For coaches that are used to competing on a regular basis, sitting and watching other teams play while all you can do is practice can be maddening. The waiting truly is the hardest part.
The head coaches for the NCAA’s three new Division I programs coming in 2025 are doing something about it.
Charlotte, Rhode Island and South Florida will play their first official games next spring, but a taste of what’s to come for all three will happen next weekend when the trio hits the field at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., on April 13 at 5 p.m. for a “Growing the Game” event.
“I thought it would be a really cool experience to get our kids on an awesome stage,” said Rhode Island head coach Jenna Slowey. “The opportunity to play at USA Lacrosse headquarters, where so many amazing teams and individuals have competed at a high level, I thought was a really cool opportunity. I reached out to [Charlotte head coach Clare Short] first. Then I dropped a note to [South Florida coach Mindy McCord] to let her know what we were planning, and she was like, ‘That's a no-brainer. I definitely want to be a part of that.’”
All three programs are in different stages. South Florida, which was originally going to start playing in games in 2024 before delaying its launch, has 26 players on its roster, including seven with previous college experience. Charlotte and Rhode Island both have double-digit freshman classes coming in next year, but for this academic year Rhode Island has 15 players on campus and Charlotte has seven.
With smaller roster sizes, the teams have had to get creative with their practices and they’ll continue to do so next weekend. The event will open with Charlotte and Rhode Island combining into one team playing against South Florida and then they’ll mix up all three teams for some 7v7 and half-field work.
Beyond what they take away from the field, it’s a learning experience in other ways as well.
“It's going to be awesome just to travel,” Short said. “We're flying, so this will be our first flight and our first travel opportunity for our team. Just starting all those kinds of traditions and establishing the memories that we all are going to be seeking for the next couple of years.”
That Baltimore is the destination, is not an accident.
“We were trying to be creative with finding opportunities for our teams to be involved with this spring because we knew it would be kind of a drought with having no games,” Short said. “I figured, what better way to promote our schools and promote that the sport that is growing so fast than to do it in Maryland, one of the hotbeds of lacrosse.”
The teams will sign autographs for fans after the game and look to put on a show that spotlights what their programs are becoming and inspires future players to dream big.
Charlotte and South Florida will both play in the American Athletic Conference next year, making it an eight-team league with teams from six states. Rhode Island will move into the Atlantic 10, an 11-team league that will grow to six states and the District of Columbia represented following URI’s addition.
“Growing the game is a privilege that we have,” Slowey said. “We get to build something from the ground up and I don't think that that happens a lot in sport. This is an opportunity for us to be able to put our mark on something and give back to the game that we love and that has given us so much.”
