If the Orange joined the Big East conference, the team would have an extra chance at an NCAA tournament bid. If they were to win the conference championship, they would earn an automatic berth to the post-season. Currently Syracuse must qualify for an at-large bid.
In the past, Syracuse has relied on it's independent status to schedule the toughest competition in the country each and every week. Usually the Orange has been a strong enough team to overcome it's challenging schedule and earn a berth in the NCAA tournament. If they were ever on the "bubble", they would rely on their strength of schedule and high RPI (ratings percentage index) to push them into the tournament and qualify for a chance to win it all. Last year the team's schedule was apparently too tough, and the Orange finished below .500, which disqualified them from NCAA tournament consideration.
Some critics have expressed concerns that joining the Big East would compromise Syracuse lacrosse's storied tradition of playing rivals Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, and Cornell each year. But Head Coach John Desko told the media last week that he wouldn't join the conference unless he would still have room on his schedule for their rivals. His ideal version of the schedule would have the Orange facing six conference opponents each year, and six games slated for Syracuse's traditional rivals.
Players like sophomore midfielder Max Bartig, and senior defenseman Evan Brady support the idea of joining a conference. Bartig told the media before Sunday's win over Villanova that he'd love to be part of a conference, since most other college teams have such an affiliation. Brady said he'd love a shot to win a Big East championship, but concedes he's more focused on giving Syracuse more chances at a chance to win the NCAA championship.
Students on the other hand don't seem as excited about the idea. While some students have expressed mild interest to seeing familiar conference opponents at the Carrier Dome, some worry that Big East games would result in less competitive lacrosse for students to watch. Senior Ashley Stites, a magazine journalism major at Syracuse University says she enjoys seeing the best lacrosse teams at the Carrier Dome each week, and would rather see competitive lacrosse games than easier games for SU to win. Scott Spinelli, a senior broadcast journalism major, said since he's not a big lacrosse fan, his level of intrigue in the sport comes from seeing the top competition in the country. He added that seeing Syracuse beat up on a lesser potential Big East team, like Villanova, (which Syracuse beat 21-6 on Sunday), wouldn't interested him.
In order for the Big East to become a conference in Division I men's lacrosse, six teams must qualify economically to join. Currently, Syracuse, Rutgers, Georgetown, St. Johns and Notre Dame can meet minimum scholarship requirements. Villanova and Providence have expressed interest in joining the conference, but are not certain they can provide necessary scholarship money to qualify.
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