The men's lacrosse championship is at UConn's Rentschler Stadium in 2021 & 2022. UConn does not field a lacrosse team. Was Rutgers offered a chance to host the championship weekend?
Men's lacrosse championship at Rentschler in '21 & '22
- Thread starter Mr_Twister
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“Offered a chance”?? NCAA events as such go out to bid. Regionals, finals, etc,. There are no “offers.” Best bid wins. We last hosted 2000 and 2001.
From a geographical stand point, Rutgers is uniquely situated to host this event. I'd like to see us do more of it, as we used to.
I attended when Rutgers hosted (friend’s son was captain of Rutgers lacrosse in 2001). Enjoyed immensely. I hope Rutgers makes a push to host events like this.
I don’t. I believe we made an attempt when Pernetti was here but can’t remember exactly.
I’d also like to see us get on the selection committee. Whether it’s Coach Brecht or Pat Hobbs chairing it, we need some representation. That crew needs to be busted up.
Well when Tim was here the NCAA was set on having the games in NFL sized stadiums and places like ours were “too small.”
But we all know the UCan’t place is smaller than ours.
This gives me hope that we’ll see it back here some day.
I think it will. I’ve heard very few people say they like the NFL stadium experience. He tickets are really expensive for starters.
Our location and stadium size are perfect.
Our location and stadium size are perfect.
The ones at the original stadium were perfect. Walked up day of and bought tickets in 1978. Of course, you could do the same thing with wrestling NCAAs at Jadwin Gym in 1981. :)
Plus, the rule changes have slowed down the game so much, I've lost interest. A few years ago, I was talking to a neighbor who happened to be in the lacrosse HoF. He told me he had stopped watching also.
The game is getting faster again. Definitely moreso than 5-10 years ago. We can thank Princeton’s coach for the quicksand.
Go watch Rutgers play. We play at warp speed. Full systems go, all the time.
It can be odd to see a Rutgers team scoring in bunches and being so aggressive if you haven’t seen them before.
Go watch Rutgers play. We play at warp speed. Full systems go, all the time.
It can be odd to see a Rutgers team scoring in bunches and being so aggressive if you haven’t seen them before.
Free substitution and possession lacrosse (although that is partially related to the free substitution) combined with "prevent" defenses have killed the speed, but mostly the free substitution. In the last 9 championship games, only one team has exceeded 15 goals and many winning teams (6) have failed to exceed 10 goals. If that is speeding up, I don't want to see slowing down.
It looks like Rutgers averaged about 12 goals a game last season. Not warp speed and scoring in bunches to me.
Free substituation has always been a part of the game. In the 90's they had horns stopping it, which they got rid of. I would go watch us play. They often get off 40 plus shots a game. That ain't stall ball.
The equipment is so good it's hard to dislodge the ball creating unsettled opportunities, which is the bigger issue with speed. So defenses don't often take that risk, though we press out much further than most teams. The faster "clock on" calls are helping. As will a shot clock, which ultimately is what is going to happen. Just a matter of time. They tested them out this fall.
As someone who played it, it's far more exciting now than ever to watch, at least to me. The players are just so fit, strong, and talented, and the schemes are very advanced. Player development is the biggest thing. This kids are just so freaking good.
Having played in the 90's when the game was at it's peak in terms of speed, this has been my favorite era. It's just a really high level.
12 goals even though would be considered a pretty decent day.
Go to a game, you will be surprised.
The equipment is so good it's hard to dislodge the ball creating unsettled opportunities, which is the bigger issue with speed. So defenses don't often take that risk, though we press out much further than most teams. The faster "clock on" calls are helping. As will a shot clock, which ultimately is what is going to happen. Just a matter of time. They tested them out this fall.
As someone who played it, it's far more exciting now than ever to watch, at least to me. The players are just so fit, strong, and talented, and the schemes are very advanced. Player development is the biggest thing. This kids are just so freaking good.
Having played in the 90's when the game was at it's peak in terms of speed, this has been my favorite era. It's just a really high level.
12 goals even though would be considered a pretty decent day.
Go to a game, you will be surprised.
That's like saying Bill Russell never played in the NBA or that the 3 point shot has always been part of the NBA.
In addition, have played lacrosse in college and watched since the mid-1970s, I can assure you the peak of speed was not in the 1990s. And the same guy you blame for the game slowing down had a team that scored more goals in the championship game than any team since 1990 and the third most overall.
