2025 IAC and WCAC Playoffs Results and Commentary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Hilgartner to Prep is a done deal, how soon will they announce it?

Unless he's lying, he's still working at McD and telling parents he's returning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m highly skeptical you will see any significant change in Conferences. Not because it isn’t a good idea for most schools. Not because it wouldn’t produce a better arrangement in the longer term, but because it would face a number of shorter term barriers. Including:

Lack of Leadership - a school or a couple of schools would have to lead the charge and not the AD. This would have to be a couple of the school heads that drive this.

Internal Dissonance - especially from some of the alumni of a couple of the schools who would correctly see this as downgrading. Also their own staffs, some of whom would not be excited about the prospect of facing Landon or Bullis each season.

Bad Publicity and Risk - what hit a hornets nest with a stick when it isn’t necessary. Change has risk and none of the Heads like risk. Things could go wrong and they’d be blamed.

Effort -this kind of change would require them to do some actual work managing through the process and all the changes. And these people, in my experience, avoid any thing that even suggests additional effort will be required.

It would actually be easier for the IAC not named Prep to upgrade their own lacrosse coaching and programs than to tear down the entire structure and start something new.

It's already happening. SSSAS has dropped out of the IAC in football and hockey and Episcopal can no longer sustain multiple jv and varsity sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m highly skeptical you will see any significant change in Conferences. Not because it isn’t a good idea for most schools. Not because it wouldn’t produce a better arrangement in the longer term, but because it would face a number of shorter term barriers. Including:

Lack of Leadership - a school or a couple of schools would have to lead the charge and not the AD. This would have to be a couple of the school heads that drive this.

Internal Dissonance - especially from some of the alumni of a couple of the schools who would correctly see this as downgrading. Also their own staffs, some of whom would not be excited about the prospect of facing Landon or Bullis each season.

Bad Publicity and Risk - what hit a hornets nest with a stick when it isn’t necessary. Change has risk and none of the Heads like risk. Things could go wrong and they’d be blamed.

Effort -this kind of change would require them to do some actual work managing through the process and all the changes. And these people, in my experience, avoid any thing that even suggests additional effort will be required.

It would actually be easier for the IAC not named Prep to upgrade their own lacrosse coaching and programs than to tear down the entire structure and start something new.

The demise of the IAC or what we know of the current IAC has nothing to do with parity in lacrosse.

Why do you continue to harp on this idea?

League ADs have routinely pointed fingers at Prep that they have outgrown the league, the school is massive relative to Saint Stephens and EHS both rather small co-ed schools. TWhile Prep has always had boarding, the school is clearly attempting to go in a different direction by attracting high profile athletes from around the states to come to the school. I see nothing wrong with this, you have a state of the art new dorm facility, admissions is doing what they should be doding.

I do believe the IAC will remain together, and its only a matter of time before the Potomac School joins the conference.

Whether Prep stays in the conference, leaves on their own accord, or is voted out, who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Hilgartner to Prep is a done deal, how soon will they announce it?

They will announce it at a quarter past Never o’clock on August Never. Not happening.

[Anonymous]

Giblin is coming back

[Anonymous]

Potomac School wanted to join the IAC starting in the 1990’s. Certainly is taking a long time to make this happen.

For whatever reason, they could never get enough votes for this to happen. Only Landon would see Potomac as competition for students.

And when is the meeting of the school heads to discuss this and agree on a new direction? You do realize that this decision is above the heads of the Athletic Directors, right?

Maybe a much struGP lacrosse program might be the straw that breaks the camels back. But right now that seems to be an Internet rumor and we are years away from any new coach having a really noticeable impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Hilgartner to Prep is a done deal, how soon will they announce it?

Unless he's lying, he's still working at McD and telling parents he's returning.

There you go! More Internet nonsense started by a troll trying to stir things up. Or a fantasy hatched by blue skying what could happen and having it migrate from extremely unlikely to “It’s a done deal”.

Happens all the time. And school starts in a few days.

[Anonymous]

Prep doesn't care that much about its lacrosse program, its only a core group of alums from the 90's and 2000's who are barking the loudest right now.

The alums care much more about the state of its football program, always has and always will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well one non-Catholic school wouldn’t be happy to see Prep leave the IAC. It’s the same one that was the only school that voted against expelling Prep football in 2006. That’s Landon.

As contentious as the relationship between these two schools has been —- and it’s been ugly at times —- beating GP is what Landon and their alums care about.

OSU fans hate Michigan, but they aren’t going to vote to throw them out of the B1G.

What if GP takes their program up a notch and starts to dominate the IAC? Landon did this for 15+ years and there was hardly a peep. How many times have schools other than Landon or Prep won the IAC lacrosse title?

