Some of the top teams in college lacrosse are converging on Charlotte this weekend for an event that organizers hope become an annual showcase. The inaugural four-team Crown Lacrosse Classic takes place this weekend at the Sportsplex at Matthews near Charlotte, featuring No. 1 Towson, No. 2 Cornell, No. 4 Penn State and Jacksonville Univ. The marquee matchups are Cornell-Penn State on Friday night and Towson-Cornell on Sunday. The idea for the tournament came about when former MLL Charlotte Hounds player and coach Chris Schiller, who now works as a first responder, reached out to Hounds Managing Partner Jim McPhilliamy about a year ago, expressing his interest in putting together a collegiate lacrosse event that would benefit first responders. McPhilliamy jumped on the opportunity to partner with Schiller, who used his contacts to put together a star-studded lineup. “Nobody plans to have the No. 1, 2 and 4 teams, so we got a little luck of the draw this year with putting together such a strong field,” McPhilliamy said.
SETTING THE BAR: The goal for this year was to get 4,000-5,000 fans in attendance, and McPhilliamy noted they are currently about halfway to that goal. Just over 1,800 tickets had been sold as of Thursday. McPhilliamy estimates there will be close to 2,000 fans at Friday's game, with that number increasing slightly for Sunday. The tournament secured Novant Health as the headlining sponsor, with local restaurant Blackfinn Ballantyne coming on board as well. McPhilliamy envisions the tournament becoming an annual event and noted he and Schiller are already talking to some other high-profile schools for next year. “Our primary focus is on making sure the college athletes that come to town have a great experience,” McPhilliamy said. “As we grow the event over the years, that’s the way we’re going to get good teams year after year.” He also said he does not expect the tournament to expand past its current four-team format in the coming years.
DRAFTING PARTNER: McPhilliamy also secured Charlotte as the host of this year’s MLL Draft, realizing it was the perfect event to slot into the tournament’s gap day on Saturday and a real opportunity to highlight lacrosse in the city. “We were trying to figure out if you’re coming in from out of town -- because a lot of people here for the tournament are from outside Charlotte -- what are you going to do on the off day when there’s nothing going on?” McPhilliamy said. “It just worked out timing-wise with the Draft.” The Draft is open and free to the public and will be held at the NASCAR HOF on Saturday at 7:30pm ET.
