Minor League Lacrosse

[Laxer1241]

OK I did my reaserch and it is not a pro league afterall. This league is for college players in any level both Men and Women to come out and play during the summer for free. Every team is sponsored by Brine so you get all FREE gear!!!!!!!! looks pretty cool and I hope that it is still there when I get to college.

and the link:http://minorleaguelacrosse.com/

[TRELAX]

GREAT FIND! I'll have to look into this. It sounds like the Cape Cod leagues that college baseball players do.

[Laxer1241]

GREAT FIND! I'll have to look into this. It sounds like the Cape Cod leagues that college baseball players do.
It was so easy to I figured they are teying to do somthing like warrior so I figured teh adress for the website would be the same to

[TRELAX]

i wouldnt be suprised if every company had something like this before 2009, to tell the truth. sponsored colege baseball leagues always draw fans, why not a sport deeply rooted in college fandom such as lacrosse?

[Laxer1241]

Probally because they need to get teams and sponsors

[manup5183]

tobad there isnt going to be a team on the west coast

[ReLaxin 13]

It looks more like a summer ball league that current NCAA players will play.

[syracuselax3]

Wait, when are they going to have the teams up?I'm wondering who has one.

[NickMB17]

It would be sweet if everybody from TLF chipped in and we could have our own team. MUHAHAHA :hot:

[ByrdDpole]

It would be sweet if everybody from TLF chipped in and we could have our own team. MUHAHAHA :hot:

LOL.

I'm gonna lobby here so we can have a lacrosse team. We have a full football stadium that we use for the independence bowl once a year.

But isn't this against the NCAA rules, because wouldn't that be recieving endorsements, which make you a preofessional athlete, and not eligeble to play in the NCAA. Kinda like Jeremy Bloom.

[RottingMind13]

No it isnt, it is not a pay league. League sponsorship is not the same as an endorsement. Jeremy Bloom signed contracts with companies so they gave HIM cash money. This is Brine sponsoring a collegiate level summer league, again as someone else pointed out much like baseball players have.

[wlw25fotp]

Yea, i don't think this will be exclusively for NCAA lax athletes. I would imagine that post college players that aren't good enough for MLL yet, will be able to tryout. On the minor league page it talks about trying out and what not, i'm sure from the tryouts you'll get placed on a team based on location. other than that, it is exciting to see the sport grow so fast, and having little leagues popping up all over.

i expect great things to come from the sport and having a minor league system is only going to improve things that much more. if anyone gets more info, update asap...it would be much appreciated :)

[WHEELAX2]

This is the greatest thing I have ever heard of..

unfortunatly I don't think it will cater as much to the post-collegiate player like myself..

if it does take off, I suspect that the majority of players will be selected from the current NCAA ranks..

[Levin]

This is awesome! To bad its only pretty much out east... if it were in the west i'd be all up in that.

[OldGoalie]

I agree it is definitely a great idea for the college player and coaches, and would be a lot fun to see, but what I am having trouble imagining are the compelling economics for the team/franchise owners. I mean, how much are people really going to be willing to pay to see college athletes compete in a summer league? Especially when the MLL competes for the same lax dollar, not to mention all the other sources of summer entertainment. From what I can tell, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, people don't actually pay to attend the Cape Cod Baseball games, and many of the funds come from donations and fundraising activities. To run one of these teams, you'd have to be pretty darn dedicated to the advancement of the sport, since you wouldn't be making much money at it. I suppose it would be like running a club team, with the benefit of free equipment. Yes, this would be neat and you could get to know a lot of the people in the lax world, but is there really a compelling business model here?

[spenny]

i'd be much more willing to pay to see NCAA-style lax in the summer rather than that tiresome pinball game that the MLL puts on.

[Laxer1241]

Yea, i don't think this will be exclusively for NCAA lax athletes. I would imagine that post college players that aren't good enough for MLL yet, will be able to tryout. On the minor league page it talks about trying out and what not, i'm sure from the tryouts you'll get placed on a team based on location. other than that, it is exciting to see the sport grow so fast, and having little leagues popping up all over.

i expect great things to come from the sport and having a minor league system is only going to improve things that much more. if anyone gets more info, update asap...it would be much appreciated :)
You go for tryouts to the team that best fits you so no your not restricted to one team

[ekajsk8er]

i'd be much more willing to pay to see NCAA-style lax in the summer rather than that tiresome pinball game that the MLL puts on.
Same here. I can't stand watching the mll.

Does this start in '06 or '07?

