HELP QUICK!

[Jack Peterson]

I have a meeting today with my school to discuss moving to the UMLL/MCLA. I just realized that I don't know the cost of league fees for the UMLL. Could someone please comment on this quickly and let me know, or PM me?

Thanks Alot!

[Tretiak3]

I believe that they were right around $5000.

[Pinball]

2008 UMLL dues.
Division 1 teams will pay $5,028.69; Division 2 teams will pay $4,931.30.

Payments may be made in up to 3 installments as follows

November 21st, 2007: $2000.00 – This payment is mandatory so league can pay MCLA dues and down payments on indoor facilities
January 1st, 2008: $2000.00
February 1st, 2008: Division 1 - $1028.69; Division 2 – $931.30

A lot of money, but WELL worth it!!

[Frank Clark]

Jack let us know how it goes.

[Jack Peterson]

Here is what i found out:

Apparently I attend the University of Wisconsin - Cuba.

I just met with Mr Tom McGinnity who is the head of the Student Activities Office.

The first thing I mentioned was that we are 5-0, we're the only team we've seen so far this season that respects the sport as it should be respected, the only team who takes it seriously, and that we need a league that is more suitable for our level of organization and seriousness. I told him we are looking to join the MCLA which is the biggest club lacrosse league, nationwide etc etc.

I asked what can we do to show to the league that we have a guaranteed amount of money coming to us from the school?

Mr McGinnity told me that there is a couple ways to request money from the Student Government/Student Organizations on campus. The first way is through grant requests. We've been doing this for a few years now, and received a set of 30 helmets, and they've paid league fees also. I was looking for a more concrete guarantee of an amount of money that we could receive each semester or school year.

He then told me about the Senate Finance Committee. In the past the SFC has done exactly what I was looking for; grant student organizations with a certain amount of funding each year guaranteed. Mr McGinnity said that the current Student Government has just about completely shut down this Committee. He said that recently the Student Government required that in order to receive money from this committee you must prove that you are providing every student at the university with a service. I asked if "Bringing out of state students to the university who would have previously passed us by due to us not having a legit outlet to play lacrosse" would work as a proper service. He said that the actual UW-Milwaukee Dance team was given money through this option regularly in the past and they recently cut ALL funding saying that they dont 'provide a service', even though they were National Champions, on ESPN, had girls from all over etc etc. The only two organizations that currently receive money through this option are
1.) Student Legal Department (helps Student Government write all the ridiculous fund-cutting bylaws) and
2.) Student Government/Student Allocation Committee itself. Can you say corruption?

However, we receive 4 requests a semester for an unlimited amount of money. We are planning on our 4 requests to be:

$5038.69 or $4931.30 for League and Conference Fees
$6000.00 for Equipment
$700.00 for Hotels/Busses -- Weekend 1
$700.00 for Hotels/Busses -- Weekend 2
---We can only request 700 at a time for travel requests.

Our team dues will cover the rest of busses and hotels, uniforms if players are new to the team, coach fees etc etc.

We've also made money other ways and they include:
-An apparel sale to friends and families. We made enough to pay for Boathouse style Jackets and Pants for every player on the team, as well as practice reversibles.
-Each student at the university gets four (4) votes on where they want their 'Student Activity Money' to go. This money is factored into tuition. If all 30 players on our team do this we make $1600 and we can bring friends with us. The most we've made off of this is $1200. The most any club has ever made is $6000.
-Alumni donations. We are a very young program but have a couple graduates that have mentioned their intentions on donating to the team.
-Other donations-- family friends etc

Tom McGinnity said he is very impressed with the progress of our club, and how professional I am treating my responsibilities, and he would like to write a letter to include with us when we make our presentation at the meeting.

We have had a tournament in the past called the "Brew City Classic" (not to be confused with the Brewtown Showdown). In the past teams like St Johns and Dayton have showed up, and had a good time. We want to continue this tournament in the future, but with all MCLA teams if possible, like Marquette, Minnesota, St Thomas, Illinois, Eau Claire, Stevens Point etc etc etc.

We're ready for this change. If anyone has anything they would like us to know, please comment on this thread or PM me.

