The NC State Wolfpack men's lacrosse team represented

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

men's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

from 1973 to 1982 and currently represents the university in the Southeast Lacrosse Conference. The team was disbanded as a varsity sport after the 1982 season. The team currently competes in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division I.

History

The first Wolfpack team, initially granted club status, was introduced in 1972 by Colonel Robert E. Conroy, a

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

instructor. Conroy played college lacrosse at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

from 1954 to 1956. The next year NC State approved varsity status, and began playing against a mix of club and varsity programs, ending with a record of 3–9. That year Colonel Conroy was transferred leaving a vacancy in the coaching position. His successor, Dr. Charles E. Patch, had never coached or seen a full game but did graduate from

SUNY Cortland The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland, C-State, or Cortland State) is a public university in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Univ ...

, one of the nation's premier lacrosse programs. With a new coach and only 4 of the 19 team members having lacrosse experience, the team went 1–13. After records of 7–7 and 8–8 in 1975 and 1976 respectively, the program began to gain some measure of success. In 1977 the team vaulted into the limelight of Division I college lacrosse with the recruitment of three time first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n Stan Cockerton, who still ranks second in all-time NCAA career goals. That year the Wolfpack finished 10–4 with a No. 14 national ranking. Success continued the next year as NC State defeated perennial powerhouses

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to end up with a 9–4 record and a No. 9 national ranking. After that year, Dr. Patch resigned to continue the growth of the program, and ex-Virginia assistant coach Larry Gross was hired to take over. The Wolfpack would follow with an 8–4 record, a No. 6 national ranking, and its first and only NCAA tournament appearance. The tournament culminated in an early first round exit to eventual National Champion

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. In the next three years the team would go 6–5 in 1980, 7–4 and a No. 11 national rank in 1981, and finally 5–6 in the 1982 season. The team lost varsity status following 1982. Future national champion Tim Nelson was on the Wolfpack squad that final season, transferring to Syracuse where he led the team to a National Title in 1983. Lacrosse was removed as a varsity sport due to several reasons as stated by the Athletic Department, including Title IX considerations. At the time of dropping the sport, there were no high school teams playing lacrosse in North Carolina and the recruiting would have to be done out of state. The only D1 programs in the state were UNC and Duke and the travel budget was very small. But the biggest factor in eliminating the sport was the lack of scholarships, without which the team could not competitively compete in the ACC. However Title IX compliance stands in the way of reinstating the program and the sport remains as a club team today playing in the

Atlantic Lacrosse Conference The Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (ALC) is a lacrosse conference in the United States that participates in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The ALC operates in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, ...

of the MCLA. Due to the expansion of the game throughout the country, there has been much more attention placed into the eventual reestablishment of the program as a varsity-level sport. However, funds remain an issue. As stated by former NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow, "I have a personal appreciation for the sport of lacrosse. That said, I can not foresee a time when we would voluntarily add any sport. The current 23 varsity sports need and deserve our attention and financial support." File:NCSU Lacrosse Team 1972.jpg, 1972 NCSU Lacrosse Team File:Stan cockerton.jpg, Stan Cockerton fights for a groundball. File:State-lax-vs.-duke-600x438.jpg, NC State playing against

Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse The Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team represents Duke University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. Duke currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays its home games ...

while still under varsity status.

Season Results

The following is a list of NC State's results by season as an NCAA Division I program: {, class="wikitable" , - align="center"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nc State Wolfpack men's lacrosse 1972 establishments in North Carolina 1982 disestablishments in North Carolina Lacrosse clubs established in 1972 Lacrosse clubs disestablished in the 1980s Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1982

History

Season Results

See also

References