I can agree the basic skill level is much greater now than it has ever been, but it hasn't translated into a faster game.
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I agree that RU is geographically situated perfectly to be the center point of the NCAA Lax universe. But, it is not culturally situated to be the center point of the lax universe. With this in mind, I’d prefer to see Baltimore be to lacrosse what Omaha is to NCAA baseball. A steady, we know it’s coming event.
Trust me: this kills me, as I have zero affinity to the region and almost an icky taste in my mouth just thinking about it. I’d much rather hang with my Rutgers boys in the Yellow Lot, but…think about it: you have casual fans of lacrosse all around you. The area just ‘gets it’. No matter who is playing, you’ll capture fans and the city will embrace ‘those lax fans’ come dinner time or night time. They have M&T for a large venue, but also smaller venues for (maybe) the entire playoffs or for the D2/ D3/ women’s championships. When you have teams from outside the region, their fanbases – or just lax-happy fans from all-over - can view it as a destination, you’re a short trip to Dewey or to OC, not to mention Washington, DC.
I always liked the idea of having the NCAA’s pop around from school to school, but I think that model has gotten stale and even runs the risk of causing harm when we push the game into areas that lack natural fans of the game.
Trust me: this kills me, as I have zero affinity to the region and almost an icky taste in my mouth just thinking about it. I’d much rather hang with my Rutgers boys in the Yellow Lot, but…think about it: you have casual fans of lacrosse all around you. The area just ‘gets it’. No matter who is playing, you’ll capture fans and the city will embrace ‘those lax fans’ come dinner time or night time. They have M&T for a large venue, but also smaller venues for (maybe) the entire playoffs or for the D2/ D3/ women’s championships. When you have teams from outside the region, their fanbases – or just lax-happy fans from all-over - can view it as a destination, you’re a short trip to Dewey or to OC, not to mention Washington, DC.
I always liked the idea of having the NCAA’s pop around from school to school, but I think that model has gotten stale and even runs the risk of causing harm when we push the game into areas that lack natural fans of the game.
There are few people that would argue Tierney didn't slow the pace down to a crawl. Having played them, who was the slowest team I've ever played, and Syracuse, who was the fastest, it was night and day.
Outside of Princeton, in the 90's, everyone was running and gunning. My ball watching goes back to the 70's when I was a kid. I can't speak to before that, but I have never seen the game faster than it was played in the late 80's early 90's, outside of Princeton.
Outside of Princeton, in the 90's, everyone was running and gunning. My ball watching goes back to the 70's when I was a kid. I can't speak to before that, but I have never seen the game faster than it was played in the late 80's early 90's, outside of Princeton.
Then I shouldn't have to tell you how the game goes. What happens over 90% of the time after a face-off win? How long does that change of players take? What percent of the game is used up with this empty time? The clock is running the whole time. With collapsed defenses, how much time elapsed before there is any meaningful offensive activity? When a guy misses a shot, how much time is wasted before play begins?
Years ago, almost every second of a game held meaningful action because substitutions were allowed only when the clock was stopped. Add to that the fact that since free substitutions were not allowed, face-off wins triggered fast breaks on a regular basis. How many fast breaks do you see in a typical college lacrosse game these days? Try taking a stop watch to a game sometime and calculate how much time is wasted by substitutions. It's a substantial portion of every game.
Here's how to make the game faster again - or at least to increase action. One, limit substitutions, like basketball or like lacrosse used to be, to times when the clock is stopped. Two, put a shot clock into the game all the time. Three, stop rewarding high velocity shots that are not on goal and give the ball to the defensive team on all missed shots. In other words, treat shots like passes. I'm tired of seeing guys wind up for a shot that goes five feet wide of the goal and have their team retain possession.
PS - It was Syracuse that was unusual, not Princeton.
Anything that stops the clock to do subs is a non starter. That slows the game tremendously.
A shot clock is needed. Like basketball, it will happen.
Did you play in the 90s? I did. Syracuse wasn't at all unsual. Princeton was. Not one other team played like them. None that we played anyway. Even those we didn't, I know they were all run and gun teams. Uva, UNC, Duke, all known as run and gun programs. Conversely, everyone we played ran and ran and ran. Syracuse was just better at it than most schools.
When is the last time you saw Rutgers play? We don't sub nearly as much as some teams. Our D guys play offense every time they get the ball for some period.
