MCLA Eligibility

[Sonny]

I'm going to be falling into the "Grad School Student-Player" category next year. I will be attending the same school where I received my undergraduate degree, but just out of curiosity, how many credits do I need to take to be eligible in the Spring '08? John Paul, can you help me out with this one?

Same as an undergrad student. I believe this is addressed in the Handy Dandy FAQ:
http://www.collegelax.us/faq.php

[Beta]

If the rule is aimed at making sure varsity guys aren't playing in grad school...

Why can't guys that played in the USLIA/MCLA play elsewhere upon graduating and going to grad school??

[Bronco1]

Sonny, why was it decided upon that whether you're a grad student or undergrad, you still have to maintain 12 credits? Grad school classes are typically much harder (curriculum, work load, research, etc.) than undergrad courses. How is it fair to expect more out of the grad students than the undergrad ones by requiring 12 credits at a higher level of difficulty?

[mholtz]

I'm going to be falling into the "Grad School Student-Player" category next year. I will be attending the same school where I received my undergraduate degree, but just out of curiosity, how many credits do I need to take to be eligible in the Spring '08? John Paul, can you help me out with this one?

12 which is a HUGE amount for a grad student.

[Sonny]

Sonny, why was it decided upon that whether you're a grad student or undergrad, you still have to maintain 12 credits? Grad school classes are typically much harder (curriculum, work load, research, etc.) than undergrad courses. How is it fair to expect more out of the grad students than the undergrad ones by requiring 12 credits at a higher level of difficulty?

12 is the number. And is the easiest way to make sure everyone at all ~200 teams is on the relative same page across the country.

Some schools define full time status differently then others. Some schools 3 or 6 hours per quarter/semester is full time. At some schools its 9 hours for full time status (ahem Simon Fraser). At some schools it's 12 hours.

At some schools you can take Culinary Arts and Home Economics and Tourism Classes.

At some schools you take Quantum Physics and Thermodynamics.

Higher level of difficulty is a relative term. And most certainly in the eye of the beholder.

[John Paul]

This topic has been discussed many times here and at almost every BOD meeting. I'm not going to get into all the complexities and reasoning here, but just try to give a brief overview.

None of our eligibility rules have changed in 10 years, by the way, except for the way we judge a season. Our compliance methods have changed. Not the rules.

Grad students are only eligible at the school where they got their undergrad degree. I have always been opposed to this rule. The intention doesn't have as much to do with varsity guys playing a year of MCLA ball as it does with eligibility tracking. I personally don't think either reason is valid. We had the closest vote on this subject to date at our last meeting, and it will come up again this summer.

Grad students must take 12 credits. Again, a rule based on our ability to track. This one is tougher. We all know that in most cases 12 credits is a rediculous load for a grad student. While our board hasn't made a decision to change this rule, suffice to say that we have been discussing how to track eligibility if it was changed. It's safe to say that most of us would like to see this rule changed, but we haven't found a good way to do it yet. (And yes, we're open to suggestions. Make them through your conference director so he can present them to the Board.)

[nhoskins]

At some schools its 9 hours for full time status (ahem Simon Fraser). At some schools it's 12 hours.

At some schools you can take Culinary Arts and Home Economics and Tourism Classes.

At some schools you take Quantum Physics and Thermodynamics.

Higher level of difficulty is a relative term. And most certainly in the eye of the beholder.

Sadly, SFU did not offer basketweaving, pottery or introduction to flyfishing and tackle.

[`MM9]

question:

this may have already been answered...but,

Does playing MCLA lacrosse take away NCAA eligibility?

OR could a player transfer to a D1 or D2 school from an MCLA school and still have 4 years of eligibility?

[Jolly Roger]

NCAA does not count MCLA play against years of eligibility.

Your eligibility clock did start once you've begun matriculating though...

[`MM9]

wait so...

eligibility is lost for every year that you are enrolled at another university? MCLA or not?

[Jolly Roger]

Not eligibility, but rather the years avaialble in which to use that eligibility. I think it's 5 years to play 4 seasons.

If you've played 3 years of MCLA ball & transfer to a vaarsity team, you have 4 seasons of eligibility remaining, but only 2 years on your clock.

[Npaulseth]

I have another question:

What if a person coaches a team (never attends that school) for two or three years, and then decides to go to school at another university. Is he eligible to play for that team assuming he has no other college lacrosse history and he is no longer coaching?

[Dan Wishengrad]

I have another question:

What if a person coaches a team (never attends that school) for two or three years, and then decides to go to school at another university. Is he eligible to play for that team assuming he has no other college lacrosse history and he is no longer coaching?

Yes. Coaching does not affect eligibility as a player in the MCLA. You have four years to PLAY, and there is no 5 or 6 year clock. I played in 1977, 1978 and 1979, so I still have a year of eligibility remaining as a player. Sadly I also have no wheels

[Npaulseth]

Thank you very much.

[Jana]

Depending on how things go in Iraq (and who gets elected president in 2008), has the MCLA considered returning military in eligibility policies? I ask because the military is offering so many online degree credits. We had this come up on the women's side earlier this year.