Duluth went to Colorado last year. I imagine that weekend is the traditional Chris Jenkins tournament in the Twin Cities which features two OOC teams and Duluth and Minnesota.

For my thoughts on Pitt football:
http://412.laxallstars.com/emperors-new-clothes-pitt-edition/

That’s my best guess. I hope I’m correct.

On Sunday, September 5, 2010, Disqus

Duluth must have a massive budget. Flying to Colorado to play 1 game? thats more than what is in 95% of team's season travel budgets, and thats just one of 3 serious road trips for UMD. This is why the rich get richer in MCLA and that all this “growth if the MCLA” talk we here about isnt real. Sure more teams are picking joining the MCLA but the top 16 will never change as they arent in the same ballpark financially even though they are on a skills basis. Why cant Duluth already making a trip to Colorado not pick up a seconds game even if it isnt against one of the elite 16 teams to give a lesser team some exposure or a chance to make a name for themselves?

Hey How'd the Panthers do in their opener? I heard D. Lewis was going to be unstoppable this year!

thrown off with Colorado being the home team

What a whiney post. 10 years ago Duluth was horrible. They didn’t travel. They didn’t even win their conference. It used to be Mankato every year. They have obviously made a huge effort to build their program. It’s not like UMD is known for a being a school full of rich kids like a Michigan or a UCLA. They are mostly local Minnesota kids from public schools. They did it without even having a coach who lived anywhere near campus. If you want to get where they are, or where any of the top teams are, then make a plan and execute it.

And if a team has the money to travel to play just one game, and that’s all they want to do, good for them. No team has an obligation to any other team.

Duluth may not have been good or be “full of rich kids” but they obviously built a very large budget to be successful. That is my point, not that Duluth or Colorado dont deserve what they have built but they had the money to do it. Without money no team can transform into a successful team in the MCLA. When teams like Duluth, Colorado, Michigan travel they strictly play other elite teams as they should, but it stifles the opportunities for other teams to make build their reputation. As a member of a team ranked in the top 25 2 of the last 3 years and as high as 15th, I can tell you our budget comes nowhere near a flight for 40 guys anywhere. Yet we are still considered a “second option” to teams coming to our area.

Duluth may not have been good or be “full of rich kids” but they obviously built a very large budget to be successful. That is my point, not that Duluth or Colorado dont deserve what they have built but they had the money to do it. Without money no team can transform into a successful team in the MCLA. When teams like Duluth, Colorado, Michigan travel they strictly play other elite teams as they should, but it stifles the opportunities for other teams to make build their reputation. As a member of a team ranked in the top 25 2 of the last 3 years and as high as 15th, I can tell you our budget comes nowhere near a flight for 40 guys anywhere. Yet we are still considered a “second option” to teams coming to our area.

i would love to know how Duluth broke through. MSU is a little more understandable as they are huge. How do those teams raise the money? donors? alums? dues? Going through Chapman and ASU is easier said than done to win the SLC

I get that. But I'm asking how did Duluth change that? They still have trouble getting anyone to come to them. So how did they raise the money that you are saying your team can't (or at least hasn't)? How did Duluth break into playing some of the better MCLA teams? How is a team like Michigan State doing it now? I completely agree it takes money. Are you saying that your team simply can't do what some of these other teams have done? If so, then you may be right. You might be stuck, just like NCAA D1 teams like Wagner, VMI and Presbyterian are stuck. In that case, enjoy the opportunity to play good college lacrosse. Maybe competing for a national title will never be the realistic mission for your team, and maybe that's OK.

There is one road to becoming a top MCLA team without spending a ton of money. Win your conference, get the automatic bid and then win at least one game at nationals. Instant legitimacy.

Exactly. That's what you need to find out, and then bring some of that info back to your team. Like I said, if you want to become an elite team create a plan and implement it. That's the beauty of club lacrosse. The athletic department isn't determining what kind of team you have. You are.

Right now you are saying you have to go through Chapman and ASU, and you're right, that's a tall order. But five years ago those two teams weren't anything to write home about. Back then you had to get through Arizona and UCSB and Sonoma in the old WCLL. Way back it was Cal. The only constants in the MCLA that I can tell are CSU and BYU and maybe Michigan after the first couple of years of the league. Aside from them, the dominant teams have changed every few years. Hell, even Chico used to make the tournament from out your way, and Cal Poly had their run too. Even Michigan, who is clearly the best team now, took a long time to get to the top.