Since you don't watch anymore, I can tell you definitively other teams are trying to employ our style. The game is definitely speeding up.
Go watch, see for yourself instead of debating me.
A shot clock is needed. Like basketball, it will happen.
Did you play in the 90s? I did. Syracuse wasn't at all unsual. Princeton was. Not one other team played like them. None that we played anyway. Even those we didn't, I know they were all run and gun teams. Uva, UNC, Duke, all known as run and gun programs. Conversely, everyone we played ran and ran and ran. Syracuse was just better at it than most schools.
When is the last time you saw Rutgers play? We don't sub nearly as much as some teams. Our D guys play offense every time they get the ball for some period.
Since you don't watch anymore, I can tell you definitively other teams are trying to employ our style. The game is definitely speeding up.
Go watch, see for yourself instead of debating me.
Subbing only when the clock is stopped clearly does not slow the game. It slows the seat to feet time only. It actually leads to more possessions and more action, which to me is the opposite of slowing the game down.
And you have it backwards. Subbing is allowed when the game and the game clock are stopped naturally. In other words, the game allows subbing. Subbing doesn't interrupt the game.
How about this? Before I waste my time going down to Yurcak, take a stop watch and time, honestly, how much time is dedicated to subbing. If it's less than 5 minutes, I'll think about it. But it won't be. And that is what, about 8% of the "game"?
There are less possessions, less shots on goal and less goals than 30-45 years ago. But the game is faster. I get it.
No thanks. I’ll let you pontificate without even watching. Standing around with a stop watch seems incredibly lame. Plus I know they game well. I don’t need it. I know what I’m watching in real time.
I’ld rather watch our studs fly up and down the field getting tons of shots off, fast breaking, and making plays.
You’re missing out.
Btw, they stopped playing at Yurcak years ago.
I’ld rather watch our studs fly up and down the field getting tons of shots off, fast breaking, and making plays.
You’re missing out.
Btw, they stopped playing at Yurcak years ago.
Because Rutgers is the leading program in college lacrosse? The reason you don't want to do something "lame" is you know I'm correct. I'm not missing out.
They should play at Yurcak, because the average attendance in 2017 was 1,800. That is 3200 less than the capacity of Yurcak. That way it wouldn't seem like they were playing to an empty stadium. The largest crowd would have still fit into Yurcak.
https://www.onthebanks.com/2017/5/3...se-is-a-good-draw-big-ten-lacrosse-attendance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurcak_Field
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You are missing out. The are ranked 7 preseason with some picking them to win the B1G and even the national championship. So yea, they are one of the leading programs right now.
I know you are 100 percent wrong. You don't even watch lacrosse yet are here spouting off about it. It's a bad look.
You obviously didn't play at Rutgers, so where did you play?
Btw, you posted an article saying 300 more people on average attended games last season, which would be an all time high for the program. Someone is interested.
Combined with numerous games on national tv, it's pretty awesome. People love our run and gun style.
I know you are 100 percent wrong. You don't even watch lacrosse yet are here spouting off about it. It's a bad look.
You obviously didn't play at Rutgers, so where did you play?
Btw, you posted an article saying 300 more people on average attended games last season, which would be an all time high for the program. Someone is interested.
Combined with numerous games on national tv, it's pretty awesome. People love our run and gun style.
Again, if you "know" I am wrong, take a damned stopwatch and prove it. If you don't, I'll sit at home on a televised game and prove you are wrong, which *will* happen. Unless you feel that aliens interfere with the space/time continuum while events are being televised.
Yes, people are interested, but not enough to fill Yurcak on the best attendance day. So why not play there? It will feel like a game in front of a crowd instead of a game in an empty stadium.
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Knock yourself out. I stand on the sidelines at games. I'm not bringing a stop watch to try and prove something to some guy on the internet who doesn't even watch lacrosse. It's ridiculous to even suggest such. Again, I know the game. I don't need a stop watch to see how fast teams play. It's so obvious to me and anyone else who knows. We play so fast anyone can tell.
We've lost 1 game in the stadium in 2 years. To the national champions. It's a great home field advantage and one that isn't going away for a long time. The team absolutely loves playing there. And other teams don't.
I ask again. You played where?
We've lost 1 game in the stadium in 2 years. To the national champions. It's a great home field advantage and one that isn't going away for a long time. The team absolutely loves playing there. And other teams don't.
