The NCAA released its annual Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report earlier Tuesday.
In a release highlighting the results, it was noted that lacrosse saw the biggest spike in sponsorship (i.e., schools fielding teams) across the NCAA and was the fastest growing sport in 2012-2013, with 40 women’s teams and 26 men’s teams added across Divisions I, II, and III.
The biggest takeaway from the report, obviously, is that lacrosse continues to grow at the collegiate level faster than any other sport. This is great news.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what that means for boy’s high school players (we will look at girl’s tomorrow).
A few weeks back, we noted how difficult it was to make an NCAA Division I lacrosse roster on the men’s side.
The basic reason for this difficulty is that simply put, there are far more high school lacrosse players than spaces available on DI rosters. While an imperfect study, the exercise illustrated the overall need to be aware of your abilities when deciding where to pursue both an education and a roster spot at the next level.
In this light, we went through the NCAA report released Tuesday and pulled some of the interesting statistics pertaining to lacrosse.
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LACROSSE PARTICIPATION – MEN’S DATA
2011-2012
DI – 61 Teams; 2,791 Athletes; 45.8 Players per Team
DII – 46 Teams; 1,718 Athletes; 37.3 Players per Team
DIII – 188 Teams; 6,394 Athletes; 34.0 Players per Team
Overall – 295 Teams; 10,903 Athletes; 37.0 Players per Team
2012-2013
DI – 62 Teams; 2,828 Athletes; 45.6 Players per Team
DII – 50 Teams; 1,928 Athletes; 38.6 Players per Team
DIII – 207 Teams; 6,966 Athletes; 33.7 Players per Team
Overall – 319 Teams; 11,722 Athletes; 36.7 Players per Team
Net change from 2011/2012 to 2012/2013: +24* Teams; +819 Athletes; -.4 Players Per Team
(*The release on the report notes 26, though we counted only 24. There are a few provisional stipulations in the PDF, which we will assume account for the difference.)
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LACROSSE PARTICIPATION – GENERAL MEN’S NOTES
The number of lacrosse teams has risen each year since 2004-2005. At that point, there were 214 teams across all divisions. There are now 319.
04-05: 214
05-06: 222
06-07: 226
07-08: 239
08-09: 247
09-10: 262
10-11: 280
11-12: 295
12-13: 319
Overall net change (added teams v. dropped teams) for men’s lacrosse in that time, across all divisions, has risen to +26.
04-05: +3
05-06: +7
06-07: +2
07-08: +11
08-09: +11
09-10: +14
10-11: +18
11-12: +15
12-13: +26
Per the report, the next highest net change for 2012-2013 was Indoor Track (+18). Lacrosse is the only sport that has a net change of 20 or greater.
As would be expected with an increase in teams, the number of collegiate lacrosse players has been steadily increasing during that same span. At that point (2004-2005), there were 7,313 players across all divisions. There are now 11,722.
04-05: 7,313
05-06: 7,871
06-07: 8,353
07-08: 8,900
08-09: 9,266
09-10: 9,844
10-11: 10,424
11-12: 10,903
12-13: 11,722
These are welcome numbers for lacrosse fans – to be the fastest-growing sport in the NCAA is no small accomplishment. While this progress is welcome, it should also be noted that lacrosse participation in high school has been increasing exponentially as well, and is the highest it has ever been.
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NUMBER OF BOY’S HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS PER THE MOST RECENT US LACROSSE PARTICIPATION SURVEY (2012)
2011
Boys HS Players: 162,416
2012
Boys HS Players: 166,471
Now, using the most recent numbers above from the NCAA and US Lacrosse studies, let’s take a look at the statistical availability of collegiate roster spots for high school boy’s lacrosse players.
(Yes, my head hurts too – there is a reason I write for a living. But why stop now?)
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-In 2012-2013, there were 11,722 men’s collegiate lacrosse players per the NCAA survey.
-The report breaks down this number by division:
DI: 2,828 Athletes
DII: 1,928 Athletes
DIII: 6,966 Athletes
-There were 166,471 players playing high school lacrosse per the US Lacrosse Participation Survey (let’s note this includes all grades and clubs as well, so the number of players actually looking to play in college is likely not nearly this high given attrition rates and other variables).
-Thus, strictly in a numbers-sense (ignoring obvious caveats on both sides of the equation), the odds of playing college lacrosse by division:
DI: 1 in 58 (166,471/2,828)
DII: 1 in 86 (166,471/1,928)
DIII: 1 in 23 (166,471/6,966)
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Again, I am very aware these numbers are loose, and there exist many variables that can change them: Are all of those high school players even considering or skilled enough to play in college? Do players only desire to play at ‘top’ lacrosse schools? The list goes on. However, the point is this: Based on numbers alone, it is not easy to play lacrosse in college.
Collegiate lacrosse’s continued growth is an exciting development, and helps offset the even larger growth that has been occurring for some time at the high school level. But securing a spot on a college roster is still not a sure thing, and gets statistically more challenging for players looking to play at an elite level (regardless of division).
These numbers are not meant to instill fear, but rather to ensure high school players are doing everything in their power to be proactive in the recruiting process to ensure they are targeting the right schools that fit them both athletically and academically.
How SportsRecruits.com Can Help
There are a number of ways SportsRecruits.com can assist its members. Aside from the quick access to college coaches – every DI, DII and DIII coach is a registered user – our staff can look at a member’s profile, transcripts and highlight reel to help guide the player in the recruiting process. Staffers are former collegiate lacrosse players who can help give a member an idea of the 20-30 schools to focus on.
SportsRecruits.com members have had amazing success getting into their target schools. Click here to see a list of some recently committed members.
SportsRecruits.com was started by two former Wesleyan lacrosse players and is staffed by former lacrosse players who played at every level – from Virginia to Monmouth to Wesleyan. Members deal with former college players when issues arise – players who have dealt with many of those same issues themselves.
The Fall is a great time to connect with your target list of programs after a crazy Summer. Call 212-414-8417 or email Ryan@SportsRecruits.com if you have questions about how to become a member.
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