What SMU’s New Men’s Lacrosse Program Means for Texas

The new team gives Texas its first Division I men’s lacrosse program and adds a sixth men’s team to the ACC.

SportsOctober 15, 20263 min readHow Sureno writes this

The short version

SMU plans to begin men’s lacrosse in spring 2028, making it the first Division I school in Texas with a men’s lacrosse team. ²
The program will be the sixth men’s lacrosse team in the ACC, alongside Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia. ²
It will be SMU’s first new varsity sport since women’s equestrian was added in 2003. ²
The available reports do not provide details about the roster, coach, home venue or operating budget. ¹²

When will SMU’s men’s lacrosse team start?

SMU says its men’s lacrosse team will begin competing in spring 2028. The announcement makes the program the first NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse team in Texas, according to the reporting available. ¹²

That date is the planned start of competition. The materials provided do not say when players will be recruited, when a coach will be named, or when the team will begin practices.

Why is this a first for Texas?

The announcement is significant because SMU is adding a sport that, according to the reports, no Division I university in Texas has sponsored as a men’s team before. It establishes a new high-level college option for the sport within the state. ¹²

That does not mean Texas has had no college lacrosse. The sources supplied do not give a complete account of other divisions or club teams, so the first should be understood specifically as the first Division I men’s program.

What does joining the ACC mean?

SMU’s team will become the ACC’s sixth men’s lacrosse program, joining Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia. ²

That number has a competition-related consequence: the report says six teams is the threshold the ACC needs for an automatic place in the NCAA Tournament. An automatic bid is a conference’s guaranteed tournament entry under the relevant rules; the report does not say that SMU itself is guaranteed a place. ²

The existing five ACC programs have each won at least one national championship since 2009, and all five reached the 2026 NCAA Tournament, according to the report. Those results describe the established programs, not a prediction of how SMU will perform. ²

What does the decision mean for SMU?

Adding lacrosse expands SMU’s varsity sports offerings and gives the school a new team to build. The announcement is also a notable change because SMU had not added a new varsity sport since women’s equestrian in 2003, according to the reporting. ²

SMU athletic director Damon Evans described the move as an investment in the sport’s growth in Texas and said the school expects the team to compete and win. That is the athletic department’s stated ambition, not a guarantee of results. ²

SMU’s announcement refers to a fundraising campaign nearing a $15 million milestone toward a $25 million goal. The supplied excerpt does not explain what costs the goal covers or how much has been raised in total. ¹

What details are still missing?

The materials provided do not identify the head coach, planned roster size, recruiting schedule, home playing venue or conference schedule. They also do not give a full account of the program’s ongoing costs or explain how the fundraising goal relates to them. ¹²

Those details will matter to prospective players and families, fans planning to attend games, and people trying to understand the scale of the investment. For now, the clearest facts are the planned spring 2028 start, the Division I distinction in Texas and the program’s place in the ACC. ²

What we don't know yet

Who will coach the team and when will that appointment be announced?
Where will SMU play its home games, and what will its schedule look like?
How many players will be recruited, and when will recruiting begin?
What costs does the $25 million fundraising goal cover, and what will the program’s ongoing budget be?

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Questions people ask

Is SMU the first Texas school with Division I men’s lacrosse?

Yes. SMU’s planned team is described as the first Division I men’s lacrosse program at a Texas university. It is scheduled to begin competing in spring 2028. ¹²

When does SMU lacrosse start playing?

SMU’s men’s lacrosse team is scheduled to start competing in spring 2028. The reports provided do not give a first game date. ²

Which conference will SMU lacrosse play in?

SMU will be the sixth ACC men’s lacrosse program. The other five named in the report are Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia. ²

Does SMU joining lacrosse give the school an NCAA Tournament place?

The report says the ACC will reach the six-team threshold for an automatic NCAA Tournament bid with SMU’s addition. It does not say that SMU will automatically qualify as an individual team. ²

What is SMU’s lacrosse fundraising goal?

SMU Athletics’ announcement says its fundraising campaign is nearing a $15 million milestone toward a $25 million goal. The available excerpt does not specify what the goal will pay for. ¹

Sources

SMU Athletics to Launch Texas — SMU Athletics
SMU becomes first Division I university in Texas to add men's lacrosse — Dallas News, 2026-10-15

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