LSA 2008 - Year in Review

[MM-9]

burger is legit.

I think we would be able to get a lot of youth players/hs players to go if it were at a place like Burger or westlake.

AISD might be tough to work with though

[NYBuilt]

Just to set the record straight, no where in this forum or post have I mentioned hosting the Final Four at Texas State or any other campus venue, meaning D1 schools. See post below, I make that very clear.

In my opinion we need a venue that is:

-Neutral (not a campus site)
-Affordable
-All weather playing surface
-Ability to handle tickets, concessions, and game operations
-Smaller venue, preferabbly a Varsity Soccer faciity or DIII Football Facility

I think looking into a nice DIII facility at say Trinity, Southwestern, St. Ed's etc. might be the ticket?

I am for a neutral site, in a location that can attract fans, i.e. Dallas/FW, Austin, Houston areas at a facility that is cost efficent for the league.

Keep up the good discussion.

Park didn't say it, I did...why not use Texas State's great venue. Why is the non campus site so important?

[Chris Larson]

Start around page 3 of this thread http://forums.collegelax.us/viewtopic.php?t=10666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

[RevDamon]

Round Rock ISD (just north of Austin) also has a great stadium with turf, easy access and plenty of parking.

As I think about it, though, the seating seems far from the field. I don't know if it would feel much better for the fans than Texas Stadium.

The facility is great, though. It would be worth checking into.

[RevDamon]

Start around page 3 of this thread http://forums.collegelax.us/viewtopic.php?t=10666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

Wow. The LSA board seems like a love fest compared to that...

[RevDamon]

Start around page 3 of this thread http://forums.collegelax.us/viewtopic.php?t=10666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

After reading some of this I am compelled to say that planning and running conferences and tournaments must often be a thankless job. Our commissioner, coaches and other leaders here in the LSA are doing an awesome job. Thanks for providing such a quality environment for our student athletes.

[JW]

Park,

Is it important to have a neutral Site (Southwestern, st. eds) just for D1, or is it important for D2 also.

I for one loved the Texas State soccer stadium (site where we won 04 championship).

While I understand both sides of the debate on venue, the people involved with planning the playoffs, must determine what is in the best interest of the league.

What i feel is important.
Cost
exposure
Playability
centrally located for all in the conference (for travel)
I think it would be better to have the playoffs one week earlier


I think that the league has taken some great strides especially in D1 where the OOC record was drastically improved over the last couple of years, and I only see that getting better.

Still need better consistency in the league from top to bottom. Forfeits really hurt the league, especially when they affect OOC games.

[plumer11]

Start around page 3 of this thread http://forums.collegelax.us/viewtopic.php?t=10666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

It also makes you appreciate the close proximity of all the teams in our league. Be it Austin, Houston or DFW as host, no team is more than 7 hours away.

[Bronson Parker]

burger is legit.

I think we would be able to get a lot of youth players/hs players to go if it were at a place like Burger or westlake.

AISD might be tough to work with though

We tried to get Burger for the SWLA Championship, they claim to not be available to lacrosse...

But, after this summer, there should be plenty of "all-season" fields available in the Austin area.

Just providing options...

[RevDamon]

On the topic of hosting ooc teams, how do we make that more attractive? I would love to see more upper level teams from ooc come play a series of games with LSA teams. It seems like this would be especially attractive to teams further north, where weather is a huge issue early in the season.

[Anderson]

Regarding the final four weekend venue a couple of points about Texas Stadium, my opinion:

-Fans are far from the action

-Smaller venue, preferably a Varsity Soccer facility or DIII Football Facility

I think looking into a nice DIII facility at say Trinity, Southwestern, St. Ed's etc. might be the ticket?

First of all sorry Park I took bits and pieces of what you said. But I think that one of the most important things (besides the obvious price/travel) are the ability to get fans to show up and have an atmosphere that at least feels like the fans are near the field. It adds so much to the games being played. One of my favorite games that Tech got to play in was against A&M as the showcase game in their HS tourney. All of the HS kids came out and were literally all the way around the edge of the field. Park I'm sure you remember that one. But hosting at a good HS stadium might also help bring in fans. If HS kids know that lacrosse games are going to be played close to them they will come out to see them, even if it is $10 for the weekend. I the last few years that I was in the LSA most of the people who would attend the tournament (as fans) would be connected to the teams that were playing in it in some way. While i haven't been there for the pat 2 years I'd imagine its much the same. If the tourney were held in DFW or Austin it would be centrally located (I left Houston out for Tech, OU and OSU) and we would have multiple teams in each of the areas that could if properly motivated go around to the HS teams and let them know a tourney is going to go on. Great place for gathering recruits I'd imagine. Ok I'm done rambling for now, but i just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

[tech311cs]

Regarding the final four weekend venue a couple of points about Texas Stadium, my opinion:

-Fans are far from the action

-Smaller venue, preferably a Varsity Soccer facility or DIII Football Facility

I think looking into a nice DIII facility at say Trinity, Southwestern, St. Ed's etc. might be the ticket?

