Is St. Andrew's (NCAA D2) Moving to the MCLA this season?

ConnorWilsonLAS

I've been hearing that due to a school merger, St. Andrew's in North Carolina is now part of the NAIA, and would therefore have to play in the MCLA, since the NAIA does not officially sponsor lacrosse.
This is a team with a TON of international talent (5 kids from Perth, Australia and a bunch of Canadians) that could probably do VERY well in MCLA D2 immediately.
I like that the MCLA is there in case a school isn't in the NCAA, or the school kills the program, but this is not really one of those cases... they were an NCAA squad with potential. Not a Knock on the MCLA at all, but it somehow seems like a bit of a step back.
Am I wrong here?

Cam

They could apply to be MCLA DI if they can back up their cause. It's too late to even get in a conference for 2012 anyway. Too bad about DII.

utlaxcoach

Confirmed: http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/view/full_story/16172150/article-St--Andrews-makes-shift-to-NAIA?instance=secondary_stories_left_column

They have a schedule set to compete in the conference they were in for the spring but are ineligible for postseason play for 2012. Given that the NAIA doesn't sanction lacrosse I would expect them to apply for the MCLA. I suppose they could apply for MCLA Div 1 but they better fit MCLA Div 2, and could do well there. They would not step right in and be a tournament favorite at MCLA Div 2. May be humbling for them to figure that out, but nationally there are some very strong MCLA Div 2 teams.

smclax33

I dont understand why an NAIA team would automatically go MCLA Div II. It seemed like Lindenwood was the first to try being a Varsity team playing in the MCLA and they were able to be very successful in DI until they moved to NCAA, but most NAIA teams since then have all been DII. It seems to me that scholarships and not paying dues would be effective recruiting tools over DI teams as well as DII teams. Im just curious why more Varsity teams dont try their hand at the DI level. I think Davenport is making that move next year if im not mistaken.

Cam

NCAA DII to MCLA II is a gigantic jump down. If they have real NCAA DII athletes from the top to the bottom of their roster, then they shouldn't bother with DII.

ConnorWilsonLAS

at this point it seems like playing their planned schedule could be best, as a total independent. Hopefully other schools wouldn't drop them.
Not a good situation, but I wonder if there is any precedent for an NAIA school having one or more ncaa teams? Is that even possible?

jimmychange

No precedent. The closest thing would be Lindenwood last year. They played both MCLA and NCAA teams. But this season, they have dropped from the MCLA, even though they haven't been accepted as an NCAA school yet.

LaxFan

Reply to @jimmychange: Lindenwood has a provsional acceptance to the NCAA in 2013. Here are the details:

http://www.lindenwoodlions.com/news/2010/7/12/GEN_0712102241.aspx

jimmychange

Reply to @LaxFan: i should have phrased it better. They are not yet an NCAA school. They are NCAA bound, but not yet in.

Tom_H

Woody touched on this briefly in quick hits, but we got an email about this last week with all the details...

C_Hart

Ndnu started out competing as an independent in the NCAA div 2 while the rest of the school was NAIA. We played against all the club teams in the area we could and travelled to all NCAA games.

SteveBlair

Carried down from the Coyne Mountain: “St. Andrews (N.C.) will keep lacrosse as a varsity sport and will apply to the MCLA's SELC for next season, according to AD Glenn Batten.”

USlaxer

The athletes attending St Andrews went there to play NCAA DII lacrosse. Now the program is not currently NCAA and not NAIA. They will play in the current set schedule for the coming spring season and will likely have to do so with a depleted squad. The team basically play for nothing this season, they are not eligible for playoffs and the players are not eligible for any individual awards - yet they burn eligibility by playing!! So, the players are left with few options for the coming spring season, with most squads already set for the spring, those who are left play or risk losing their athletic scholarships, or they could leave i guess. It seems the players are the biggest losers in a situation that they had nothing to do with creating.

animal40

St. Andrews is nothing like lindenwood. Lindenwood is moving up to ncaa d2, im personally interested to see how they do, due to them consistantly in top 20 in mcla, much like i am in michigan. St andrews got booted from ncaa due to having to merge with a non-ncaa scool due to financial troubles. All athletes were given a release by the ncaa to transfer without penalty. I am aware that over 50% of lax team did leave, as did the head coach. So dont be so quick to think they will dominate the selc d2, there are 3 other naia schools in that con.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

Tagged