Is the growth of lacrosse at the expense of other womens sports?

So, quick question.

The university we cover just recently announced it is taking on a girls lacrosse program. Problem is, thanks to Title IX, that means axing another women's sport. They've decided on 86ing gymnastics.

I'm going to be doing some work on this topic so my question is whether or not this is a trend in other areas. Do you guys see lacrosse growing in your area? Is gymnastics getting the boot because of this or is gymnasitcs just dying as a whole?

Any imput would be welcomed.

 

Ask any gymnastics coach and they'll tell you competitive cheerleading, not lacrosse, is killing their sport.

And don't let the administration's cries of "Title IX" fool you. Adding or dropping sports, especially two women's sports, is strictly a budget thing. Schools like to hide behind Title IX to make it look like their hands are tied. Bullshit.

Lacrosse is cheaper to fund than gymnastics, and as more colleges add it there is increased competition. As there is increased competition, that means more schools nearby are participating, which means decreased travel costs. Though I don't know for sure, I would guess insuring a sport like lacrosse is cheaper due to less chance of catastrophic injury and less equipment that some idiot frat boy could wander into a gym and kill himself on.

And a little nit-picky thing: when you refer to teams at the college level, it is women's and men's. Any level below that, boys and girls.

EDIT: I looked it up, thinking roster numbers might be the reason they're claiming Title IX. If gymnastics only rosters 6 but lacrosse can roster 30, that makes a difference in the overall numbers for the athletic department. But gymnastics at that school rosters 21, and lacrosse 28. Seven spots is not enough to hide behind Title IX.

 

One more thing, addressing the way you phrased your thread title:

It's not as if there's a limited pool of females who play sports and multiple options fighting for their attention.

Different people like and are better suited for different things. I'm guessing you wouldn't get a lot in the gymnastics/lacrosse crossover crowd. So instead of one girl choosing between the two sports, you have two girls participating in the one they like.

 

I just want to reiterate what Cadet said: Title IX is NOT why they're cutting gymnastics. AD's use Title IX for an excuse for everything from losing football teams to their wives horsing around on them.

 

Excellent work on this thread, Cadet.

 

Pretty much any time an athletic department bitches about Title IX, it's bullshit.

And yes, the decline of gymnastics is directly related to the rise of the "sport" of cheerleading.

Drawing from much of the same participant pool, and the same budgetary pool as well.

 

The growth of lacrosse is a scourge upon society.

 

Not only that, but cheerleading is much easier on the body than gymnastics.

 

Women gymnasts are over the hill by the time they get to college. Why should they get scholarships to play in the seniors' tour of their sport???

 

Suzanne Yoculan is wondering why she just killed SoCalDude in her sleep.

 

Agreed on the fine work from Cadet, although I don't know of any idiot frat boys wandering around severly injuring themselves on the uneven bars.