The tourney features five college games over two days as well as youth and middle school action
By Dan McWilliams
Lacrosse fans can once again see their favorite sport at Knoxville Catholic High School as the Knights Cup Lacrosse Tournament returns for its sixth edition after a COVID pause.
The Knights Cup is set for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9 and 10, at Blaine Stadium on the campus of KCHS. Knights of Columbus Council 5207 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus sponsors the event, which benefits the Pregnancy Help Centers of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.
Six college lacrosse teams will combine to play five games over the two days of the Knights Cup as part of their regular-season schedules. The second day of the tourney also features a youth and middle school preseason lacrosse jamboree.
Tom Ciaccia of the Sacred Heart Knights is the event coordinator.
“The Knights Cup has provided Catholic Charities with a reliable revenue stream to support the lifesaving work of its Pregnancy Help Center,” he said. “The Pregnancy Help Center knows it can depend on the Knights to come through with a significant contribution to its critical affirmation of our belief in the sanctity of life. The Knights Cup has been an attractive addition to the spring sports landscape of Knoxville. It has had a role in expanding participation in lacrosse at the youth and middle school levels. It gives young players a unique and exciting opportunity to play alongside high school and college teams and learn from the experience.”
The previous five Knights Cups have combined to raise $50,000, “all of it in support of the pro-life work of the Pregnancy Help Center,” Mr. Ciaccia said. “The Knights Cup will benefit the Catholic Charities Pregnancy Help Center and its current campaign to procure, equip, staff, and deploy a mobile ultrasound machine unit that will serve the entire diocese.”
The Sacred Heart Knights “sponsor several events throughout the year to support the good works of our order,” he added. “A significant portion of the revenues raised through these charity events is directed to pro-life. This past November, our annual wine-and-cheese party raised over $20,000.”
This year’s lacrosse tournament will be the 18th athletic event the Knights council has sponsored since 2004.
“We started out promoting high school baseball doubleheaders at Smokies Park in 2004,” Mr. Ciaccia said. “In 2016, we switched to lacrosse. Youth, middle school, high school boys and girls, and college lacrosse games have been featured in our event.”
The fifth Knights Cup was organized for 2020 with high school teams from Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia committed to play, but the event was shut down because of COVID restrictions. A reboot of it took place last spring.
“This past April, we sponsored a middle school tournament for boys and girls that proved to be a highly successful event. So, this will be the sixth lacrosse event we have promoted,” Mr. Ciaccia said.
As regular-season games, the college lacrosse contests at this year’s Knights Cup “will count toward the records that will be used to qualify for postseason championship tournaments,” Mr. Ciaccia said. “In 2016, when the Knights Cup hosted the Appalachian Athletic Conference postseason tournament, Reinhardt University won the conference championship and went on to win the NAIA national championship, so these games count.”
In this year’s Knights Cup, the college action begins with William Penn University of Oskaloosa, Iowa, taking on Tennessee Wesleyan University of Athens at
5:30 p.m. on Feb. 9. The second game that evening features Missouri Baptist University of St. Louis facing Keiser University of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 7:30.
On Feb. 10, Missouri Baptist and Tennessee Wesleyan will play at noon. William Penn and Keiser will meet up at 2:15 p.m. In the nightcap, the University of Alabama at Huntsville will battle Lincoln Memorial University of Harrogate at 4:30.
Numerous youth teams are expected to take part in the jamboree from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 at KCHS.
“In addition to the five college games, the 2024 Knights Cup will incorporate a youth/middle school jamboree as a preseason instructional experience for young players,” Mr. Ciaccia said. “We expect about 20 teams to participate in the jamboree, which will include informal instructional scrimmages, skills and drills sessions, and contests. We are also including a coaches clinic with presentations being delivered by coaches from the participating college teams.”
Mr. Ciaccia is not the only person working on the event this year, saying the number involved is “too many to mention.”
“Several Knights have been working for the past five months to put on a well-managed and successful event,” he said. “If I were to single out an individual who has been instrumental in making these events successful, it would be KCHS athletics director Jason Surlas, who has been a generous and extraordinary partner in hosting these events at Blaine Stadium.”
The Knights Cup is a family event, Mr. Ciaccia stressed.
“Making it a family-friendly event is always a point of emphasis in our planning,” he said. “We start off by making it an inexpensive experience so that entire families can come out and enjoy their children’s participation. A family ticket is only $20. Parents will get to watch their kids participate in the scrimmages, enjoy a lively public-address team call out the games while announcing their kids’ names, get to watch them in skills and drills sessions, and just take in the festive environment we create. Inexpensive concessions, T-shirts, and game programs all make this a great family experience without impacting the family budget or having to leave somebody behind.”
Tickets may be purchased ahead of time via a link or QR code at knightscup.org. Advance tickets through Feb. 8 are $8 for adults ($7 each for a group of 10), $4 for students ($3 each for a group of 10), and $20 for families. At the gate, prices rise to $10 for adults, $6 for students, and $25 for families.
Sponsors of the event can learn more and upload a game-program ad via the website, and the site allows teams to upload rosters, team photos, and school ads.
“The Knights Cup is a fun, wholesome, family event that any business in the Knoxville area would be proud to be associated with,” Mr. Ciaccia said. “In addition to several opportunities to benefit from sponsorship recognition throughout the two-day event, all sponsorship levels include game-program advertising and complimentary tickets that can be given to business associates, employees, and customers. In addition to their association with an attractive event, Knights Cup sponsors will be supporting the many child and family services Catholic Charities delivers across our entire community through the Pregnancy Help Center.”
