Bucking the cutting trend, the College of St. Rose has announced it will add lacrosse for the 2010-11 season. Men's lacrosse. They are building a turf field as part of a general improvement of facilities project and need a team to put on it. Apparently adding lacrosse has always been on the agenda. The DII school in Albany, New York is taking it slowly offering only 3 or 4 scholarships in the first year and not hiring a full-time coach until the second season.
No plans, however, to add a women's team. The school's president has said it will add spots to existing women's teams to remain (?) Title IX compliant.
An initial look at the school's offering, especially the lack of a football team, makes one think this solution is quite plausible. But it turns out women greatly outnumber men at the school who comprise less than 30 percent of the undergraduate population. But the athletic opportunities are split 50/50. Lacrosse is going to exacerbate that situation. St. Rose is going to have to add many, many roster spots to existing women's teams to close the gap.
