“May Madness” kicks off this coming week (lacrosse, that is). Lacrosse aficionados know the sport is great and the action is compelling. Here are ten reasons why.
10. Unlike March Madness, there aren’t a gazillion teams in lean, mean May Madness. There are 18 teams with two play-in games.
9. Seeded teams in May Madness get first-round home games. (Unfortunately, most, if not all, schools are in exams or on break, so attendance isn’t what it should be.)
8. Long Island, a lacrosse hub, is a quarterfinal site. It’s nice to see LI getting center stage rather than the Hamptons or a crime scene.
7. Newark, Delaware, home of the Blue Hens, is the other quarterfinal site. This is another locale that doesn’t get enough limelight.
Courtesy Virginia Sports
6. Charlottesville is hosting the Final Four. It feels right that a college stadium hosts a college championship and not an NFL stadium.
5. Charlottesville will host three days of lax action on Memorial Day Weekend. The semi-finals are on Saturday; the finals are on Monday. In between, on Sunday, Charlottesville hosts the D2 and D3 finals.
4. Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley are a lot of fun in March, but lacrosse has some formidable broadcasting, too. Paul Carcaterra, Quint Kessenich, and Anish Shroff provide great commentary. As far as metaphors, Anish goes where few others have gone and will ever go. Props!
The Big Red (photo courtesy Cornell Daily Sun)
3. If you’re an Ivy League fan, May Madness should be on your agenda. Cornell won it last year, and they might repeat, but they might have to beat league rival Princeton.
2. College lacrosse isn’t a professional endeavor – yet. Most of the players are on partial scholarship, if that, and NIL doesn’t dominate it – yet. In other words, these athletes are still student-athletes.
1. A few wildcards have a chance to win more than one round and make it all the way to Charlottesville. Nearby Richmond would draw a nice crowd. Penn State is another dark horse to root for.
JIM BROWN (photo from his SU days, courtesy Crosscheck)
HISTORICAL NOTE: Arguably, the best college lacrosse of all time, The GOAT, was a double-sport All-America (lacrosse and football), who played for the Syracuse Orangemen (so named back in the day, Orange today). He also started on the SU basketball team. The player went on to have a fabulous NFL career (considered one of the best running backs in NFL history) and then starred in Hollywood films. Who?
TV NOTE: ESPNU will broadcast the 2026 selection shows this evening (Sunday, May 3). Women first, at 9:00 PM Eastern, followed by the men at 9:30 PM.
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Jon Hart is the author of Unfortunately, I was available, the sequel to Man versus Ball: One Ordinary Guy and His Extraordinary Sports Adventures.
