On any given night, while most students are enjoying Beat the Clock at The Boot Bar & Grill or studying at the library,  Tulane University’s men’s lacrosse club is just getting started. Their late-night practices and long road trips define a program that balances competitive success with a laid-back, student-driven culture. 

The club officially dates back to 2013 but has gained traction in the past four years, developing into a highly competitive and community-driven organization. Under the coaching of Justin Baker and the leadership of the juniors, president Justin Martin and vice president Michael Arcari, the team has consistently ranked near the top of its conference. 

According to Martin, participation in club lacrosse is largely driven by choice rather than obligation. The team practices once a week at The Willow School in the fall and twice a week in the spring, while flexibility remains a priority. 

“If we have a game Friday or Saturday, we will cancel practice on Sunday,” Martin said. “You want to give the guys a rest.” 

To encourage retention, the team adjusts its fall schedule to prioritize attendance. “Instead of having two practices with ten guys, we’re trying to have one practice a week with twenty guys,” Arcari said. 

Arcari said that mindset has helped sustain the club amid logistical challenges of being a non-varsity program. Unlike NCAA teams with significant funding, the club lacrosse team travels primarily by van, often setting out on eight-hour drives to Texas or Tennessee to play multiple games in a single weekend and only then make the grueling trip back to New Orleans. 

“We’re not like the football team where they have hundreds of millions of dollars of funding,” Arcari said. 

That demanding schedule paid off yesterday when the team traveled to Texas and secured back-to-back wins against the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas State University.  

Travel logistics can be complicated; only a limited number of players are authorized to drive university cars, which often forces teammates to use their own cars and request reimbursement instead. 

Despite the challenges, Martin said road trips bring the team together and contribute to the camaraderie on and off the field. 

“I think the real team bonding events are the away games,” Martin said. “Our freshman year, we played Vanderbilt in Nashville. It was a miserable drive, like thirteen or fourteen hours, but it was awesome being there. That’s why so many of the guys are still close.”

The team competes in the Lone Star Alliance Division II conference, which includes 13 other schools. Last season, the team advanced to the conference championships after winning nearly all of its regular-season games, ultimately losing to the University of Arkansas, a former Division I program that recently dropped into the conference. 

“I would say we’re pretty consistently really good,” Martin said. “Our freshman year, we won it, and last year we lost to Arkansas in the championship.”

Despite its success, Martin said player recruitment is challenging. The cost of equipment alone can run upwards of $1,000, creating an expensive barrier for beginners. So while the team is open to players of all experience levels, many of its 32 members come from the East or West Coast, where lacrosse is more popular.  

“By the nature of the school [Tulane] and where people are from, the skill level is already pretty high,” Martin said. “But we take beginners. We’re completely open to that.”

Preparation for games is also individualized rather than a strict set plan. 

“Everybody has their own peak stimulation level,” Arcari said. “What I need to do to achieve peak performance is going to be different from what Justin needs.”

At its core, Martin said the team’s culture emphasizes enjoyment and inclusivity. Players come from nearly every corner of campus life, including fraternity members, pre-med or pre-law students, finance majors and even art majors. 

“The most important thing is just having fun,” Martin said. “Once you start taking club lacrosse too seriously, nobody’s going to want to show up.”

Looking ahead, the team’s goal goes beyond wins and losses. With several graduating seniors, including longtime starting goalie and former president, Connor Farnen, leadership is focused on sustainability. The executive board has begun creating protocols to help future board members manage the administrative work more efficiently and is also looking to expand the board by creating more positions to help delegate the work. 

“There’s so much behind-the-scenes work,” Arcari said. “We’re trying to write everything down so future boards don’t have to struggle.”

For Tulane club lacrosse, success isn’t just measured by trophies: It’s found in late-night practices, long road trips and the shared commitment that helps keep moving the team forward.