Become Part of "The Tradition"!

The University of Arizona Men's Lacrosse Club Team, affectionately known as the "Laxcats", (we leave the "Wildcat" nickname to our other National Championship teams) is located in Tucson, Arizona. Its existence, since the mid-sixties, is saturated with a rich tradition of success.

In the sixties, Arizona was a Division I Varsity program, coached by the legendary Carl Runk, now in his twenty seventh year at Towson State College in Maryland. The most prominent player to graduate from that era was a skinny, feisty kid called Jerry Rivers. You may know him today as mega personality, Geraldo Rivera. During that "Varsity" era, the team rose as high as number 3 in the Nation.

After Runk headed East to Maryland "the program" dropped its' Division I status and declined for a couple of years. A couple of old wooden stickers, most notably, Cornell graduate and Tucsonean Don Golos, resurrected it. In the early 1970's "the program" needed another shot in the arm. This time Craig Hassell, a transplanted Long Island lacrosse fanatic, stepped up to keep "the tradition" in business. The seventy's teams were sopping with the types of free spirited players that typified the era. Predominately from Long Island and Maryland, these entities had little cares other than their dedication to the game of lacrosse.

By the mid-seventies things began to regress, and in 1976, the timing was right for yet another transplanted Long Islander, to assume the responsibility for lacrosse stability at the University of Arizona. Mickey-Miles Felton began his career as a player and by midseason had accepted the role of general manager.

In 1978, the Cats needed a coach, and Felton, by default, took over the job he still holds today. In the early years his struggle was for credibility and home games. Overcoming geographical barriers was a major obstacle. There were plenty of teams in California, however, they were reluctant to make the road trip to Arizona to compete against such a formidable opponent. With a masterplan in mind, Felton had already begun to create an environment that would be of interest to visiting teams.

Although through common sense and necessity, the "environment" has changed with the times, the traditions have not faltered. Felton co-founded the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League, and has been WCLL's President for several years. The WCLL remains the most respected Collegiate Club League in the USA.

In last years' inaugural United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's National Championship, two teams representing the WCLL, UCSB and Arizona, made it to the "Final Four" in St. Louis, MO.

To this season, the Laxcats still maintain a standard of excellence. During Felton's 21 year coaching tenure, they won the WCLL Championship in 1990, have a Conference Championship (no longer obtainable), made it to the playoffs every year except one, and only have one losing season on the ledger. He has been selected "Coach of the Year" five times.