Michigan in the Media

The Wolverines have gotten some mention on not only local radio lately, but also national TV. ESPNU’s The Experts: College Lacrosse spent a few minutes in its season premiere discussing the possibility of Michigan going varsity in the (possibly near) future, and what impact that michigan have on the Division-1 landscape. Since I have no way to capture the video, here’s a transcript of the relevant portion:

Paul Carcaterra: I’m waiting for that signature school to get a men’s lacrosse program. A Michigan – there’s been rumblings about that stuff… [The existing recent additions to D-1 lacrosse] are all great, and I think Joe Amplo is a fabulous hire, he’s going to do a great job at Marquette.

Matt Ward: And with the way the high school game is booming, where kids are playing all over the country now. More talent everywhere in the country, it’s a great time for these programs to go, because they’re going to be able to start being able to develop these players and maybe a lot of kids going D3 are playing in the MLL now, [will instead go] to a Marquette, or at a Michigan.

Sounds like ESPN’s experts are among those openly stumping for Michigan to join the ranks of D-1 varsity lacrosse.

The Wolverines also got some talk on Ann Arbor’s very own Sports Talk 1050 WTKA on Monday’s morning show. TKA’s Ira Weintraub (a Maryland native) fielded a question about whether Michigan’s team could compete against the “big boys” of D-1. You can listen here by clicking through to the podcast page on WTKA. Ira calls it a “Brian Cook question” which I find hilarious because I cover lacrosse for him. Next time they talk lacrosse, I’ll try to chime in.

My take (with which you’ll become very familiar if you’re a regular reader) is that Michigan, should they form a varsity Division-1 program, would be in a better position to compete than most programs, because the club program is well-structured, has pretty good institutional support, and has more talent than any other club in the country.

This is something I talk about a lot, so I’ll keep it brief today.