Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy -- <h1>IVY LEAGUE SPORTS BOARD</h1>

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Subject: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy

Author:
Matt Reuter (Happy)

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Date Posted: 19:09:01 09/09/25 Tue

https://www.columbiaspectator.com/sports/2025/09/08/columbia-is-the-only-ivy-without-varsity-mens-lacrosse-an-alumni-organization-wants-to-change-that/

Making our debut on the pages of the Columbia Daily Spectator. Help us complete the Ivy League by restoring the roar to one of the original eight collegiate lacrosse programs in America!

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Replies:

[> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: NYCblue [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 07:58:57 09/10/25 Wed Good, I hope they field a varsity team.

[> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: Matt Reuter [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 16:55:51 09/10/25 Wed My group is working on it; we can use any help we can get to secure funding and supporters! Please pass the article along to anyone who may be interested in learning more about Make It 8!

[> Subject: Unanswered question?
Author: Go Green [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 12:22:13 09/10/25 Wed A picture in the article explains in its caption that Columbia last fielded a (men's) varsity lacrosse team in 1910. I didn't see anything explaining why the program disbanded thereafter. WWI wasn't for another few years... Anyone know? Or did I miss something?

[> Subject: Men's Sports and Lacrosse as a Fundraising Vehicle

Author:
An Observer
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Date Posted: 13:19:48 09/10/25 Wed

Of course I hope that these guys succeed. Having all eight schools field a team in a sport which fits the Ivy academic model makes sense.

But if GG is asking questions, I've got two more:

What and when was the last time any Ivy League university added a men's varsity sport that was not part of a package including a women's sport as well?

When was the last time that any Ivy added a men's sport, period?

Here's something that I would recommend Lion men's lacrosse proponents try to sell to senior management at Low Library:

I'll bet that, on a per capita basis, men's lacrosse alumni donate more money to their alma maters than any other sport/club/extracurricular/demographic.

Alumni donations at all eight Ivy universities are in free fall. Seriously, for donation rates which historically bump around in a narrow range, the numbers have broken out of their trading ranges to the downside. It's a bear market with no signs of a bottom yet.

Even the traditional stalwarts Princeton and Dartmouth are in trouble. It's a tough time to be an Ivy League CFO.

I'll bet that the current environment is one of the few occasions when alumni donation rates have declined while the stock market is at all-time highs.

[> [> Subject: Re: Men's Sports and Lacrosse as a Fundraising Vehicle
Author: M3 [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 13:48:25 09/10/25 Wed Big donors talk Little donors walk In IL eyes 140K endowment means $5600 a year to fund the program (4% is generally what is distributed yearly from endowments). Not nearly enough to get the of an IL athletic department to fund and start a mens varsity program and Title IX headache.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Men's Sports and Lacrosse as a Fundraising Vehicle
Author: sparman [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 14:48:08 09/10/25 Wed And wouldn't that 4% decrease after factoring in the new endowment taxes? Agree about $140K endowment not doing more than funding some practice goals, but maybe it will lead to more. Too bad they don't have alumni players to appeal to. But they have to start somewhere.

[> [> Subject: Brown Men's Squash in 1989

Author:
An Observer
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 13:56:04 09/10/25 Wed

Here's the answer to my question above: The last men's varsity sport added by an Ivy League school is Brown men's squash in 1989.

That's right, it's been 36 years since an Ivy sponsored a new men's sport. Meanwhile, it's been a fast-growing weed for women's sports: rugby, fencing, equestrian.

So while I wish the best for Columbia men's lacrosse, I can't get optimistic for them.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Brown Men's Squash in 1989
Author: joiseyfan [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 18:24:07 09/10/25 Wed Princeton men’s water polo went varsity in 1996, men’s volleyball in 1997.

[> [> Subject: Re: Men's Sports and Lacrosse as a Fundraising Vehicle
Author: Matt Reuter [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 17:03:40 09/10/25 Wed Columbia added men’s and women’s squash in 2011 after getting a check from an alum to establish the programs. We are making connections throughout the lacrosse world in hope of the same.

[> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy

Author:
SpuytenDuyvil76 (lassitude)
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 15:00:12 09/10/25 Wed

The captain elected for the 2011 season apparently quit. No one to take his place? Lack of ability to attract sufficient numbers to squad were also said to have been a factor.
I am a proud alumnus of the 1980 squad, when as a grad student, I decided to get out of the library for Spring afternoons. We played the other Ivy JV's back then: trounced Yale and in turn trounced by P'ton.
Columbia doesn't have a men's or women's Varsity ice hockey team...that still doesn't solve your Title IX issue. How about an equestrian team? they still have stables on the East Side and can ride in Central Park, nicht wahr?

[> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: SpuytenDuyvil76 (correction) [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 15:01:19 09/10/25 Wed *1911 season

[> [> [> Subject: Fascinating!
Author: Go Green [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 15:16:44 09/10/25 Wed Amazing how one guy's decision could have had such a lasting impact on Ivy League athletics! :)

[> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy

Author:
Matt Reuter
[ Edit | View ]

Date Posted: 17:01:09 09/10/25 Wed

SpuytenDuyvill are you on the Make It 8 email list? One of our board members is a likely former teammate of yours class of 1982. Per research there were attempts to bring the team back in 1911 and 1912 that were stopped by the school administration. Baker Field would not open for another 15 years so the captain resigning was a convenient excuse to remove a sport from a crowded space on South Lawn.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: SpuytenDuyvil76 [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 17:05:19 09/10/25 Wed On the list, Matt. Check is in the mail!

[> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: Matt Reuter [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 23:03:51 09/10/25 Wed Thank you so much for your support!

[> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: M3 [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 07:53:02 09/11/25 Thu Besides money the other issue is athletic slots Need a minimum of 6 lacrosse slots to run a D1/Ivy League level program More athletic slots at Columbia? Douby it

[> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: Matt Reuter [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 13:41:04 09/11/25 Thu We are aware of the slots issue. We also expect to overcome it with a large enough donatin, endowed or otherwise, to start a varsity program.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: M3 [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 15:23:55 09/11/25 Thu 10 million $ should get things off the ground

[> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy
Author: Matt Reuter [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 20:17:16 09/11/25 Thu Agreed. Every $ counts however we will need a large seed donor to get us there.