The NCAA News - News and Features

March 30, 1998

Boom times

Rapid growth of women's lacrosse means more championship opportunities in all divisions

BY MARTY BENSON
STAFF WRITER

It's double the size it was two years ago. It's tripled since 1985.

No, it's not the federal deficit; it's the field of the National Collegiate Women's Lacrosse Championship.

As recently as 13 years ago, only four teams got bids. Last year, both the National Collegiate and the Division III bracket had eight teams. This year both have bulged to 12, including a guaranteed berth for a Division II representative in the National Collegiate championship.

Kathy Krannebitter, chair of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Committee, said the reasons for expansion are both objective and subjective.

On the objective side, crunch these numbers: 21 schools added women's lacrosse for 1996-97, increasing sponsorship figures to 75 in National Collegiate (Divisions I and II combined) and 107 in Division III. This year, there are 81 and 118 sponsors, respectively, an overall increase of 17.

As recently as 1991-92, there were 44 in National Collegiate competition and 78 in Division III. Since 1991-92, 77 schools have added women's lacrosse. Those statistics are tough to ignore.

The subjective part? Old-fashioned stubbornness.

"We've been asking for expansion for a long time," said Krannebitter, the former coach at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where she still works as field hockey coach. "Originally we asked for 12 teams (in the National Collegiate bracket) and got eight (in 1997). This year we asked again and it went to 12.

"We pointed to the size of the men's bracket and felt that in fairness, ours should be expanded. We finally won (the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet) over."

Men's lacrosse has three division championships, with 12 berths each in Divisions I and III and two in Division II. The current sponsorship numbers are 52 in Division I, 31 in Division II and 105 in Division III.

Before the National Collegiate women's change, earning a bid often demanded a near-perfect season.

"If you lost one game during the regular season, you were almost out of it," said Cindy Timchal, women's lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland, College Park. "This way a team has a feel of playing its way to the national title like in basketball. Before it was just a couple of games."

Automatic bid for Division II

With the expansions, the only difference between the men's and women's brackets is the absence of a Division II women's championship. That's because only 22 schools sponsor the sport. The Division II Presidents Council could establish a championship by a majority vote, but has not received a recommendation to do so.

With no championship of its own, Division II seemingly has nothing to celebrate in women's lacrosse. But that is changing a bit with the recent decision to award the top Division II school an automatic bid into the National Collegiate championship, making this the first year that the division has had a tournament team.

Before the change, Division II teams were forced to fight all of the Division I teams for a bid. None ever came close.

"This will give Division II schools with programs a reason to improve, and those without, a reason to add the sport," Krannebitter said. "If it creates new programs, it will have worked."

To those Division I teams that may disparage the Division II berth and think that the tournament should have only the best teams (in other words, all Division I), Krannebitter points to the not-so-distant past.

In 1991, there were only 33 Division I sponsors. Adding the 12 teams from Division II made the National Collegiate championship a viable tournament with 45 teams eligible.

Now, with the table somewhat turned, Krannebitter believes Division I should support Division II.

"We're talking about a whole division that needs to grow," she said. "We need to look at the big picture."

Barb Waltman, coach at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, one of the top Division II programs, is excited about the possibilities.

"In the past, when a recruit asked about our postseason, all we could realistically say was the conference tournament and maybe the (Eastern College Athletic Conference)," she said. "This may entice a student who wouldn't normally consider a Division II program to come to a school she wouldn't have considered before."

Getting an automatic bid might not be so great if it meant only earning the privilege of getting shelled by the top-seeded team in the first round every year, but that's not a worry here. The top four teams get a first-round bye, so the Division II entry probably won't see a top opponent like Maryland in its debut. Not that those other teams aren't good, but....

"Teams in Division II are completely intimidated by the top programs," said Debbie Tweed, coach at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. "Once you get past those teams, our players don't know who is ranked where. It gives them a level they are comfortable with."

