How the MCLA and its Conferences are run

[Sonny]

Each team should be put on an equal basis administratively.

sounds great in utopia. But you and I know that isn't the case in the reality that is the MCLA.

[Kevin OBrien]

Why not do it as near as possible? To just dismiss it as not possible is insulting to about 3/4 of the teams, especially when everyone is paying equally to be a member.

[Sonny]

Why not do it as near as possible? To just dismiss it as not possible is insulting to about 3/4 of the teams, especially when everyone is paying equally to be a member.

I'm not insulting any team. I was speaking to how teams administer themselves.

The fact of the matter is that probably 2/3 of the current MCLA teams are student run and that student leadership flips over every year.

It's kinda of hard, in my book, to expect perfect administration and leadership from the MCLA Executives (most of which are full time volunteers) - when your own house isn't in order.

[NKlaxguy]

Has anyone ever thought about how things get taken care of in this league and in our own conferences. We pay league and conference dues every year, and where does it all go? If our team pays 1,000 bucks to the MCLA, times 250 div 1 and div 2 teams, wheres that quarter of a mil going? Trophies for everyone? Paid travel or uniforms? Really the only thing that seems to be paid for is the National playoffs. Besides that, where is all of our money going? There is a similiar set up in most of the conferences I believe, as I know is true with my own. And how are we delegating power to those who manage our league and conferences. In a sport which has taken hold of so many geographic places so fast, and grown so quickly, are the people we have chosen to better serve us really looking out for promoting the sport? Or are they interested in something else. This topic is not meant to attack or offend anyone, but more so to get people involved, you know the whole VOTE or DIE thing. We all participate in lacrosse dialogue in these forums, shouldn't it be our responsibility, as teams and individuals, to understand and see what is going on. I love lacrosse, and I hope to promote the sport, the league, and the conference in a way that will be most beneficial to all those involved.

this guy sounds like a ron paul supporter

[Kevin OBrien]

Why not do it as near as possible? To just dismiss it as not possible is insulting to about 3/4 of the teams, especially when everyone is paying equally to be a member.

I'm not insulting any team. I was speaking to how teams administer themselves.

The fact of the matter is that probably 2/3 of the current MCLA teams are student run and that student leadership flips over every year.

It's kinda of hard, in my book, to expect perfect administration and leadership from the MCLA Executives (most of which are full time volunteers) - when your own house isn't in order.

Shouldn't the MCLA cater to the majority of the membership, since they're the ones paying for 2/3 of the bills?

[Kevin OBrien]

Has anyone ever thought about how things get taken care of in this league and in our own conferences. We pay league and conference dues every year, and where does it all go? If our team pays 1,000 bucks to the MCLA, times 250 div 1 and div 2 teams, wheres that quarter of a mil going? Trophies for everyone? Paid travel or uniforms? Really the only thing that seems to be paid for is the National playoffs. Besides that, where is all of our money going? There is a similiar set up in most of the conferences I believe, as I know is true with my own. And how are we delegating power to those who manage our league and conferences. In a sport which has taken hold of so many geographic places so fast, and grown so quickly, are the people we have chosen to better serve us really looking out for promoting the sport? Or are they interested in something else. This topic is not meant to attack or offend anyone, but more so to get people involved, you know the whole VOTE or DIE thing. We all participate in lacrosse dialogue in these forums, shouldn't it be our responsibility, as teams and individuals, to understand and see what is going on. I love lacrosse, and I hope to promote the sport, the league, and the conference in a way that will be most beneficial to all those involved.

this guy sounds like a ron paul supporter

Or Puff Daddy

[Steno]

Why not do it as near as possible? To just dismiss it as not possible is insulting to about 3/4 of the teams, especially when everyone is paying equally to be a member.

I'm not insulting any team. I was speaking to how teams administer themselves.

The fact of the matter is that probably 2/3 of the current MCLA teams are student run and that student leadership flips over every year.

It's kinda of hard, in my book, to expect perfect administration and leadership from the MCLA Executives (most of which are full time volunteers) - when your own house isn't in order.

Shouldn't the MCLA cater to the majority of the membership, since they're the ones paying for 2/3 of the bills?

To quote Papa Bear, "I like the cut of your jib." But that would be mob rule, wouldn't it?