I ask again. You played where?
D3. Does that mean I can't understand a pretty simple game? I don't watch lacrosse on a regular basis anymore because the game has become slow and boring.
How many possessions are there a game now vs. 30-40 years ago? How many shots on goal for the same periods? Data is actually important. I've watched the game for over 40 years. I don't need you to tell me what I'm not seeing. How does the NBA measure pace of its game? By the number of possessions in a game. It's a good metric. You seem to think you don't need metrics because you "can see". Your eyes could be deceiving you.
The one thing that is better is that the players are much more skilled today than they were years ago. But the game is much slower. The basic fact is that given the tremendous rise in skill level, there is actually less scoring and there should be much more. You do need to use a stop watch sometime, because you will be surprised. At the very least, it will give you an understanding of how much time of the game is actually wasted.
I check in every year because people like you tell me the game is getting better and faster. Then I see the same old crap. Guy wins faceoff; both teams changed personnel while the game clock is wasting away. One team holds possession for really long time and takes shot after shot that is geared towards velocity instead of accuracy.
When they make simple changes to the rules to speed up the game, I'll probably start watching on a regular basis again.
But I really don't see how playing games in a stadium which is over 96% empty is such a great experience. Claiming that it is sort of kills all your credibility.
So you don’t watch but know what is going on. You don’t go to games but talk about the experience as if you do.
Yea it matters. Where did you play D3?
Yea it matters. Where did you play D3?
I'll take it slowly for you. I used to watch regularly and attended many NCAA championships, going back to 1978. The last one I attended was in Philadelphia in 2005. The game changed and became slower, so I stopped watching regularly and stopped attending.
I check in every year to see if the game has regained its speed. It hasn't, I get bored and turn it off. They need to change the rules as I suggested above. Those rules have slowed down the game and need to go. The one thing I can see is that players are much more skilled today, especially in possession, but that unfortunately also slows the game down. That's why the rules need to changed to get the ball out of the pocket and into the air (with purpose).
It really doesn't matter where I played. It's not like I'm going to perform brain surgery on you and it's a pretty simple game. And I'm smart enough to know metrics matter.
Wow, I have not been around for awhile but you sir, are sorely mistaken, Tierney freely admits that he helped to slow the game down with his defense and his sub patterns, and it worked great for him until he could get the players to win playing faster. I know this for a fact. Coaches make decisions about their personnel and sometimes they feel like their best chance to win is to slow the game down, Rutgers does not play that style they play the opposite style very fast lots of transition and pushing the tempo.
2- Rutgers and several other teams now play much faster game, just look at how many of their poles and ssdm's score, it is part of their game plan to push the pace off the face-off
3- why are you talking about a stop watch, if you were at the RU UMD game 3ot's or the RU OSU OT game you would not have had time to look at your stop watch because you would have been glued to the game.
4- the bigger reason that they do not play at Yurcak is that they will not open the field until the end of March or beginning of April at which point most of the season is over and frankly the game experience is much better at the stadium. Loved playing on that field.
You want to make the game faster fix the sticks, it is nearly impossible to get a ball out of short stick these days. I remember watching Cornell play Cuse at RU in the National Championship game (I think it was 88) Timmy Goldstein played with a tennis racket and had 7 or 8 assists but because of the way the stick was strung the ball would come out leading to more transition.
Bottom line, if you like lacrosse they play a very nice style at Rutgers you should go watch.
I question who he and what he is watching, even irregularly, to make such obviously incorrect statements.
RUFamily knows what he is talking about too. You should listen to him and go watch for yourself instead of asking a random dude on a message board to go to a game with a stop watch. If you know lacrosse, you don't need stop watch. All you need is are your eyes. Go watch for yourself.
Or don't. And miss great action. No one is forcing you.
Stats for you, disproving your theory. From 02 to 13. 13 had the highest number of goals, assists, and points, during that time frame, which was the lastest data the NCAA has. The game definitely hasn't gotten slower since then, so those number would be even better today. If you like scoring.
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/LAX_Records/mlaxtrends.pdf
So where did you play for the 3rd time? D3 doesn't tell me much, other than not D1.
RUFamily knows what he is talking about too. You should listen to him and go watch for yourself instead of asking a random dude on a message board to go to a game with a stop watch. If you know lacrosse, you don't need stop watch. All you need is are your eyes. Go watch for yourself.
