The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee voted during an October 25 conference call that men's lacrosse will be played in the 2001 season with substitution horns and with the same substitution-box and coaches-area field markings as were used during the 1999 season and before.

The decision overturns a portion of the committee's shot-clock rules package it originally had proposed in July for the 2001 season but (because of the expense involved) is being considered by the NCAA Executive Committee for implementation in 2002.

When the men's lacrosse committee delayed proposed implementation until 2002, it originally determined that it would retain a portion of that package for 2001. That portion, now overturned, would have eliminated sideline substitution horns and increased the size of the substitution area.

"After obtaining feedback from coaches who used the no-sideline-horn rule in fall scrimmages, the committee felt that the shot-clock change was proposed as a package and that retaining just one portion of that package (the elimination of the sideline substitution horns) compromised the rule's effectiveness," said Bryan Matthews, chair of the men's lacrosse committee and director of athletics at Washington College (Maryland). "The committee felt that eliminating the sideline substitution horns without having a shot clock to prevent stalling could slow the game down and decrease scoring, which is counter to the committee's original intent in proposing the shot clock."

Matthews emphasized that re-instituting the sideline substitution horns did not affect the recommendation for 2002. The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet and Division II Championships Committee approved the proposal, but the Division III Championships Committee did not. A rules proposal that involves expense and would cause different divisions to have different rules, such as this one, requires Executive Committee approval before taking effect.