Anyway, I am really digging this idea of the annual reports getting published online. Is MCLA a 501(c)? If so, there are a couple watchdog groups out there we could get to run pro bono investigations that would get us all of our answers.

[DRich17]

I'm not insulting any team. I was speaking to how teams administer themselves.

The fact of the matter is that probably 2/3 of the current MCLA teams are student run and that student leadership flips over every year.

It's kinda of hard, in my book, to expect perfect administration and leadership from the MCLA Executives (most of which are full time volunteers) - when your own house isn't in order.

Here's what I can see a possibility of "volunteering." Aren't you usually motivated in some way to volunteer? Aren't the people with the most amount of free time usually the team coaches that have a school financially backing them, so that these coaches can make lacrosse a full time job? Our coach is a pastor and works full time. There's no way he could take on EB duties. And yes we are a growing team. That being said, I think this 'volunteer their time' almost inherently promotes itself to all the big schools, who have top lacrosse programs and, one could argue, are making league and conference decisions out of their own personal motivations.

And still this whole argument of, "they can't do it, why don't you just let a few selected individuals do it" is total non-sense. I mean look what happened to the Bush administration when he got a bunch of 'yes men' around him. When you don't have another opinion or someone that disagrees, things don't improve.

Now for the ole chap above that wrote about expecting perfect leadership, when 'your own house' isn't in order'...
I don't expect perfect leadership. But I do think it is our job to question it, atleast what its doing for us. Do I want Mob Rule? No, and i'm not voting for polling 200 people when we need toilet paper. But what happens say if the league is thinking about forcing UCSB to play down to division 2? Should every team get a vote on a rule change. Absolutely. How about a time limit. Now sonny I know you don't remember what it was like to be in college, but we are capable of accomplishing some things. So we put a time limit on how long you have to submit your vote. So something happens. Send out an email to every teams voter and give them 24 hours to respond.
Voting on money issues. Now i dont know anyone who would be interested in that....

I enjoy hearing explanations from EB members on this stuff , but frankly I don't care for it (not my deal though that's why we're in the forum)

So just a few short hours of talking and we've already figured out some things...
1)people are interested in money and a budget
2)The higher ups like it the way it is.
3) Some people may or may not agree with me
4) There are a lot of possible solutions

[Chris Larson]

The theory of transparency is a goal of our organization. Until we get all the parts in place we're stuck with our current model in which conference directors come to meetings at which information is shared, decisions, made, and policy set. Your conference director is then asked, AS PART OF THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION, to disseminate this information to their constituents. Conference directors receive (from) me a copy of all national meeting minutes.

We are still hammering out bylaws for the directors to ratify. This has been stalled since December. Once these are ratified, we'll be able to post the procedures and policies.

If you have a specific question, inquire with your conference director. If they don't know the answer, ask them to ask a member of the Executive Board. I'm confident you'll get an answer.

[Matt_Gardiner]

I am always shocked and appalled by the conspiracy theories that are out there. If you want an answer to a question there are a number of people on the Executive Board that you can reach. In the GRLC, I typically bring my questions to Will Gilner, Corbin Wilhelmi, Brian Mosher, or Mike Martin. Will Gilner and Mike Martin are unbelievably fair and unbelievably accessible. If you ask them a question, they will get you an answer. They will be open and honest about anything you want. Brian Mosher (our Commissioner) has no ties to any teams. He is very fair, very open, and very honest. If you tried to contact these people and discuss what is wrong they will give you an answer.
The GRLC is an excellent league that I am proud of the things they have done. It has improved vastly over the last four years there have been subtle, but significant changes over that time.
I do not understand where all this contempt comes from and why you just will not say what the problem is. I agree that Missouri State got a raw deal in playoff seedings last year because of the Missouri debacle. It is just how it worked out, but the seeding did not affect byes or anything else. It did not even effect what teams you would have had to beat to win the tournament, just the order you would have to beat them in. It should be a lesson learned to document everything via email so it is clear and undisputable if an issue comes up. Brian Mosher and the GRLC made a decision in a short time-frame, made a decision that I believe was fair (just a raw deal for Missouri State), and moved on. There was no conspiracy.
If Missouri State is so unhappy in D1, they can always move to D2 by our rules. If they are unhappy in the GRLC or the MCLA, they can always drop out. Missouri State CHOSE to be a part of the MCLA and the GRLC and they CHOSE to be a part of the organization and all of its rules. If you do not want to be in the MCLA, then don't. The money paid to the GRLC and MCLA to run tournament, run the administration of the league, insure the entire operation, and provide a legitimate, even playing field for all teams to compete is cheap for what you are getting.
If you have a specific problem with anything, I suggest you say it and not just post statements indicating a general mistrust of the league and the conference. I suggest that if you want to get answers that you talk to people on the Executive Board. I would suggest that you talk to Mike Martin or Will Gilner in your instance. They have no agenda other than the health of lacrosse. The Executive Board is very accessible, you just have to access them. They were (after all) voted into place by your team and the other teams of the GRLC.

