George Webb previews the Collegiate Showcase which takes place at the end of February at Clear Lake Park in Houston.
LONE STAR LACROSSE CLASSIC – COLLEGIATE SHOWCASE
February 25-27, 2005
Clear Lake Park
NASA Road 1
Houston, Texas
Event Preview
By George W. Webb III
713-269-5061
gwebb@alumni.rice.edu
Lacrosse, the traditional game of the North American Indians, is booming in Houston. And next month, the Houston area will host a premier national event of this growing sport, as eleven college teams from four states converge for the Lone Star Lacrosse Classic Collegiate Showcase, February 25-27 at Clear Lake Park.
Four top-25 teams highlight the field at the inaugural Collegiate Showcase, hosted by the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.
Heading the list is #10 Oakland University of Rochester, Michigan. New Hampshire, ranked #25, and Eastern Michigan also accepted invitations to open their season in the Bayou City.
Opposing the northern invaders are #13 Texas A&M, #20 Texas, and unranked-but-ascendant Texas Tech. Rice, Houston, SMU, North Texas, and LSU complete the field.
"The Collegiate Showcase is quite simply the most competitive lacrosse that Houston has ever seen," says event founder George Webb. "This will be a fantastic event, not just for lacrosse fans but for anyone who follows sports. As the name implies, this is a showcase of great teams, and everyone needs to get out there."
The Showcase begins Friday evening February 25 and continues through Sunday, with four games each day. Officials from around the country will fly in to work the contests. Between games, college players will conduct skills clinics for youth and high school players who want to learn more about lacrosse.
The eleven teams in the Collegiate Showcase are members of the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates, the national governing body of 200 men's collegiate teams. The top 16 teams at the end of the season advance to the USLIA National Championships, to be held in Minneapolis in May 2005. The Collegiate Showcase is an early proving ground for these eleven teams as they establish their place in the USLIA rankings.
Unlike NCAA lacrosse teams, which are concentrated in the northeast, the USLIA consists of nine collegiate conferences spanning all areas of the United States. Top-level USLIA and NCAA teams both have strict eligibility rules, national travel schedules, professional coaches, and significant alumni support. Perhaps the biggest difference is that USLIA schools do not award scholarships or give admissions preferences for lacrosse.
ABOUT THE TEAMS
Oakland University burst onto the national scene in 2004, winning the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association conference championship with sudden-death victories over Michigan and Miami (Ohio). The Golden Grizzlies are led by explosive attackman Billy Binge, a two-time All-American and two-time Offensive Player of the Year in the CCLA.
"Billy is one of the most talented players in the USLIA," says head coach Dwayne Hicks, a former Notre Dame standout who has also coached the England national team. "He's not a surprise anymore. Every team knows who he is and they focus on him and how they will shut him down. Unfortunately for them, that's what he thrives on. The more you try to shut him down, the harder he'll work to beat you. That's why he's an All-American."
New Hampshire dominated the New England-based Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League in 2004, racing to a 12-0 record before falling to archrival Boston College in the conference final. For 2005 the Wildcats will count on defenseman and team captain Zach Taylor, a second-team All-American and the PCLL Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.
The Texas Longhorns are defending champions of the Lone Star Alliance conference and come to Houston with two of the best players in the LSA: attackman Eric Zissman, who tallied a remarkable 60 points (goals plus assists) in 2004, and goalie Garrett Cox, who had the best save percentage in the LSA. Texas is ably coached by Noah Fink, a former California high school coach who was a starting player on Bucknell's undefeated team in 1996.
Texas A&M will counter with two of the best face-off men in the conference, Mark Goode and Will Sarchet, and a solid defense anchored by team captain Brian DeSpain. And speed is always a hallmark of the Aggies, who won four consecutive LSA titles from 2000-2003. The Aggies' head coach since 1978 is Tony Scazzero, who won the 1971 NCAA championship as a player at Cornell and has been a leader in the LSA and USLIA.
The rivalry between A&M and Texas is as fierce in lacrosse as in any other sport. Each year the Aggies and Longhorns compete to recruit the best high school players in Texas. And each year, the LSA championship seems to come down to the final game between A&M and Texas – often the final minute of that game. The 2004 tournament was no exception, as Texas scored in the fourth quarter to edge A&M 9-8 and end the Aggies' four-year title run.
Texas Tech is currently unranked but has garnered votes in the USLIA national poll. With a tough national schedule and a squad that draws heavily on Houston and Dallas high school talent, the Red Raiders are on the brink of national prominence. A strong showing at the Collegiate Showcase could be the breakthrough that earns them a coveted berth in the USLIA tournament.
Houston and North Texas are new teams on the rise, while Rice, SMU, and LSU are long-standing programs that are each in a rebuilding period. For them, the Collegiate Showcase is an early measuring stick of how far they have come since 2004 and how far they need to go.
LACROSSE IN TEXAS
Lacrosse is the fastest-growing team sport in Texas and in much of the nation. The Houston area alone is home to over 1200 lacrosse players at all age levels, from 5th grade to adult recreational leagues.
Twenty area high schools field boys' lacrosse teams, while twelve have girls' squads. These high schools span the entire metro region, from Kingwood to Fort Bend and from Tomball to Clear Lake. Statewide, sixty schools compete for the Texas High School Lacrosse League championship, which will take place in Houston in May 2005. Texas produced twelve high school All-Americans in 2004, including seven from Houston.
Dozens of burgeoning youth and middle school programs feed these high school teams. Some schools have incorporated lacrosse into their athletic programs, while other teams are supported and managed by hard-working volunteers.
With soaring popularity and enviable demographics, lacrosse is extremely attractive to advertisers and sponsors. Nationally, College Sports Television (CSTV) will broadcast 23 college games in 2005, in addition to the NCAA championships carried by ESPN. Locally, Red Bull beverages and nexPlayer.com have signed on as partners in the Lone Star Lacrosse Classic – Collegiate Showcase.
Sources:
National rankings: USLIA pre-season poll
Team profiles: Lacrosse magazine Jan/Feb 2005 and other sources
Dwight Hicks quote: Oakland University
Fastest growing team sport: National Federation of State High School Associations
Houston area player numbers: US Lacrosse
High school team numbers: Texas High School Lacrosse League
CSTV broadcast schedule: US Lacrosse