Montclair State University has been around since 1908, when it was called the New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair.
Over its 116-year history, it has grown to not only a sizable research university, but the second-largest public university in New Jersey, and with more than 22,000 currently enrolled in undergraduate and graduate studies.
Given the size, reach, revenue, and location near major population centers, what was announced yesterday was a little head-scratching.
The university, in its infinite wisdom, decided to drop both men’s and women’s lacrosse in favor of women’s flag football.
Thing is, Montclair State, especially its women’s team, has done some incredibly heaving lifting to become a competitive side. The sports economy of the mid-1980s saw the women’s lacrosse team not take the field from 1986 to 1996. It took another 10 years for the team to start winning trophies. It was the ECAC Division III Upstate Champion in 2006, beating Hartwick 13-8 in the final.
The Montclair men have been playing lacrosse in some form since 1897. The varsity program goes back 51 years, as the Red Hawks would win the ECAC Metro Championship twice. The team also benefitted from Montclair High teams coached by people like Gil Gibbs, Dean Witty, and Chris Johnson.
With all of the work that has been done to make these programs successful, it befuddles me why the university is making this decision.
