NEW ORLEANS – The third annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Lacrosse Classic is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, Feb. 15-17, at Pan Am Stadium in New Orleans City Park. The seventh annual Allstate Sugar Bowl High School Lacrosse Classic will be played in January.
This year’s collegiate event is expanding once again to include nine collegiate club teams. The inaugural event featured two squads and last year, the classic had four collegiate teams as well as high school competition. This year’s collegiate teams are: Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, UL Lafayette. In addition to the collegiate teams, eight high school teams will also take part in the event: Brother Martin (New Orleans), Caddo Magnet (Shreveport, La.), Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.), Dutchtown (Geismar, La.), Jesuit (New Orleans), Loyola Prep (Shreveport, La.), St. Paul’s School (Covington, La.) and St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.).
Tickets for the event are available by visiting: http://sblaxclassic.eventbrite.com. Each day’s ticket is $10, while a weekend pass is $20.
“We are very excited that our lacrosse events continue to expand,” said Paul Hoolahan, Chief Executive Officer of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. “The sport continues to grow around the country and we’re proud to continue to increase lacrosse exposure in New Orleans and Louisiana in keeping with our mission to promote tourism through amateur athletics.”
In the 2012 collegiate classic, Ole Miss edged LSU, 12-11, in overtime, in the first game, while Texas topped Arizona State, 4-3, in the marquee match-up. In the inaugural collegiate event in 2011, Texas defeated Florida State, 12-11.
The inaugural Allstate Sugar Bowl high school lacrosse event in 2007 had eight teams participating. Since that time, the Classic has grown to a capacity slate of over 40 teams. Recognized as one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States, lacrosse has seen youth participation grow over 500 percent since 1999 to nearly 250,000. No sport has grown faster at the high school level over the last 10 years and there are now an estimated 200,000 high school players. The sport is also growing fast in Louisiana, which had seven high school teams in 2008 and has grown to 19 teams scheduled to compete in 2012. The high-speed game is also a fan favorite, drawing crowds of as many as 50,000 for NCAA Final Four games.
The dominant team in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Lacrosse Classic’s brief history has been Klein High School from Houston, which captured the first four titles. After losing the title in 2011 to St. Thomas More, from Lafayette, La., the Klein dynasty returned to form with a championship victory over Spain Park High from outside Birmingham, Ala.
For more information about the Allstate Sugar Bowl and its many community events, please log on to its website www.allstatesugarbowl.org.
SCHEDULE
Friday, February 15
3:30 PM - Texas A&M v. UL-Lafayette
6:00 PM - LSU v. Texas
8:30 PM - Tennessee v. Florida State
Saturday, February 16
8:00 AM - Catholic (HS) v. Brother Martin (HS)
10:30 AM - Texas A&M v. Tennessee
1:00 PM - Dutchtown (HS) v. Caddo Magnet (HS)
3:30 PM - Auburn vs. UL-Lafayette
6:00 PM - LSU v. Alabama
8:30 PM – Florida State v. Texas
Sunday, February 17
8:00 AM - Alabama v. UL-Lafayette
10:30 AM - Auburn vs. LSU
1:00 PM - Texas A&M v. Ole Miss
3:30 PM - St. Paul's School (HS) v. Loyola (HS)
6:00 PM - Jesuit (HS) v. St. Thomas More (HS)
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