ATLANTA, GA - The MCLA Board of Directors recently met to clarify the eligibility concessions administered for the COVID affected 2020 and 2021 seasons.

In the summer of 2020, the MCLA Board of Directors elected to retain MCLA rostered players’ current season of eligibility for the 2021 season as a result of the cancellation of 2020 spring play.

During the gathering of 2021 preseason information, it was clear that a very small percentage of teams would be able to participate in 2021 play. In February of 2021, the MCLA Board of Directors once again voted to roll over the eligibility of 2020 MCLA rostered players which resulted in having the same eligibility status in 2022 as they did at the start of 2020. Alternatively, players that were on MCLA rosters for the 2020 and 2021 seasons did not use eligibility for those years.

For example, Player A, a rostered MCLA Sophomore in 2020 has 3 remaining years of eligibility (includes 2020 season). When he returns in 2022, he is still considered a sophomore eligibility-wise and has 3 years of MCLA play remaining. In line with the basis of MCLA Eligibility, “4 years of college lacrosse play”.

At the inception of the MCLA, eligibility was a major concern as we did not have rules outlining this. At that time, it was decided that each MCLA player would be allowed to participate in four years of college lacrosse. That could be all MCLA play or could be a combination of various college opportunities, but regardless of the opportunity, the player is granted in the MCLA 4 years of eligible play.

COVID 2020 and 2021 concessions for players that were on MCLA rosters do not trump this standard eligibility rule of four seasons of college lacrosse play. Rather, the 2020 and 2021 concessions were made for players on MCLA rosters in those years because the MCLA did not have a complete season in either of those years.

This was published publicly in February of 2021- MCLA Adopts Invitational Tourney for 2021.

And voted on and listed in our February 16, 2021 minutes from that Board Meeting.

In 2021, the Eligibility Chair received inquiries about transfer students outside of the MCLA (NAIA, NCAA, NCLL, etc.) who were considering an MCLA member school. At that time, the MCLA was under the impression that the other lacrosse governing bodies followed the same concessions as the MCLA (stated above), regarding the freeze of eligibility in 2020 and 2021.

It has now come to our attention that this was not the case across the board. In fact, some of the NCAA athletes from the Spring Season of 2021 did use eligibility. If a Spring 2021 team played more than 50% of their scheduled games, rostered players of that team used their eligibility for that playing season. This was the case for many Division I and Division II lacrosse programs.

Up to this point, the MCLA Eligibility Chair gave the non-MCLA players the same concession, thus resulting in a 5th year of college lacrosse play. Again, MCLA Leadership believed that the NCAA had not recognized the Spring 2021 season as a year of eligibility used, when in fact it did for many lacrosse players. Now that this has been brought to light, the MCLA Board of Directors is moving to correct our past mistake and ensure no player exceeds the 4 years of college lacrosse play.

In accordance with the MCLA Eligibility Policy & MCLA Operating Policy Article 3 Section 2, all are deemed ineligible for the 2025 season if they have exhausted their four years of college lacrosse.

A mistake was made by the MCLA Board of Directors and this correction is necessary to adhere to the MCLA eligibility policies as they are written. Aggrieved players have the option to appeal to the MCLA Executive Committee. Such appeals are facilitated through your team’s head coach and Conference Directors.

For more information or to appeal to the MCLA Board, please visit www.mcla.us or email [email protected].

REFERENCE NOTES

MCLA Eligibility Policy

From MCLA Operating Procedures:

6. Restitution. If (a) a player who is ineligible for MCLA play, or (b) a team that has been barred from MCLA play (regular or post-season) is permitted to participate in MCLA play, in either case, as a result of a court order or injunction, and such order or injunction is voluntarily vacated, stayed or reversed or it is finally determined by a court that injunctive relief is not or was not justified, the Executive Committee may take any one or more of the following actions against the applicable team and/or player in the interest of restitution and fairness to other teams and players participating in the MCLA:

a. Require that individual or team records and performances achieved during such participation be vacated or stricken;
b. Determine that a player be ineligible for future play, despite the correction of any eligibility violations;
c. Determine that a team be ineligible for future invitational and post-season tournaments;
d. Require that the team or player reimburse the conference and MCLA for any costs or expenses (including attorney’s fees) in defending the court order or injunction; and
e. Require that the team or player be assessed a financial penalty


ARTICLE 3 ELIGIBILITY
1. General. Participation in MCLA sanctioned play is a privilege of association with the MCLA, and not a right. To be eligible to participate in MCLA sanctioned play, each player, team and conference must abide by the rules and regulations of the MCLA.
2. Players.To be eligible to participate in MCLA sanctioned play, each player must:
(i) at all times during the term(s) in which a Playing Season is played, be enrolled (in each case in accordance with the institution’s registrar) at his team’s institution as either (1) an undergraduate student with a minimum of 12 credit hours; provided, a player in his final term of his degree program may carry fewer than 12 credit hours so long as the credit hours taken will complete his graduation requirements in that term or (2) a full-time graduate student.
(ii) not play more than 4 seasons of college lacrosse at any collegiate level; not have been paid to play lacrosse (field or box) (whether currently or in the past), except for scholarships for tuition or other school costs;