Men's Sports and Lacrosse as a Fundraising Vehicle -- <h1>IVY LEAGUE SPORTS BOARD</h1>

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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
In reply to: Matt Reuter 's message, "Columbia Men's Lacrosse--Make It 8 In the Ivy" on 19:09:01 09/09/25 Tue

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.

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Replies:

[> [> 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
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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.