and the day could not
be more perfect!!!!

2. 2
THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE AND THE SPORT OF LACROSSE
NEED EACH OTHER
The SEC and its member
schools should collectively,
AS A GROUP, fund and
launch varsity men’s lacrosse
programs and create a full
SEC game schedule with a
conference championship
tournament.
Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing
sports in the country, but it is far from
being considered “mainstream” in the
United States. Lacrosse is still regarded
as a rich kid, prep school sport largely
confined to the Northeast US. Colleges
and universities have been slow to
embrace lacrosse, and that timidity has
created a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Southeastern Conference could
shatter that dynamic within a few seasons.
The sport would be sure to explode across
the country if the SEC schools fielded
teams.
In order for you to buy into this idea, there
are some obvious hurdles, both financial
and intuitive. Let’s address them head-on.

3. 3
THE THREE MAJOR HURDLES ARE INTERTWINED
The relative popularity of lacrosse, the money
involved to fund a sport, and Title IX are all
fair, logical obstacles for you, the reader.
And oddly, they are all related. Title IX, at most schools would
double the cost of the sport. Add a men’s team, and you must
also add a women’s team.
The relative popularity of lacrosse, at least compared to football,
basketball, and baseball calls into question the demand for a
program (both in terms of athletes playing and fans watching).
Let’s address these couplets.
Intertwined
Hurdles
Title IX
Money
Popularity

4. 4
MONEY AND TITLE IX CONCERNS CAN BE WASHED AWAY
Each SEC member institution
can field both women’s and
men’s programs to remain
“Title IX-neutral” and still
make money.
While lacrosse has (rightly) been viewed
as a non-revenue sport, a full SEC
schedule would create considerable fan
interest.
The Southeastern Conference has the
strongest, most rabid fan base of all the
Power-5 conferences, and its fans are
starved for something to do in the Spring
months. If the SEC schools approach a
Spring lacrosse season with as much
gusto and fanfare as they put into the Fall
football season, the fans will come. And
they will buy licensed merchandise and
concession stand food. And bring money
to the local restaurants and hotels.
A robust lacrosse season with compelling
matchups would provide additional
programming for The SEC Network
during the Spring.
Men’s lacrosse games are
highly watchable.
It has just the right mix of action and
nuance to keep fans interested.
Lacrosse is dubbed “the fastest game on
two feet”; the transition game is lightning-
fast and exploiting mismatches happens in
the blink of an eye. Lacrosse is a physical
game with lots of incidental “play-on” body
contact, sprinkled with occasional
highlight-reel hits. Blind-side and
defenseless player hits are illegal and
result in man-down situations as a penalty.
Nonetheless, lacrosse is a fast-moving
contact sport.
In the regions of the country where high
school lacrosse is played, the sport is
rapidly becoming the second-most-popular
high school sport, in terms of fans and
attendance, within even the largest,
football-dominant public schools and
conferences. It is fun to watch.

