After years of accusing “lacrosse society” that their game would never grow, Sportscream will be the first to recognize a significant move in the right direction by anyone in the club. After years of insider control by the Charles Street gang (Towson, Loyola, Hopkins), Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland and Princeton, someone makes a radical move that actually may be a significant step to expand the appeal and reach of the game.

Bill Tierney, who some call “the best coach in college sports,” made a move that could be looked at some day as a seminal moment for the game. Yesterday, Tierney resigned as head lacrosse coach at Princeton, to announce that he will take over the program at the University of Denver on July 1, 2009. The six-time National Champion and HOF coach will move to the mountains to join his son and former goalie Trevor, who will serve as an assistant for the Denver Pioneers.

In a bold move that has to have Baltimore’s Charles Street buzzing, Tierney will allegedly be paid $250,000 (plus) to take the reigns in Denver. He is being looked to build another elite program that will stretch the popularity of the game west. Even without athletic scholarships, which are not allowed in the Ivy League, Tierney always got his men, luring top talent to Princeton with the pledge of an elite education and a top-ranked team. Not that Tierney was ever at a disadvantage when attracting top players. He used the prep school PG to his advantage to bring in borderlines and continually found superlative athletes and thinkers to compose his teams.

Tierney’s task in Denver may be easier. At 58, he’s looking to close out his career and has found a new welcoming home in the beautiful Rockies where Trevor has been defensive coordinator for the professional Denver Outlaws. Academically qualifying players will meet much less resistance and recruiting prospects to Denver is a natural where abundant outdoor pursuits are bound to appeal to the standard stick-swinger. Tierney will also for the first time as a head coach, be given a dozen or so scholarships to break into so many pieces.

Even with the choke hold that the same elite teams have held on the NCAA game, players are more and more emerging from new markets. California, Tennessee, even Mississippi shipped players to this year’s Final Four. Tierney will no doubt include New Jersey, his high school stomping grounds of Long Island, his college area (Cortland State) of upstate New York and his familiarity as an assistant at Hopkins in Baltimore to form his recruiting footprint. Travel costs may provide a new obstacle for Tierney as his team and visitors will wrestle with the expense of putting together a competitive schedule.

Denver will compete in the ECAC along with Air Force, Ohio State, Quinnipiac, Bellarmine, Penn State, Stony Brook, Navy, Hobart, Loyola and Fairfield. Jamie Munro resigned as head coach of the Pioneers in May after going 91-70 in 11 seasons. Dave Metzbower a 13-year assistant for Tierney, heads a list of possibilities to be named as Princeton’s new coach.