The men’s lacrosse team is preparing for their season next year and a tournament in the spring, but they are in need of financial help.
The club team is about $18,000 short of being able to participate in their sport for the next year, and needs the money in order to represent ACU across the state as a team.
“I know it sounds like a lot of money but that’s what we need,” lacrosse player Parker Tennet said. “We need to equip players, pay league dues, and get the necessary equipment such as goals. We have a tournament this April in Huntsville, and our first actual full season would not start until the next spring.”
The lacrosse team has tried to get started before, but the lack of donations by the public has made it difficult to play.
The team held an interest meeting last semester in which they attempted to get some potential players together. The team was able to get a couple dozen players to come to the meeting. Because the team is a club team and not sanctioned by the NCAA, much of the fiscal responsibility falls on their shoulders.
The team is hoping to enter a conference that would allow them to face off against teams such as Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, and the University of Houston. All of these schools have established club teams that would give ACU competition within throughout the state.
The sport of lacrosse is taking the nation by storm, leading young men to pick up the sport in high school or even earlier. However, most southern colleges do not have an organized team because the sport’s popularity is growing more quickly than schools can react.
Although the sport was initially popular on the east coast and the northeast, the fast-paced nature of the game has attracted players from all over the country to try out the sport.
In Texas, the game’s popularity is growing each year to the point where teams are sprouting up in the southern states as well.
“It is the fastest growing sport in the nation,” Tennet said. “It’s also the fastest game on two feet. It is a great team building sport that gives high school athletes that are here an opportunity to get involved in a team sport again.”
