MCLA Changes For Upcoming Year

[Jana]

What is it about men's club lacrosse that you all believe in conspiracies?

Are the black helicopters going to hover over the Embassy Suites in Denver? Maybe US Lacrosse will bug the proceedings and figure out a way to sabotage them by omission of publicizing the meeting in their magazine? Maybe they will film another landing on the moon at the Embassy Suites to be shown at a future date by NASA and claim they went back to the moon...but pocketed the NASA money instead?

[Kevin OBrien]

The meeting is open to members of the MCLA,we are at the Embassy Suites Aurora-Denver. Meeting starts again at 9am Saturday. There will be minutes, the budgets and expenditures have been distributed to the Conference Directors so they can share the information with their conferences. Nothing like what has been described here on this thread has been presented yet. Saturday is looking to be an interesting day.

Cool deal, I'll see ya later on today...now I just gotta drop $600 for a flight from Columbia SC to Denver...

It seems new that minutes, budgets, and expenditures have been distributed to Conference directors....is that because this hasn't happened in the past (to my knowledge) or have they just never been handed out?

As for the black helicopter comment, whenever a bunch of guys who were not elected in any way from what I know and who have a lot of power to do things that affect my guys AND (here's the big one, probably the cause of the prognostications) we have no idea what they are talking about....people start to worry....doesn't matter if they're trading their wives' cookie recipies, people will worry, especially with all manner of rumors flying about. Maybe next year an agenda should be passed out ahead of time with what is to be discussed. It's ludicrious and honestly a slap in the face to say "well, it's open to all members, we're only halfway across the country". I would say the time difference is on my side, but outside of that I'm out of luck. Learning about changes and things that went on after the fact is the part that bugs me, because it's for certain that I'm not in control of my destiny. Monumental things like the split from USL were decided with no warning, and we (the majority of the membership) found out after the fact. Seems to me those kinds of big changes should be decided and discussed at the league level first, so league representitives to the meeting know what their membership (who I assume represents them and knows their intentions and concerns, but that may be a shot in the dark).

Let's just say this...if 15 of the guys which can directly affect how you spend the next nine months got together in a well publicized meeting, but no one had any idea what was taking place and members of the meeting, even when they were in contact with the outside showed no willingness to share what was going on.....well, that's just the stuff of which conspiricy theroies are made. I think a little bit of clarification and knowledge sharing would go a long way, and I fail to see why that doesn't or hasn't happened. Surely with a bit of the $500 dues increase (as far as I could figure, a "just because" increase until I see numbers telling me otherwise) x 191 teams someone could think of a way to make that happen. It also seems that it's time to revisit the bylaws, since I doubt that this is the way the NCAA is run. Maybe that is the "next level" that we need to worry about attaining, not as individual teams but as a league?

[SDSULAX]

The bylaws are on the agenda today. The agenda or lack of an agenda prior to the meeting will also be discussed today. If you are not aware of the reasons for the separation from USL, please contact your conference director. He can also tell you how he got his job as a conference director. Our next MCLA BOD meeting will be 11-14 December 2007 in Philadelphia, PA, that should give you adequate time to purchase your tickets and reservations at the Marriot.

[Kevin OBrien]

I think you missed my point. What the MCLA needs is better communication pure and simple. If ya'll communicated about what was on the agenda this thread full of guys worrying about this upcoming year wouldn't exist.

I shouldn't have to be in attendance at these meetings...that's why (correct me if I'm wrong) we have representitives. The general feel I'm getting is "if you don't care enough to show, then shut up". That does not seem to be the appropriate stance for the leadership of this organization to take. I apologize if I took your comment the wrong way though.

Finally, I know why we split with USL. The problem is, I found out after the decision and not prior to. If that doesn't seem like an issue to anyone else, I'll shut up, but I doubt that is the case. As a member, I'd like better communication. I've got an email address that these types of things can be sent to. If the leadership feels that communicating what's gong on to it's members is a hassle, then we've got problems with the leadership in my humble opinion.

[SDSULAX]

The BOD is having some of the same issues you are talking about, that (communication) is what we are trying to fix today. I did not mean to imply that you had to come to the meeting to be heard, just that you could if you wanted. You might want to communicate your displeasure to your conference director or conference president, I get your message loud and clear, as with any new organization we have some issues to iron out, we are working on it. There is no intent on the part of the conference directors to disenfranchise anyone.