It's not as if Division II teams have never played Division I competition before. Krannebitter pointed out that when she coached, about 40 percent of her opponents were from Division I. The same is true of many of the top-level Division II programs.

Although everyone in the game is thrilled the National Collegiate championship bracket is bigger, not everyone is happy that Division II is coming to the party.

From the Division I perspective, it means the bracket expanded only three teams. A Division II team is going to get a bid that otherwise would have gone to a Division I team.

But Krannebitter said any controversy resulting from the decision is worth the price if it means Division II grows.

"Some sports have granted berths to developing regions (field hockey, men's lacrosse)," Krannebitter said. "We felt this would be a positive thing for Division II and would encourage growth.

"Eventually, we would like the division to expand enough to have its own championship."

Kim Ciarrocca, who led Temple University to tournament bids in 1992, 1995 and last year, said she is all for Division II getting an automatic bid -- even if that team bumps out her Owls.

"If that happens, then you know what? We didn't do our job," she said. "You've got to win your games to get in.

"It's very hard for Division II to compete on this level. This will help them a lot."

Even though Maryland isn't a team that's likely to find itself in danger of losing a berth to a Division II team, Timchal thinks that Division II should have its own championship. Now.

"I don't care if they have only two schools," she said. "We have championships in Division II field hockey and men's lacrosse; we should have the same thing (in women's lacrosse)."

While coaching lacrosse in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), Millersville's Waltman has had a chance to observe the one-game field hockey championship to which Timchal refers. Given what she has seen in that sport, she would prefer having the National Collegiate championship bid until Division II grows more.

"The Division II Field Hockey Championship is a great opportunity, but it still ends up being the same two teams who have just played for our conference title the week before," she said. "Hopefully we'll get more teams (in lacrosse) and eventually a Division II championship will be justified. Until then, we're just ecstatic with the possibility of getting in (the National Collegiate championship)."

Krannebitter realizes there probably will be some disagreements come selection time related to the Division II berth, but she believes they will be worth the price.

"When we had six teams, the seventh team didn't like being left out," she said. "You're always going to have someone left out who thinks they belong. That's all part of competition."

Division III

Division III has had an eight-team tournament since it began in 1985, so its expansion isn't quite as major as that of the National Collegiate championship -- but that doesn't mean its coaches aren't excited about the opportunities.

Defending champion Middlebury stands as a testament to what the opportunity to be in the tournament can do.

The Panthers were barred from playing in the tournament until 1994 because of the rules of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Since then it's been a steady progression: Middlebury has qualified every year since, losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion during the first two years and then losing in the 1996 championship game before claiming last season's crown.

Coach Missy Foote sees more teams having that same chance now.

"There is no doubt that tournament experience made our team better," she said. "I see other teams raising their level of play after they have been to the tournament."

Beth Hallenbeck, who is in her seventh year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, led her team to its first bid last season. She said that the Engineers are ready to seize the NCAA opportunity, with the New York State tournament likely being the vehicle to get to the postseason.

"We had never made it past the final four of the state tournament before last year," she said. "This year, with New York being its own region, the New York tournament becomes more prestigious. If you can win a game there, you should get in (to the NCAA)."

Future growth

Will the championships' growth continue? Most feel the key is for the game to emerge as a conference sport.

Krannebitter, who called conference affiliation the sport's next big hurdle, said that the Atlantic 10, Metro Atlantic Athletic and Big Ten Conferences are considering adding the sport.

Maryland's Timchal said that lacrosse has emerged as the premier women's spring sport in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the four schools that sponsor it -- hers, Virginia, North Carolina and Duke. She said the same thing could happen in other areas, pointing to the Big Ten as desirable territory.

Krannebitter said that the likelihood of conference affiliation continues to increase as schools add the sport. Although the growth rate has decreased in the last few years, factors such as gender equity and large participation numbers continue to make the game attractive for schools that need to add a women's sport.

With the increased exposure gained from more tournament games, more people will discover the game, which should fuel the fire.