I didn’t want to go too long without giving a good examination of a white paper report released a month ago by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.
The report, titled “Legacy & Momentum,” lays out the problems that the women’s lacrosse brand faces in terms of long-term growth. The problems are laid out in a list of strategic priorities:
- Establish a unified vision and brand
- Simplify rules and game administration
- Attract and retain exemplary game officials
- Enhance the championship experience
- Expand and maximize media exposure
A lot of these priorities are either being addressed or have been identified. The fourth priority, for example, has been a point of discussion since the early summer, when Tufts University head coach Courtney Shute discussed inequalties between the men’s and women’s Division III tournaments.
While the Tufts men’s team was playing in the midst of a three-division festival in Foxborough, Mass., the Tufts women were sent to Roanoke, Va. to play their Final Four matches there.
“This is a hard place to get to, and the NCAA needs to do something about the accessibility of the championship,” Shute said. “We had an incredible crowd, but our men are playing for a national championship in front of all their alums tonight, and that’s an issue.”
Also, the second priority is being advanced, but using a morass of rules changes that have taken place over the past few years. It’s gotten to the point when you’re not sure when the game, possessionk and penalty clock is supposed to run or not run, or whether or not a certain foul should be assessed a green card, as opposed to being a common foul or a card of a different color.
Ultimately, the white paper comes to this conclusion:
Intercollegiate women’s lacrosse lacks a single organization with the charge or infrastructure to advance the sport.
No doubt, the current group of stakeholders for women’s lacrosse — the NCAA, the IWLCA, the Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League, the National Federation of State High School Associations, and USA Lacrosse — all have different priorities and different ways to advance the sport. The question is, can there be a single change agent as envisioned by the report?
I’m not so sure.
The splintering of interests in many athletic pursuits has actually correlated with astronomical growth in terms of exposure and revenue. Soccer still sees turf wars between colleges, youth clubs, and MLS Next sites. Basketball isn’t exactly unified, either, with AAU, super-prep high school teams, and the G-League competing with NCAA colleges for attention and players. And football has been split between the NCAA, the individual bowl committees, and the College Football Playoff committee.
In none of those three sports is there a unified overarching strategy.
Tells you something.