[wlw25fotp]

starts in the fall from the website...

http://minorleaguelacrosse.com/

[atacklax]

Sounds pretty fun. I hope it catches on.

[LaxAttackman28]

ur right, in the summer more ppl are going to see the pros play then see some college kids play the same time as them, but if they move the dates and stuff i would go and watch it

[OldGoalie]

i'd be much more willing to pay to see NCAA-style lax in the summer rather than that tiresome pinball game that the MLL puts on.

I would agree with you if it were really NCAA-style lax. But the likelihood is that it will still be pinball style due to the fact that there is limited opportunity for practice and coaching for what is essentially just a summer league team. NCAA teams have the benefit of practice 5-6 days a week plus offseason practices and scrimmages together. The minor league teams will essentially be thrown together over a couple of months, if that. So, my guess is that it will be pretty wide-open as well.

But let's be honest, most colleges don't charge to go to their in-season games anyway, except perhaps for Hop, so what's different here?

[Irishlax22]

It Will Never Work

[MaKiMaKi13]

i think it sounds like a great idea especially for the guys who dont have the talent for NCAA level of play as in club members and such i think it'll be interesting to see how it turns out hopefully it'll be more like watching a collegiate game instead of the MLL crap

[ByrdDpole]

Hmm, i wonder if any current MLL franchises will buy into this and get a team together.

[OldGoalie]

i think it sounds like a great idea especially for the guys who dont have the talent for NCAA level of play as in club members and such i think it'll be interesting to see how it turns out hopefully it'll be more like watching a collegiate game instead of the MLL crap

If you read the website, it's intended for top level NCAA talent to play during the summer, not club guys. But as I replied to spenny, I think it will be less like typical NCAA play and more like MLL due to the fact that teams will only be together for a short time, and won't have the practice time that the NCAA teams get during the course of the year.

[radman]

The league schedule will conflict with the MLL. This could kill the MLL. :nahya:

[WHEELAX2]

The league schedule will conflict with the MLL. This could kill the MLL. :nahya:


how so???? please elaborate..

you don't even know where these teams are going to be located

[spenny]

I would agree with you if it were really NCAA-style lax. But the likelihood is that it will still be pinball style due to the fact that there is limited opportunity for practice and coaching for what is essentially just a summer league team. NCAA teams have the benefit of practice 5-6 days a week plus offseason practices and scrimmages together. The minor league teams will essentially be thrown together over a couple of months, if that. So, my guess is that it will be pretty wide-open as well.

But let's be honest, most colleges don't charge to go to their in-season games anyway, except perhaps for Hop, so what's different here?

actually all of the D1 schools that ive been to charge for admission.

i still think that the level of play will be better without the shotclock (less garbage shots) 4 poles (better defense) and more balanced skill levels

[radman]

how so???? please elaborate..

you don't even know where these teams are going to be located

Look at there schedule- it will be in direct conflict with the MLL season.

This will be a fieldlax-trad dream! :naughty:

[WHEELAX2]

Look at there schedule- it will be in direct conflict with the MLL season.

This will be a fieldlax-trad dream! :naughty:

yes, but none of the players will be eligible for professional lacrosse.. so how does it conflict?

[shiftylax]

Perhaps he is referring to audience...honestly, who is going to go see a MINOR league lacrosse game? I'd only go if I could tailgate or one of my buddies/players was on a team. otherwise? Forget that.

But we'll see how the end product turns out.

[radman]

Perhaps he is referring to audience...honestly, who is going to go see a MINOR league lacrosse game? I'd only go if I could tailgate or one of my buddies/players was on a team. otherwise? Forget that.

But we'll see how the end product turns out.


Yeah I was refering to attendance. I wont waste my time watching MLL.

But my concern is, how will they market it. if they want national exsposure, will they get CSTV, ESPNU, or Fox College sports?

Do the players receive some kind of compensation?

[roycegracie47]

Do the players receive some kind of compensation?
Aside from gear, one would figure a larger scouting platform for future MLL/NLL/Various Nat'l teams and top tier clubs and possible a chance for other work in the industry (camps, being the "new face" of [insert company name here], etc.) post graduation as anything during would eliminate their amateur status and eligibility.

[OldGoalie]

Yeah I was refering to attendance. I wont waste my time watching MLL.

But my concern is, how will they market it. if they want national exsposure, will they get CSTV, ESPNU, or Fox College sports?



