National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

July 7, 1997

Lacrosse committee considers safety effects of changes in stick

The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee considered innovations in crosse (stick) construction and their possible effects on safety and the integrity of the game at its meeting June 17-21 in Monterey, California.

No rules changes regarding the subject were passed because the committee determined that it lacked sufficient data. Instead, the committee adopted a statement (see accompanying box) that will appear in the 1997 Men's Lacrosse Rules and be distributed to equipment manufacturers.

In order to gather information it needs to determine which, if any, stick designs should be outlawed to maximize safety and maintain the integrity of the game, the committee will seek information from coaches and players through a formal survey that will be conducted this fall by the national office staff.

The committee welcomes related information from manufacturers, engineering experts and any other interested, informed parties. Persons with such information may call secretary-rules editor Charles W. Winters at Gettysburg College (telephone 717/337-6400).

To assist in gathering information, the committee requested that the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports support NCAA Research Committee funding. The Men's Lacrosse Committee suggested that current research being done for the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee on baseball bats serve as a model.

Both the survey and the research, if approved, will seek to determine:

1. When compared to a traditional straight stick and head, does an offset (whether it comes from the head or the shaft) provide a competitive advantage, and, if so, at what angle does this advantage occur (i.e., what should be the cutoff point)?

2. Does such a design:

a. Provide a significant increase in speed of the ball when shooting and passing when the same force is applied?

b. Make it easier for a player to pick up a ground ball?

c. Allow for the player in control to withhold the ball from play with his stick in such a manner that, because of the design, it is unreasonably difficult for the defense to dislodge it with a legal check?

d. Allow for the player to hide or shield the ball (and therefore a shot) from the goalkeeper in such a way that the safety of the goalkeeper compromised or a competitive advantage is obtained by the shooter?

e. Give the defensive player an advantage in dislodging the ball on a reach-around check from behind?

3. Do offset sticks or heads compromise safety?

a. If the design of a stick withholds the ball from play, does it do so in such a way that it forces defensemen to be more aggressive to dislodge the ball?

b. Does a bend in the shaft, when done by the manufacturer, compromise the breaking point of the stick?

Once such information is gathered in a manner that the committee considers impartial and conclusive, the committee will determine whether a stick that is angled or offset (when viewed as one unit from butt end to head end) should be legal, and if so, what the accepted angle or distance of tolerance will be. The committee hopes to make this determination at its 1998 annual meeting in June and to make any change effective in 1999.

Other rules actions

In other rules-related actions, the committee made the following major changes for 1998:

During sudden-victory overtime play, timeouts will be permitted only in dead-ball situations. Previously, timeouts could be called under the same constraints as in regulation play. The purpose is to free officials from making the difficult determination of when a team gains possession off the face-off. Teams previously were able to ask for a timeout immediately under last year's rules.

Added failure to advance the ball beyond the defensive area line in 10 seconds or into the attack area in 10 seconds to the list of illegal procedure violations.

Added that players who choose to wear cleated shoes may not use cleats longer than one-half inch. This mirrors the rule for NCAA football. Previously there was no limit to the size of cleats.

As charged by NCAA Bylaw 11.1.7, recommended to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet and Divisions II and III Championships Committees an anti-tobacco rule mirroring language in the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Manuals for inclusion in the Men's Lacrosse Rules. Under the recommendation, all team personnel, including but not limited to players, coaches and athletic trainers, will be disqualified from a game for tobacco use that occurs between the time the officials take jurisdiction and the end of the game. Use by game officials such as referees, scorekeepers and timekeepers also is banned. Such use is to be addressed by the event administrator.

Championships

Regarding championships that are administered by the committee, the group discussed extensively the impact of initiating automatic qualification by conference for the Divisions I and III tournaments.

It was the sense of the committee that automatic qualification would be healthy for the sport, because it could result in support from various conferences and bring about the creation of new programs.

The committee voted to recommend to the Division III Championships Cabinet that automatic qualification be implemented for the 1999 Division III tournament. The committee will develop criteria for automatic qualification before the 1998 season.

The committee noted that within the 12-team Division III bracket, after selections are made, teams are paired according to geographical proximity rather than seed in the first and quarterfinal rounds. Such pairings could result in a higher seed having to play in the first round.

Regarding the Division I tournament, the committee determined that it will move in the direction
of automatic qualification, with implementation possible for the 1999 or 2000 season. Information on the ramifications of such a move will
be gathered by the committee from conferences, athletics directors, coaches and the national office, and will be reviewed during a September teleconference.

Championships Weekend

The committee also made the following changes regarding Championships Weekend, during which the Division I semifinals and final and Divisions II and III final are played at a common site:

Reviewed a proposed schedule of events for 1998. The committee agreed, pending a review of the per diem policy by the national office staff, to require that the Divisions II and III teams attend the championships banquet Friday evening. The committee also agreed to make the annual autograph session a required activity for the Division I finalists.

In addition, the committee agreed to continue the student-athlete forum, which was held at the championships for the first time this year. The forum, which was held on Sunday this year, will be held on Saturday next year. To increase attendance, invitations will be sent to athletics directors of sponsoring institutions.

As a direct result of input from this year's student-athlete forum, the committee reviewed the current squad sizes of 32 in Division I and 28 in Divisions II and III. The committee voted that each team may have all of its players in uniform for each game, but that only 32 players in Division I and 28 in Divisions II and III may play.

Set minimum ticket prices for the 1999 Division I preliminary rounds of $10 for adults and $7 for children ages 3 to 12. Children 2 years old and younger shall be free.

Voted that schools that accept tickets for Championships Weekend will be deemed to have purchased the tickets received and will receive an invoice for all tickets minus the value of any that are returned by 5 p.m. Friday before the semifinals.

Committee statement

The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee plans to include the following statement in the 1997 Men's Lacrosse Rules:

As the committee continues to consider stick construction, it has determined that any rule revision relating to the shaft alone is not realistic, since the head and shaft are used as a single unit; therefore, the committee will view the stick as one unit (i.e., from the butt end to the end of the head) when determining legality, rather than the past method of considering shafts and heads separately.

In light of this change in viewpoint and the time necessary to research its repercussions thoroughly, sticks that were legal for the 1997 season will be legal for 1998, but there are no such assurances for 1999. For clarification, "a stick that was legal in 1997" is one that meets all specifications in the 1997 (and 1998) rules book, is relatively straight from butt end to the end of the head, and passes the officials' field test for free dislodgment of the ball. A "relatively straight" stick shall be defined as one that may be laid flat on a tabletop on the side opposite the netting so that a substantial portion of the stick rests on the table and such that there be a distance from the tabletop to the bottom edge of the head that at no point exceeds 21/2 inches. (A sketch will be included in the rules book.)

In addition to the concern about offset heads and sticks, the committee is concerned with appendages (or wings) placed on the internal or external wall of the head of the stick and the effect such features may have on the required free dislodgment of the ball that is critical to the safety and integrity of the game. During 1998, the referee's field test will continue to determine the legality of an individual stick with respect to such features. The committee will collect data on these features during the 1998 season to determine if further clarification is needed.