Big Ten Lacrosse Needs a Big Year
10/25/2024 10:43 PM
Big Ten Lacrosse Needs a Big Year
The Big Ten as a lacrosse conference has faced some tough years lately. While the ACC has surged ahead, making leaps and bounds above the other conferences in Division 1 lacrosse, the Big Ten hasn't been able to keep up. This creates an imbalance that can affect the future of the sport. With the resources the Big Ten schools have at their disposal, you'd expect to see them competing more closely with the ACC each year, but it hasn't been the case. The main question now is: can Big Ten lacrosse close the gap with the ACC and step up as true national contenders?
Looking at last season's NCAA tournament, the Big Ten had a mixed showing. Maryland entered as the seventh seed, Johns Hopkins at third, while Penn State and Michigan entered unseeded. Out of these four, only Maryland managed to make it to Championship Weekend but ultimately fell short, getting throttled by Notre Dame in the title game. The prior year, in 2023, offered a little more promise. Michigan entered the tournament unranked, but Penn State, Maryland, and Hopkins were all seeded fifth, fourth, and sixth, respectively. The only Big Ten team to reach Championship Weekend was Penn State, who suffered an unlucky loss on a fluke goal that should have been overturned against Duke. And if we rewind to 2022, the Big Ten fielded just Maryland as the top seed, along with unranked Ohio State and sixth-seeded Rutgers. Maryland did go on to win it all, but they had one of the easiest paths ever seen in the NCAA tournament.
There's some good to be taken from this. The Big Ten has managed to place teams in the NCAA tournament consistently, with both ranked and unranked teams making an appearance. But the real issue here is their struggle to make it to Championship Weekend, let alone win it all. When we talk about top-tier programs, Championship Weekend should be a baseline goal, and the Big Ten schools are falling short of that more often than not. We don't need to go game by game, but there have been plenty of NCAA tournament matchups in recent years where Big Ten teams fell short in games they probably should have won. Outside of Maryland and Penn State, no Big Ten team has been a reliable contender for Championship Weekend over the past decade. With the ACC only getting stronger each year, the Big Ten has to step up when it counts if they want to stay competitive.
The 2024 season stats tell the story: Johns Hopkins, Penn State, and Maryland each put up 11 wins, with Michigan trailing close behind at 10. But when you look over at the ACC, Notre Dame hit 16 wins, Syracuse pulled in 12, while Duke and Virginia notched 13 and 12 wins, respectively. If the Big Ten can't find a way to compete, it risks falling further behind. Top recruits are increasingly drawn to the ACC, where they feel they have the best chance to win a national championship. The only Big Ten program that can confidently promise a national title shot is Maryland, with Penn State perhaps in the conversation based on recent performances. If the ACC keeps dominating the recruiting trail, it will only strengthen, leaving everyone else struggling to catch up.
This season is pivotal for Big Ten lacrosse. To keep Division 1 lacrosse strong and balanced, the Big Ten needs to show up and handle its business. The conference doesn't necessarily need a team to win it all, but it does need multiple programs that can genuinely claim to be in the hunt for a national championship. Championship contenders must emerge out of the Big Ten this season to keep the sport healthy at the highest level. A successful year for the conference would mean at least two Big Ten teams making it to Championship Weekend, with multiple teams entering the NCAA tournament ranked. This isn't a dig at Big Ten lacrosse—in fact, the opposite. As a fan of Big Ten lacrosse, I want nothing more than to see these teams get over the hump and start competing head-to-head with the ACC. That's why this season matters so much: it's a chance for the Big Ten to close the gap and prove they can play at the level of the ACC.
We're still a ways off from the college lacrosse season, but this year could be a turning point for Big Ten lacrosse. With the talent, resources, and potential each school brings, it's time for the Big Ten to step up and re-establish itself on the national stage.
