Feb. 21, 2007

Valentine's Day means different things to different people. For some the holiday offers a chance to reinforce their affection for loved ones. For others it is yet another important date on the calendar that they will preternaturally forget about, leading to a stint in the doghouse. Many use it as an excuse to consume copious amounts of guilt-free chocolate.

I, for one, feel Valentine's Day is simply an artificially created holiday propped up by millions of marketing dollars from the fat cats at the greeting card and diamond corporations, along with the chocolate cabal. Here's a tip for all the suckers, especially guys, who queue up at the local florist every Valentine's Day -- gifts for your special someone hold more gravitas when they aren't expected.

No, Feb. 14 is important for just one reason: it means tomorrow is the first day spring sports in my beloved New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) are allowed to hold their first official practice. While other lacrosse conferences have been practicing for the better part of a month, the NESCAC has been running sprints and playing wall ball in preparation for the 15th.

For those of you unfamiliar with the NESCAC, and the reasoning behind its scheduling decision, here's a little primer.

The conference consists of 10 schools (11 in some sports) that sell themselves as like-minded in their dedication to the primacy of academics over athletics. The seriousness of the conference's dedication to this policy is illustrated by its disallowing participation in team NCAA championships (individuals in sports like cross country, track, swimming, etc., could participate) until 1993.

While the NCAA ban was lifted for all sports except for football, the NESCAC still bars teams from having out of season practices (i.e., fall ball) even if they are sanctioned by the NCAA, and the start date for practices is always later than the allowable date. This is, supposedly, to foster participation in more than one sport.

The NESCAC's ideals don't always stand up to the light of logic -- the ice hockey national championship, of which Middlebury has gone to many with several lacrosse players on its roster, doesn't conclude until March 18 -- but for the most part they are consistent.

One would think these restrictions might have a dampening effect on the success of the conference. In lacrosse, that hasn't been the case, primarily due to the domination of one program.

Middlebury is the signature NESCAC program in lacrosse. On the men's side, the Panthers are nonpareil. Middlebury has qualified for the NCAAs for the past nine years, has won all six conference crowns, has picked up three national championships, and has advanced to six title games. The conference finally sent a different team to the tourney for the first time last spring when Wesleyan was chosen as an at-large team.

The Middlebury women have done even better. Missy Foote's squad has won five national championships and appeared in two other title games. However, on the women's side, the NESCAC has had a bit more overall success. Amherst and Williams have also participated in a national title game, with Amherst beating Middlebury in the 2003 national title game (the Panthers beat the Lord Jeffs in the '01 championship). Last year alone, four conference teams qualified for the 24-team NCAA field, with three advancing to the quarterfinals.

Every year, this year included, it's Middlebury that carries the flag for the conference. The women, despite losing in the semifinals last year and graduating a ton of talent, have been tabbed as the No. 1 team in our preseason poll. The Panther men, ranked 9th, are actually behind Wesleyan (4th), likely due to the departure of Erin Quinn -- who is now the school's athletic director -- but they have a host of strong players and may again be the team to beat.

No, the NESCAC definitely has not suffered from its late start. In fact, if you were taking into consider both genders, the NESCAC would have to be labeled the best lacrosse conference in the nation. Taken separately, the women definitely hold the title and the men are in the discussion.

February 14th is known as the eve of the NESCAC lacrosse season, and that means that every team in the country has finally started to officially play lacrosse. And that's a Valentine for us all.

Contact Jac Coyne at jcoyne@uslacrosse.org.