Or don't. And miss great action. No one is forcing you.
Stats for you, disproving your theory. From 02 to 13. 13 had the highest number of goals, assists, and points, during that time frame, which was the lastest data the NCAA has. The game definitely hasn't gotten slower since then, so those number would be even better today. If you like scoring.
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/LAX_Records/mlaxtrends.pdf
So where did you play for the 3rd time? D3 doesn't tell me much, other than not D1.
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This has been a very interesting thread. RUFAM, I know it must be lax slang, but what does the bolded part mean?
I remember as a kid in Maryland (didn't play organized lacrosse because it was after wrestling season and I was beat to a pulp by then every year) some kids would cheat by putting an extra rubber thingie in their stick to keep the ball in. Of course, when they get caught, it was big trouble. Do the new sticks have this thingie and is that now legal?
Also, it seems to me that the slowness of the game is because teams hurl it around the perimeter for long periods of time, sometimes looking for a perfect shot and sometimes simply to kill the clock. I never thought of the substitutions as the reason for the slowness (not that I'm doubting the smarter people in this thread). Isn't the "four corners" offense I described also a factor?
I worry about the shot clock as a solution because we already see teams with fake shots to extend the possession. But if only "legit" shots count, teams might not shoot at all for fear of ending the possession. I have no answers...
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A tennis racket means a really shallow pocket. The ball comes out much faster and easier than a deep pocket, though carrying it isn't as effective.
Sticks not longer have that type of rubber stopper. It's just a thin piece, completely different now.
That's basically exactly the type of offense Princeton used to run. Pass the ball around until the D got tired or disinterested, take advantage of it.
Though you can play slower now, no one is playing that slow without getting the clock put on them, which is silly in and of itself.
A simple clock, with a 2 point line so D can't just pack it in waiting out the clock, will work fine. Refs/players know when someone is taking a shot just to take one. It's hard to get away with too man of those.
Sticks not longer have that type of rubber stopper. It's just a thin piece, completely different now.
That's basically exactly the type of offense Princeton used to run. Pass the ball around until the D got tired or disinterested, take advantage of it.
Though you can play slower now, no one is playing that slow without getting the clock put on them, which is silly in and of itself.
A simple clock, with a 2 point line so D can't just pack it in waiting out the clock, will work fine. Refs/players know when someone is taking a shot just to take one. It's hard to get away with too man of those.
Cool, thanks Cali. I don't understand the "2 point line" part though. What's that? Thanks in advance for the edumucation...
Like in basketball, when they added the shot clock (or very shortly thereafter), they realized teams would just pack in the zone and force outside shots. To even out the playing field, the 3 point line was installed as to reward teams for making shots from further out, while forcing teams to defend it, thereby opening the middle up more.
Especially in lacrosse, the D could just pack in a tight zone forcing outside shots all day. Those that are scored should be rewarded for that. They have it in pro lacrosse and you will someday see it in the college game I am sure.
A shot clock and 2 point line fixes all of these stall ball problems.
*RUFamily, just sent you an interesting email as it relates to the program. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
Especially in lacrosse, the D could just pack in a tight zone forcing outside shots all day. Those that are scored should be rewarded for that. They have it in pro lacrosse and you will someday see it in the college game I am sure.
A shot clock and 2 point line fixes all of these stall ball problems.
*RUFamily, just sent you an interesting email as it relates to the program. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
My thoughts re: attendance/stadium:
- would much rather see the team play at Yurcak then HPSS but it's not my choice so whatever!
- attendance got hurt last year, IMHO, due to the set up of the schedule. Last year we had 5 home games between Feb 25th and March 15th. It's pretty damn cold out that time of year in NJ. We ONLY had 2 home games after March 15th (April 16th and 29th). This year, on the other hand, we have 5 home matches between March 18th and April 22nd. I would EXPECT attendance, this season, to blow away last year's.
- would much rather see the team play at Yurcak then HPSS but it's not my choice so whatever!
- attendance got hurt last year, IMHO, due to the set up of the schedule. Last year we had 5 home games between Feb 25th and March 15th. It's pretty damn cold out that time of year in NJ. We ONLY had 2 home games after March 15th (April 16th and 29th). This year, on the other hand, we have 5 home matches between March 18th and April 22nd. I would EXPECT attendance, this season, to blow away last year's.