[KnoxVegas]

DG,
No conspiracy just shedding light to the lack of communication. Just like last year when I was told by our commisioner that dues when up and BTW we left USL and started the MCLA.

Augustana, like so many other schools, have too much wrapped up in this to be spoon fed information. As SDSULAX pointed out there was a lack of an agenda for the meeting. That right there gives me concern. I have never been to a shareholders meeting where there has not been an agenda. I do not have meeting in my work place without an agenda.

All we are looking for is transparency and more than a thread or two on these boards looking for input. We are getting too big for this to still be run like this. That being said, I have complete faith in those that are leading us. That is up until they ever vote to abolish the B Division and then there will be issues. I think we all want the same thing and that begins with better communication.

[Ken Lovic]

This has certainly taken off.
Guys- we are not CUTTING teams or divisions.
Back to the meetings but be assured we are moving forward with our current structure.

Call off the helicopters.....

[scooter]

This has certainly taken off.
Guys- we are not CUTTING teams or divisions.
Back to the meetings but be assured we are moving forward with our current structure.

Call off the helicopters.....

what about restructuring divisions and the national playoff scene?

[SDSULAX]

No restructuring divisions other than changing Division A and B to Divisions 1 and 2 respectively. Playoff structure changes have not happened, no major changes, still discussing consolation games.

[John Paul]

Ken is right.

On agenda - our model has been, for 10 years, for the EB to meet the night before the BOD meeting to set the agenda. Could we do it before then? Sure. It would, however, look very generic. If you take at a look at all of our agendas for the past 10 years, all 20 of them, they are essentially the same document:

Welcome & Intro
Agenda review
Conference reports
Committee reports (tournament, budget, eligibility, media, sponsors, eligiblity)
Outside relationship reports (USL, IMLCA, etc.)
Bylaws (always on the agenda for changes)
Elections
New Business
To do list
Future meetings

Conference directors are elected by their constituency to make decisions at the BOD meetings in the best interest. We cannot involve everyone in the process. That's why Board's exist. If you feel out of contact, be in touch regularly with your rep or come to the meetings.

[onpoint]

No one is asking to be directly involved with every decision that is made, but year in and year out the refrain from the BOD is that we have our chance to be heard at the league meetings if we want to see change or make suggestions. When those meetings are not advertised until the day of, it makes the whole thing seem a little suspect.

Yes, we all understand this is hard work done by volunteers. Yes, we all understand that the minutae of running a league as large as ours is too complex to try to relate to each and every inquiry. Yes, for the most part, everyone enjoys the success our league has had and the direction it is going. But in this instance, the BOD had the means to simply announce with at least a month's notice when and where the meetings were going to take place.

I don't suppose it would be too much for the BOD to admit that perhaps they were wrong on this one? Actually, I more expect a long-winded justification and a convoluted method of learning more information instead of anything clear, concise and easy to access, so by all means, fire away.

[Zeuslax]

What is it about men's club lacrosse that you all believe in conspiracies?

This has certainly taken off.
Guys- we are not CUTTING teams or divisions.
Back to the meetings but be assured we are moving forward with our current structure.

Call off the helicopters.....

I think what you see are people that received solid information (that mostly turns out is true and still hasen't been acknowledged or nullified....) from some very reliable sources and are looking for some answers. The conversations were illustrasted as substantial and prior to the agenda and the MCLA meeting. I think this is where the agenda questions are coming from? Also, it looks like the conversation has moved from the original topic.

[Andy Sharp]

No restructuring divisions other than changing Division A and B to Divisions 1 and 2 respectively. Playoff structure changes have not happened, no major changes, still discussing consolation games.

I request that we call them Divisions 1 and Division 3, base it on NCAA, and move on. Constantly having to explain divisions to people gets tiresome. It works for every other sport, why not ours?

[cjwilhelmi]

What about division 2????

[Kevin OBrien]

What about division 2????

I think he's saying is that our Div B schools would usually be under NCAA Div 3 while our A would be NCAA D1 for the most part.