5. 5
IF LACROSSE IS SO FUN TO WATCH, WHY HASN’T THE SPORT TAKEN
OFF?
Imagine launching a
McDonald's restaurant, but
saying ”we should try to save
some money in case this whole
restaurant thing doesn’t work
out. Let’s hold off on the
French fry machine for now
and see how it goes.”
True, the few Power-5 schools and service
academies which do field men’s lacrosse
teams struggle with attendance and fan
interest. The problem is that they don’t
offer a compelling season schedule with a
multitude of in-conference and other out-
of-conference, but still Power-5 matchups.
Even when there are compelling
matchups, because the sport is still so far
outside the mainstream, people just don’t
go to the games in large numbers.
For the most part, the Power-5 schools
with men’s lacrosse have one or two
compelling (i.e., Power-5 and/or in-
conference) matchups a season and fill
their schedules with vastly smaller DI and
DII programs. While the smaller D1
schools play excellent, highly-competitive
lacrosse, they just don’t have the name
recognition and fan bases to create broad
interest.
The ACC has the most lacrosse programs.
UNC, Duke, Virginia, Syracuse and Notre
Dame all field teams and they do indeed
have a few compelling in-conference
matchups each season.
The Big 10 has four programs; Ohio State,
Penn State, Maryland, and Michigan.
I am not aware of any other Power-5
conferences with teams, although I believe
Oregon is launching a lacrosse program.
The service academies each field teams,
and they are highly competitive. I believe
Utah and Brigham Young are launching
programs, as well.
As you can imagine from the low number
of teams, compelling in-conference,
Power-5, or even “traditional football
powerhouse” matchups are the exception,
not the rule. This dynamic has hampered
the growth and interest in lacrosse and
prevented lacrosse from entering the
mainstream. If a conference, especially
the Southeastern Conference, decided AS
A GROUP to launch men’s lacrosse
programs, this chicken-and-egg dynamic
would be shattered immediately. But, it
can only happen if all, or at least ten of the
schools in the conference launch
programs simultaneously.
The key is to put together a
compelling season with lots of
great Power-5 matchups.

6. 6
WITH THE SPORT OF FOOTBALL FACING INCREASINGLY NEGATIVE
MEDIA, THE SEC SHOULD DIVERSIFY ITS REVENUE STREAMS
With awareness of the
dangers of concussions rising,
the NFL has some serious
problems which are sure to
trickle down to the college
ranks.
The NFL has changed it’s helmet-to-
helmet contact rules at the line of
scrimmage this year. It remains to be
seen how this will change the game, but
players and pundits are worried and
confused.
https://deadspin.com/the-eagles-are-
confused-by-the-nfls-confusing-new-
helme-1827967152.
To pile on, many former players, including
Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, and
sports commentators including Bob
Costas have publicly said they have
serious concerns about the sport.
Combined with the Will Smith movie
Concussion and sadly regular news of
former players taking their own lives due
to dementia caused by repeated hits, the
sport of football is sure to take a hit over
time.
Meanwhile, the lacrosse governing body,
US Lacrosse, has aggressively put
safeguards and rules in place and has
developed solid coaching and officiating
education programs to protect players
from concussions without changing the
flow of the game.
Another article just this week points to the
negative impacts to the sport, the players
and the fans of chasing television
contracts.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-
football/2018/7/26/17610702/tv-money-
conference-distributions.
Perhaps lacrosse can fill the void as
concerns about concussions and the rising
cost of attending a game for a family of
four erode football’s popularity.

7. 7
THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CAN
FUNDAMENTALLY DISRUPT THE SPORT
OF LACROSSE
The SEC can fundamentally, radically, and
immediately disrupt the growth, recruiting patterns,
and revenue streams for itself and for the sport, and
turn lacrosse into the third or even second most
popular college sport within five years.
About the Author
Bob Ross is a college football fan, an SEC fan,
specifically. Bob graduated from Auburn, where he
was a member of the varsity swim team, in 1989. He
met his wife Dixie in grad school at Vanderbilt. Bob
and Dixie have three kids:
Rachel is a senior at UNC. She played club and
high school lacrosse.
Abby is a sophomore at East Carolina. She played
club and high school soccer.
Ben is a senior in high school. He has played club
and high school lacrosse, with possible aspirations
of playing college lacrosse.
Bob has coached soccer and boys lacrosse, and
would love to see the sport of lacrosse explode in a
meaningful way across the country.
The other conferences will be sure to follow. And then, at that point,
lacrosse will be said to have entered the mainstream.
Marketing and showmanship will be crucial. To draw fans, it is all about “the
show”. Encourage tailgating and season-ticket packages. Bring the band,
cheerleaders, mascots, dancers, and all the other components of the show
we love about College Football.
And you will make money and build on the brand that is the SEC. The
benefits to the sport itself are self-evident.