It's tough enough to market the pro sports like MLL to TV. Minor league lax is not likely to get much consideration due to the artificiality of it all. NCAA lax is one thing because of the deep college loyalties and huge alumni fan base, but who the heck cares about some hastily pulled together minor league franchise with different players every summer? Besides, I don't think minor league anything is televised.

No, my thought is it will be strictly a local market thing and will attempt to draw local audiences only. Tough sell, in my book.

[Nreeder33]

i think some things are being forgotten, from what i picked up from the site. It sponsered by Brine so it will have absolutly to affliation to the MLL. Second im not sure theyre really pushing for it to be anouther MLL more of a way for college players to play top level lax without losing eligiblity. And i agree with OldGoalie as he said it will be a local market thing, but if they put it in the right places who knows.

[VTLaxFan]

I think that Minor League Lacrosse is trying to get teams in places where they on't have pro teams. I live in Vermont(duh) and the closest team is in Bostosn, so I don't think people are going to drive aways for a lax game. I do think they would see one here.

[OldGoalie]

actually all of the D1 schools that ive been to charge for admission.

i still think that the level of play will be better without the shotclock (less garbage shots) 4 poles (better defense) and more balanced skill levels

Really? Hmmm...I know Penn and Nova definitely don't charge for admission, and I'm pretty sure most of the other Ivies don't either, except for Princeton. Maybe the top 5-6 programs do (although I don't believe Syracuse does either), but I don't think it's a huge percentage. And, even the ones who do charge only charge $5-7/ticket at most. Not exactly a formula for big bucks.

Let's say you could draw 2,000 people to each of, say, 8 home Minor League games (which is highly doubtful, in my mind). That's 16,000 people attending at $5/person. That's $80K. Throw in personnel costs and other overhead, and there's just not much profit left in there. Even if you double the ticket prices, it's not the kind of thing someone can do full time. There's only so many games you can play in a summer season.

As for the level of play, yeah, perhaps it will be a bit lower scoring, and more "coached" than the MLL, but I still say it will be fairly free-form without the long practice schedule and team time that college teams get.

[EI Lacrosse26]

i cant wait

[VTLaxFan]

Anticipation is building as we speak.

[Eradicator]

Hmm... Well I believe the NLL has a semi-pro minor league(Sr. A and Sr. B). I think the MLL however just considers NCAA Lacrosse its Minor League. So basically the NCAA would serve as an MLL AAA minor league affiliate, with good independant club teams as AA teams, and varsity high-school teams as single A affiliates. This makes sense seeing as Lacrosse is pretty popular at the college level. Heck, I think college lacrosse is more popular than pro lacrosse.

[MCLA Laxin']

Website no longer exists.

[In the corners]

Yea...the websites posted don't tell squat.

[PANJNYLAX]

Hmm... Well I believe the NLL has a semi-pro minor league(Sr. A and Sr. B). I think the MLL however just considers NCAA Lacrosse its Minor League. So basically the NCAA would serve as an MLL AAA minor league affiliate, with good independant club teams as AA teams, and varsity high-school teams as single A affiliates. This makes sense seeing as Lacrosse is pretty popular at the college level. Heck, I think college lacrosse is more popular than pro lacrosse.


I don't know that there's any sort of identification like that which occurs between these levels of lacrosse. Truthfully, the rules and styles vary so significantly that there would be no purpose (and often a discrepancy in legality) in trying to connect them. The NLL has no affiliation with the SR. leagues which are a part of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (which, although many players participate in both, is notably different in style from the NLL), the NCAA has no affiliation with professional or high school sports (only with individual high school players in terms of eligibility), and even high school sports share no governing body on an inter-state level (unless you count the suggestions for play and rules made by US Lacrosse... but those are only really structured for club teams as most states use either NCAA rules or their own rules for Varsity and JV teams).

I think that's one of the reasons why the idea of Minor League Lacrosse either has or is about to fold. I think that a minor league would be awesome, but trying to target it toward players maintaining their eligibility just won't work. There's too many issues of legality and practicality that just wouldn't work. It's important to remember that these are college students and with that level of commitment, without receiving any form of compensation you're only going to get the players who can afford to travel all over the country and not have a summer job. A league like this would only perpetuate the notion that lacrosse is an elitist sport (which has gotten better over the past decade... but it's still the one thing which causes some stumbling blocks at this point of development.)

[mikeyp12]

ok i tried checkin out that website you got posted but can't seem to find any info about this league. where exactly did you find the info about it?

[AttackTC]

I think it is on hold, I heard Denver is trying to get there's up....