First of all sorry Park I took bits and pieces of what you said. But I think that one of the most important things (besides the obvious price/travel) are the ability to get fans to show up and have an atmosphere that at least feels like the fans are near the field. It adds so much to the games being played. One of my favorite games that Tech got to play in was against A&M as the showcase game in their HS tourney. All of the HS kids came out and were literally all the way around the edge of the field. Park I'm sure you remember that one. But hosting at a good HS stadium might also help bring in fans. If HS kids know that lacrosse games are going to be played close to them they will come out to see them, even if it is $10 for the weekend. I the last few years that I was in the LSA most of the people who would attend the tournament (as fans) would be connected to the teams that were playing in it in some way. While i haven't been there for the pat 2 years I'd imagine its much the same. If the tourney were held in DFW or Austin it would be centrally located (I left Houston out for Tech, OU and OSU) and we would have multiple teams in each of the areas that could if properly motivated go around to the HS teams and let them know a tourney is going to go on. Great place for gathering recruits I'd imagine. Ok I'm done rambling for now, but i just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

good two cents marky, Iowa better bet treating you right haha

[Pip]

As a player, although being in the cowboys locker room was fun, I'd much rather play in a setting that was more appropriately sized for the number of fans we have.

In addition to that, if the field is turf, I prefer artificial grass not carpet like at Westlake...

Anyway, I'm pretty much done with my college career now so I guess my opinion doesn't matter too much, but just thought I'd throw that out there.

[SMULaxHC]

I'll start off in this conversation by saying that hosting the tournament this year in Texas Stadium was the right move. An opportunity presented itself with the relationship established by the MCLA, and our leadership jumped on it. No other conference championship was played in a venue like ours, and I have already heard from numerous recruits, parents, alumni, and administrators how impressed they were that we played there. Remember that hands down what should come first are the student-athletes participating and the experience they got at a venue like that. For one weekend, they felt like serious collegiate athletes (not being disrespectful concerning the other weekends of the year).

With that being said, I do agree that the tournament should not be there again next year. Ultimately, there are other important factors in choosing future locations that have already been mentioned (cost, attendance, local support, etc.). I do think it is important to rotate the host city every year or few years to maximize the LSA's exposure and, more directly, to be fair to all of our member teams. Austin (1st choice) or Houston (2nd) would be great options for next season IF we can get the help and support of local organizers. Keep in mind that our league commish resides in DFW and will need much more help than he had this year to make the tourney run smoothly. That should be a big consideration.

The debate regarding a neutral site location comes back into play at this point. In my opinion, it would be in the best interest of our league to host the Championship Weekend at a neutral site IF POSSIBLE. We don't want to run into a situation similar to the GRLC; however, who else was willing to step up in that league and do all the behind the scenes activities leading up to and during the event? As I mentioned, JZ is local and was able to visit with the Texas Stadium folks a few times before the event actually happened, which was also the case last year at SMU with Karl, JZ, and myself.

The LSA Final Four has the potential to attract a large segment of youth, high school, and retired lacrosse players in any of the large markets discussed. That would in turn help legitimize every one of our programs, so I think it's time to put some serious time & effort into next year's event. Karl was absolutley on point when he joked about a Tournament Committee. Here's how I see it:

1) LSA Commish/Tournament Director
2) Local Tournament Director
3) Tournament Public Relations Chair
4) Tournament Team Relations Chair

Big topic for the league meeting in my mind. I also think having a league-wide discussion concerning OOC opponents (Mark M.) and trips is worth talking about. While I greatly enjoyed the brevity of last year's meeting, I think there are definitely some items regarding the future of the LSA that need to be discussed (CP).

[benji]

Start around page 3 of this thread http://forums.collegelax.us/viewtopic.php?t=10666&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

It also makes you appreciate the close proximity of all the teams in our league. Be it Austin, Houston or DFW as host, no team is more than 7 hours away.

Well ... for some teams, centrally located simply does not and can not exist. i.e. Lubbock or Stillwater (OK) to Houston is well over 7 hours. In that sense, I don't think that being centrally located should be a concern for travel.

What SHOULD be a concern is having the games in an area that could draw fans outside of the players and their friends/families. If we want to grow, shouldn't we focus on hosting events in one of the fastest growing US Lacrosse Chapters in the nation (i.e. DALLAS?!!) ....

Texas Stadium was nice, I'll agree. But I do share some of the others' concerns about feeling disconnected to the action. What about the PISD stadium in East Plano/Murphy that was used for the MCLA championships (was it USLIA then?) a few years back? How about facilities at the University of Dallas? SMU's Ford Stadium wasn't a bad venue either. What about the Cotton Bowl? That would be sick!