[LaxTV_Admin]

Nice job Jack. We will see you at the spring meeting then

This will be great to have you guys join the league.

[oldmanlax]

Jack,

Sounds like you are ahead of the curve. I helped put together NDSU's program and we encountered a few hickups while jumping thru the student org/school funding process. NDSU would not pay for any equipment for us but they did consider league dues, travel expense, insurance, etc. If I remember right our first budget was something like $40,000 that we went to the student org committe with. We of course got shot down. Because we didn't know what we could request funds for, we got passed over and had to put in for draws much like your travel expense. My advice to you is investigate what is eligible and what is not for school funding.

As for entrance to the league, I can vividly remember standing in front of everyone and explaining why we would make a good addition to the league. At that time, the UMLL's biggest concerns were if we could afford to play, and if we had sustainable numbers. It sounds like you guys already have a strong start so keep it up. I've been out of the loop for a long time but most everyone on here is pretty good about offering advice and helping with any questions. Talk with the league leadership and iron out any details before you petition to join. Best of luck to you and your team

[Pinball]

Have you talked out how much each player will be paying in dues? Might want to check with the team on who will quit when they have to pay to play. Some of the upper echelon teams pay $2,000 or more.

[Jack Peterson]

The next thing is do we apply for D1 or D2?

Our technical enrollment is 24,273, but I've heard that as much as 60% of our students are online students or commute to campus and don't participate in any campus activities at all. UWM is very known for this. That makes about 11,000 students we're able to pull from to find players. That would put us at the top of D2, even with the 60% taken off. We also dont have a football team in any division or subcategory. Lets be honest, having a football team draws students with athletic interests. As far as our lacrosse team, we currently have a roster that was capped at 30 players.

UMLL D2 -- UWM Included
UWM 11,000/24,273 no football team
North Dakota State 10,751 (has football team)
North Dakota 10,125 (has football team)
Eau Claire 10,055 (has football team)
Moorehead 7,638 (has football team)
St. Thomas 5,807 (has football team)
Augsburg 3,785 (has football team)
Bethel 2,900 (has football team)
Carleton 1,958 (has football team)
St Johns 1,900 (has football team)


UMLL D1 -- UWM Included
Minnesota 28,645 (has football team)
UWM 24,273 no football team
Iowa State 21,004 (has football team)
St Cloud 15,614 (has football team)
Mankato 12,352 (has football team)
UWM 11,000 no football team
Duluth 9,172 (has football team)
Stevens Point 8,700 (has football team)
Marquette 7,718 -- NO FOOTBALL TEAM
St. Olaf 3,007 (has football team)

[DwinsChamps]

I believe that the existence of a football team at your university only matters if the team plays NCAA DI. In the absence of a DI football team, the UMLL would then look to see if your school has a DI basketball or hockey program.

UWM does have an NCAA DI basketball team, which might determine your team's placement in MCLA DI under the current rules.

[Chris Larson]

Jack,

According to the MCLA you are a D2 team. The UMLL has an additional mandatory cut-off of (I think) 12000 for D1/D2 with teams allowed to petition to move between divisions.

I would suggest D2 in the UMLL where you will find a great level of competition among like-sized schools.

Mike, D1 hoops have no bearing on MCLA division. Or were you being silly?

[granny6]

Interesting you said D-2, I see this as a chance to get the divisions more properly divided by school size and not by team teams current level of play. I figured they would go to D-1 and St Olaf would move to D-2. Plus they have 7 D1 NCAA mens sports, I know its not a factor, but it should be.

[Chris Larson]

Good point Joe. Might be worth some discussion among our board regulars.

I have some definite feelings about a significant realignment that I might put forth at the spring meeting for everyone to mull over.

[Jack Peterson]

We really dont mind if we're d1 or d2, we just really want to be accepted into the league so we can have an actual sense of structure for once. I don't think we're the only team seeking an out.

[DwinsChamps]

Mike, D1 hoops have no bearing on MCLA division. Or were you being silly?

Some have claimed D1 hoops as the reasoning behind Marquette's placement in MCLA D1. Truth be told, it seems equally as arbitrary as D1 football being a determinant of MCLA division. To the untrained, unwitting eye (me), that is.