The poll question should not be how many people on the Executive Board you know. The question should be how many have you attempted to get to know. The onus is on you to contact them and get to know them. They have volunteered for their positions to help lacrosse and help you. They cannot help you, unless you talk to them and let them help you.

[Matt_Gardiner]

FWIW...

There is not one member of the GRLC Executive Board that lives off of lacrosse. They all have jobs (or are fulltime students) and they all have demanding jobs and schedules. They own businesses, the are project managers, they are lawyers, they work for large chemical companies, they work in sales. They all work outside of lacrosse to pay the bills. If they were into it for the money, they would do better officiating lacrosse, not coaching and/or running the league. The are NOT volunteering to screw you, to pad their lacrosse resumes, to make money. They are volunteering because of a love of the game. Please take some time and talk to Will Gilner or Mike Martin about why they are volunteering for lacrosse and what they get out of it. They are giving up a lot more than they are getting.

[CATLAX MAN]

Nice post, Matt. Couldn't have been stated better. This whole issue (non-issue) can be summed up by Sonny's old signature comment which was a quote from Ben Franklin......."Any fool can complain. Most fools usually do."

All of the answers to the questions that are being posed here can be obtained by contacting the league representatives, conference directors, etc. It's a matter of taking the time and getting yourself informed. Seek out the answers...don't make veiled conspiracy accusations.

[DanGenck]

I played for 4 years in the MCLA and spent 3 of those years as an executive for my team. I had more than adequate contact with Rob Graff, Tim Roche, and Chris Larson in the UMLL. All of our needs were met and they spoke for me (as best as they could) and my program (again, as best as they could) at all MCLA functions and votes.

St. John's paid all the bills that were asked of us. I would have paid double for the experience if asked. The UMLL and the MCLA managed our finances excellently and provided us with a top notch lacrosse experience. Any financial information that was asked for was always provided by the league and was always impeccably kept.

Our leadership is the best in the game. I support anyone who wants to question the system, however I think all you will find are hard working men and women who love and support the MCLA.

Cheers.

[DRich17]

Matt, I don't know what it was about my last post that turned you on so bad, but have I not made it clear that the whole point of this thread was to inform people of how things get done, to inquire about things people normally would not?
This is a controversial topic by nature. My whole point is to get people to learn more. Go out and ask your coaches what they think of the way their conference or league is run. If they tell you it's awesome, great. If they tell you it sucks, great. But isn't it our job to find out? There are thousands of student athletes out there, some of whom will be future coaches and/or board member, why not get informed?

Play it off as conspiracy. I for one can't accept everything just because someone tells me to. So think of this as a conspiracy theory if you'd like Mel, crucify me for sparking interest in such an obviously boring topic.

Bottom line is, we pay dues to MCLA and GRLC every year, in fact 7-8% of our team budget is that, the MCLA and our conference, take that money and do something with it. I would like to know what. Now Mr McCarthy up here would tell me im paranoid. I just want to know. We pay money, we see a receipt.

And why not have a vote for the whole MCLA for big decisions. There's one you can't argue. We all pay, why don't we all get a real say, as in a vote?

Oh and BTW
My thoughts are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of my team, conference or league.

[SDSULAX]

You belong to a team, I hope there is a process that exists in your team that considers your opinion. Your team has a representative that looks out for your interests, and that of your fellow team members, at your conference level, and along those same lines, your conference has representation at the MCLA Board of Directors level. There is nothing that I know of that restricts your right to ask questions of everyone, nobody on the MCLA BOD or EB is unreachable, their contact information is easily available. If you are planning on going through life thinking you should get a vote on everything that affects you I wish you success in running your own country somewhere or please spend some time sharpening your resume building skills.