UVA Could Greatly Benefit From ACC Lacrosse Evolution

Thursday, the college lacrosse world welcomed a new Division I program — SMU.

Barring any strange developments, the Mustangs are set to start ACC competition in 2028. Virginia stands to benefit.

Now that SMU is in the conference, the ACC has six teams (Virginia, North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke, Notre Dame and SMU). That means that the conference champion will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The ACC evolves

The ACC has only had six teams once (2014), in Maryland's final year along with the first season with Notre Dame and Syracuse as members. Other than that season, the conference has never met the threshold for an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Most of the ACC does not field a lacrosse program. SMU could be the first in decades to change that fact.

The path to Memorial Day Weekend could become easier. Assuming that the ACC Tournament remains a four-team field, the Cavaliers could finish as low as fourth in the conference and engineer their way into the NCAA Tournament.

Cinderella runs are difficult to pull off in lacrosse. The last unseeded ACC team to win a national title was North Carolina back in 2016. Speaking of the Tar Heels, their head coach provided a public comment about the benefit of SMU creating its new varsity lacrosse program:

Positive momentum for the sport and the ACC 📈 pic.twitter.com/FEmrEvgECa
— UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) October 15, 2026

For Virginia, there is now a great opportunity to increase recruitment in the Lone Star State. The Cavaliers have already had a few Texans play big roles in their program (such as Matthew Nunes). As a sport, lacrosse has seen tremendous growth in Texas over the past few years.

Virginia played a game in Houston back in 2025 against Towson (an 11-6 Cavaliers win). For many Texans in attendance, this was the first Division I lacrosse game they had ever seen. It was thrilling. It was exotic. It fueled a great interest in the game (and in particular, the Cavaliers' program).

Future expansion?

For years, there have been rumors of SMU starting a program. There have also been rumors of Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech and others considering varsity status. However, it is no easy feat. During the revenue sharing/NIL era, finances are tight. Very few schools are starting new varsity programs.

The Mustangs are not only starting a program, but will reportedly have a new off-campus stadium, plus millions in funding to chase top coaching options and five-star recruits.

For Virginia, the more the merrier.

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