By Erin Maggio (’21)
On Thursday January 21, the Houghton Athletic Department announced that its men’s and women’s lacrosse programs would have just one last season of competition this spring before being discontinued.
This past fall a task force, with representation from athletics and enrollment, was assembled for a formal review which led to the decision that was then finalized in January.
The press release cites this change being made to allow for resources to be reallocated, especially to give more support to programs they feel have “the potential for greater strategic impact and growth for the department and college.” This includes a plan to put more support into various areas including wellness and recreation programming and the track and field program.
The task force found that there is a growing interest in the health and wellness of the community. In order to fill this, the department is planning to bolster its offerings of fitness opportunities, maximize the use of Houghton’s facilities, launch a club sports program, and rejuvenate its intramural sports.
In terms of reallocation in the track and field program, this decision means the addition of two graduate assistant coaches. Director of Athletics Matthew Webb says that “of all our sports, track and field has the greatest potential to grow its roster. We are increasing our expectations for recruitment in this area…[and] we anticipate this investment will have a positive impact on the enrollment of new students at the college.”
Current and former students, though, were not as impressed. Upon hearing of this decision, a group of eight current and former Houghton lacrosse players created an online petition directed to the College’s Board of Trustees. The group—consisting of Nathan Anderson (’21), Andrew Bub (’19), Cole Chapman (’19), Marissa Hews (’20), Quinn Hull (’20), Alyssa Johnson (Strom) (’18), Tom Woodward (’20), and Michael Wrobel (’21)—included a few who originally wrote individual letters to Matthew Webb. According to Hull, all of these were met with nearly identical responses.
“After receiving those responses, I jumped on a FaceTime call with former teammates of mine Tom Woodward, Nate Anderson, Mike Wrobel, Andrew Bub, and Cole Chapman. We all decided that our next move would be to write to the chairman of the board of trustees for Houghton College in an attempt to have them review this decision. The six of us reached out to Marissa Hews and Alyssa Johnson of the women’s program to help us with their side of things and make sure both teams had a voice in this attempt at a review,” Hull recounted. This letter was included at the beginning of the petition.
Along with other aspects, the letter included qualms with the decision itself. Primarily, they felt the decision was contradictory. Webb stated that the decision was made to “find ways to invest our resources that align with [the Athletic Departments’] priorities for competitive excellence and that support areas where there is the most potential for growth.” However, the petitioners felt that the lacrosse programs supported such ideals of competitive excellence, pointing out the men’s improving winning percentage in the past three seasons as well as the women’s program’s statistical achievements.
The group also took issue with the handling and timing of the decision. For instance, they say “there was no effort made to save the program through other means,” as they believe there could have been a call for fundraising from alumni or individual team fundraising. Instead, the teams were only notified of the decision once it was final. The decision announcement was also problematic to the group because it was announced after spring semester bills for students were due, which hampered student-athletes’ abilities to transfer.
The letter continued by outlining ways that the group perceived the lacrosse programs to be behind all along due to the way they were handled, including, but not limited to the men’s program being rushed into participation prior to having a proper lacrosse coach or an initial recruiting class, and a high turnover rate in coaching on the women’s side. The group also included possible alternative solutions to simply cutting the programs “as they sit on the cusp of breakthrough.”
The petition, which is now closed, amassed 2,074 signatures and 261 comments, including those “from students, faculty, staff, family members, complete strangers, and even from among the ranks of [the programs’] Empire 8 competition like Sage, Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and more,” according to Anderson.
As of now, it does not look like the alternative solutions will be explored. According to Webb, the department has seen the petition: “our decision follows the essential practice of higher education to regularly assess and realign resources in areas that will realize the greatest impact for the entire student body. Although the petition demonstrates the passion for the lacrosse program and the impact it has had on both our alumni and current athletes, we are confident in the process and our final decision,” he said.
Both current and former men’s and women’s lacrosse student-athletes attested to Houghton Lacrosse’s positive impact on their lives:
“There is a very specific culture surrounding the sport of lacrosse. It is one that certainly contrasts with the values Houghton College stands for. In his time at Houghton, Coach Lundeen created a team and culture that consistently went against the grain and did things in a way that countered that culture. This, after all, is essentially what the Christian lifestyle is. The lacrosse program was just one way that Houghton College equipped its students ‘to lead and labor as scholar-servants in a changing world,’” which is what the college’s mission statement articulates, Hull expressed.
Currently a senior on the men’s lacrosse team, Anderson also testified to the impacts of this culture—“the Houghton men’s lacrosse team, led by Coach Lundeen, has not only shaped my college experience, but the very foundation of who I am today. I have learned hard work, discipline, determination, respect, honor, courage, grace, patience, faith, and trust through my teammates and Coach Lundeen. They are my family.”
Reegan Mitchell (’22) emphasized how being a part of the Houghton Women’s Lacrosse team has been an integral part of her Houghton experience, saying, “I have played lacrosse for several years now, but playing for a team that loves God and wants to serve Him on and off the field is not something I experienced throughout high school. These girls have pushed me to look beyond myself and learn how to best encourage others in ways that are unique to them. This program has carried out the mission of Houghton Athletics [in] encouraging their players to become strong leaders and teaching them how to be Christ-like on and off the field.”
It is evident that the Houghton Lacrosse programs’ have left a lasting impact on those who participated in them. It seemed to be a consensus that these current and former student-athletes were saddened by the news of the discontinuing of their teams. As the student-athletes simultaneously reflect on the impacts of the lacrosse program and look ahead to their final year of competitions, the athletic department thanked all of the current and former coaches and players of the two teams on February 4 in an update to their statement, while acknowledging the difficult personal and emotional nature of such a decision.
While there was a wide range in reactions to the news, Mitchell also acknowledged how she felt going into her final season in a Highlanders lacrosse uniform: “one thing that the women’s lacrosse team has talked about is the blessing of having another day. We in no way deserve the gift of sport but we’ve been blessed through many years of this program to have it. We are not promised a tomorrow, we certainly are not promised four years of lacrosse, so I truly feel blessed to at least know I have this season to look forward to, even if it’s the last.”
What are your thoughts and feelings on the news about the Houghton Lacrosse programs? Comment below or get in touch with us via Instagram, Twitter, or email (star@houghton.edu)!
Patrick Hager was named head coach for both men’s and women’s cross-country and track and field programs. Hager previously served as graduate-assistant coach at Messiah College for the past two years. Prior to his role at Messiah, Hager worked as the first ever head cross-country coach at Rosemont College for two years.