Pace of Play, Rules, Safety Among Key Tenets of IWLCA White Paper Project

The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) released a White Paper produced by CarrSports Consulting, LLC., on Wednesday, wrapping up a year-long project aimed at developing a comprehensive plan to unify and grow women’s lacrosse.

“It’s a pivotal moment for our game,” IWLCA executive director Liz Robertshaw said Wednesday morning. “We can’t sit by and watch. This [White Paper] really does show us the need for bold, immediate action.”

Extensive research, interviews with 57 women’s lacrosse stakeholders totaling over 100 hours of listening sessions and a survey featuring input from 1,065 stakeholders aided CarrSports put forth its comprehensive review of the sport’s landscape.

In the 35-page White Paper, CarrSports presented five strategic priorities, anchored by three core guiding tenets of growing the game, promoting the sport and prioritizing safe play.

The strategic priorities include:

• Establish a unified vision and brand
• Simplify rules and game administration
• Attract and retain exemplary game officials
• Enhance the championship experience
• Expand and maximize media exposure

“We’re at this massive crossroads at our game, and how are we going to make the changes that we need to make? I thank the IWLCA for committing to this White Paper project,” said North Carolina head coach Jenny Levy, a member of the ACC coaching contingent that recommended the IWLCA embark on the White Paper.

Robertshaw explained that the White Paper was not just a suggestion or idea. She views the report as a roadmap built on data and research. It was an opportunity for the IWLCA to invest in itself with the goal of elevating the sport and adapting to the new NCAA atmosphere brought forth by the recent House Settlement.

She cited the WNBA’s White Paper Project in 2013 that has served as a guiding light for the league to this day. With the growth of women’s sports in recent years, headlined by the WNBA, Robertshaw wants women’s lacrosse to be part of the upward trajectory.

“Having a third party come in and hold up a mirror, do the work, have the listening sessions, send out the survey, work on the SWOT analysis and have an outsider’s perspective, it really shows how seriously we wanted to take this,” she said.

Rules and safety are one of the core subjects that could trickle into other findings of the White Paper, like retention of officials and pace of play.

Fitting games into a two-hour window was an aim Robertshaw mentioned several times Wednesday morning. A two-hour block is almost always what’s allotted on linear television, so improving the pace of games would theoretically allow for more television exposure. But it would also create a better product for fans and players.

“We want to fit into two-hour TV windows,” Robertshaw said. “There are changes that need to be made.”

Some changes will take longer to implement than others. Recommended changes to the IWLCA’s infrastructure, including staffing and board construction, are not instant fixes. But with the introduction of sports oversight committees across the NCAA, rules changes can happen faster.

Ultimately, the findings of the White Paper lead to education for those who make decisions. That, Robertshaw said, will help “enlighten” people in leadership positions.

“There’s openness where there’s education,” Robertshaw said. “If [the NCAA] understands why we want to make rule changes, when the committee proposes those, the NCAA could be more open to them. We need to make sure the people in the room are more educated on the whys.”

You can review the White Paper in its entirety here.