On April 28, 1992, Northwestern’s once-storied lacrosse program fell into obscurity, losing its last game to Drexel 11-5 before being relegated to club status because of a budget crunch in the athletic department.
Ten years later, NU women’s lacrosse has come out of hibernation.
But in making its way back to the big time, lacrosse was in competition with other women’s sports, including crew, water polo — even equestrian.
“We looked at equestrian. It’s a growing sport,” said Rick Taylor, NU director of athletics. “But I didn’t want to get into buying oats for a team.”
Lacrosse was deemed the best fit mainly because NU could support it with its existing facilities, Taylor said. The team practices on Lakeside Field, which is also used by soccer in the fall but was previously empty during the spring.
Other sports posed logistical problems.
Water polo would need to use the pool at the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center, which is already used by the swimming and diving teams, and for recreational activities, Taylor said.
And crew, which has long been on the club level — well, as Taylor put it, “Where would they row?
“Once you have a sport, you’ve got to be able to support it,” he added. “We’re landlocked. I’d love to be able to wave a magic wand and create more fields, but I can’t do that.”
Varsity status allows the lacrosse team funding for uniforms, equipment, travel costs and scholarships, among other things.
Head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said NU was in the right position — both athletically and academically — to compete on the national scene.
“They see teams like Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame from the Midwest that have done pretty well,” she said. “Lacrosse is a sport that draws really intelligent student-athletes. The two top teams in the country right now are Princeton and Georgetown, successful academic schools, and I think that’s another thing that makes Northwestern a strong fit.”
Taylor also said lacrosse was a booming sport in high schools, which should help feed NU strong recruiting classes. Amonte Hiller has seen that growth first-hand — she runs a summer lacrosse camp for high schoolers on campus and in Wilmette.
NU’s lacrosse history also helped give the sport an edge. In its first incarnation, from 1982 to 1992, the Wildcats played in the NCAA tournament five times and had 10 players selected to the All-America team.
“(The players) know there was a tradition here at Northwestern,” Amonte Hiller said. “They were successful, but now we’re making our mark, we’re deciding what Northwestern lacrosse is all about, and that’s a really unique atmosphere. That’s, I think, why a lot of the kids came here.”
NU’s coach from that era, Cindy Timchal, went on to coach at Maryland, which has become a lacrosse powerhouse. Amonte Hiller played under Timchal at Maryland, earning Player of the Year awards in 1995 and 1996, her junior and senior years.
With the return of lacrosse, NU has met the first Title IX requirement, Taylor said. Title IX, passed in 1972, mandates that universities dole out an equal distribution of scholarships between male and female athletes. Given this, Taylor said, the lacrosse team will probably be the last addition to NU’s varsity slate, for now.
“I don’t see (us adding another team) in the foreseeable future,” he said. “I wouldn’t know where to put them.”