Who is going to lead the charge and get all these IAC and MAC schools cast their lots in a completely new and revolutionary concept?

Talk about herding cats.

As much as I'd like to see the IAC remain together, its on a matter of time before the league vanishes or its current makeup of 6 members (Landon, GP, Bullis, Saint Stephens, EHS, STA) looks dramatically different.

Size of school, geographical locations, greater emphasis on athletics, boarding, single sex vs coed, I could go on and on but each school continues to point fingers at one another as the competitive imbalances have become even more pronounced in the past 5 years.

Whether Prep homers wants to admit it or not, the Hoyas natural natural home is the WCAC. They can fall on their sword about their elite academic perception. Whoever continues to make college references, do you think Duke really cares they are in a conference with Clemson or Florida State, both schools they are academically superior too, probably not.

While I agree with you that Landon wouldn't be happy to see GP out of the IAC or the creation of a new league (IAC - MAC merger), they are only one school with one vote. Landon is more aligned with Prep in terms of putting an emphasis of athletics, however the Bears don't have the advantage of bolting to the Catholic league if the opportunity were to present itself.

Bullis is also in a tough situation. While its co-ed, Bullis is drastically larger than the other co-ed schools in the IAC, both EHS and Saint Stephens. Bullis has been increasing their enrollment over the years as they have the capital and land to do so (they have been talking about for years about building a dorm) Bullis, similar to Landon and GP, also has an emphasis on athletics for some marquee sports - boys / girls track, boys / girls hoops teams, boys lacrosse and football.

I've been saying this for years but the DC private schools should mimic exactly what the MIAA does for its member schools. Combine the WCAC, IAC, and MAC schools into one conference and have 3 tiers (upper, middle, lower) based how competitive the program is their sport.

For example take a school like Sidwell Friends, while their football program pretty bad, they opt to play in the lowest division with similar schools. Meanwhile their basektball program is elite, and could opt to play in the upper division and compete with the big boys.

The ADs at most of these schools are so incompetent, this is not earth shattering. A five year plan should have been in the works years ago. As a previous poster earlier, half the WCAC schools dislike playing in the WCAC due to the competitive imbalances with the larger all male schools (mainly DM and GZ)

The schools with the actual power to affect change here are the co-ed schools.

Bullis, EHS, SSSAS all have a perfect example of a league that makes sense in their own athletic department: the ISL.

IAC/MAC schools who are also in the ISL:
Bullis
Episcopal
Flint Hill
GDS
Potomac
Sidwell
St. Andrew's
St. Stephen's St. Agnes

Start with those 8 and then you add Landon (brother school to Holton) and St. Alban's (brother school to NCS). All of these ADs and HoS's know each other and deal with each other regularly. The only schools left out of the mix are St. James and Prep. Obviously, this turns into just having Potomac replace Prep in terms of the "A" lacrosse league, but it also aligns all schools for other sports to be able to provide consistent scheduling etc..

This is the most realistic and workable solution for the athletic dept of every school on this list except Prep and to a lesser extent Bullis. And that’s Prep’s and Bullis’ problem to solve

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prep doesn't care that much about its lacrosse program, its only a core group of alums from the 90's and 2000's who are barking the loudest right now.

The alums care much more about the state of its football program, always has and always will.

That’s almost certainly the truth. The crowds at the bigger home games demonstrate that clearly. Football way outdraws lacrosse. And as long as the football coach remains the AD, football will be the first among theoretical equals.

Interest in Prep lacrosse didn’t start to build until the mid-1990’s. So all the Alumni over 50 (the ones with the money) only care about football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prep doesn't care that much about its lacrosse program, its only a core group of alums from the 90's and 2000's who are barking the loudest right now.

The alums care much more about the state of its football program, always has and always will.

Well apparently their barking was loud enough or annoy enough that they got the coach fired.

Because the guy didn’t have any base of people who liked him, the barking dogs got their way. If he had been well liked on campus, he’d still be there.

[Anonymous]

any rumors on next Prep lacrosse coach?

That would be great if Giblin came back

[Anonymous]

Prep can't compete with the big boys in football (GC, DM, SJC, GZ).The alums who passionate about their football program are living in the stone ages. This is not the 1970s or 1980s.

Today, in order to compete with the big 4 from the WCAC (GZ's program has even dropped off in recent years), you need to have real institutional support behind you.

Every year Prep certainly has some kids whom would easily start in the WCAC at a DM or a GZ etc. etc. but in order to really compete with those schools, you need a roster of blue chip football recruits.

I don't see Prep going down this route but maybe I am mistaken.

[Anonymous]

Prep is too scared to play in the WCAC and rather beat up on the little kids from the IAC

Facts

[Anonymous]

Hilgardner emailed the McD families thanking them and that he took a position at Bullis.