In recent years, sports fans have encountered a growing number of professional sports leagues, including a roller hockey league, the XFL and minor league hockey. Most of these leagues have come and gone without enjoying the success of the “Big Four” leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), but some have had staying power and are thriving today. Professional lacrosse is the embodiment of an upstart league with some staying power; so great has been its appeal that two leagues have sprung up.
The National Lacrosse League was founded in 1987 and plays its games on indoor Astroturf “fields” housed inside hockey-like boards and Plexiglas. Teams usually play in hockey or basketball arenas. The Washington area has had two franchises in the league’s history, but neither lasted longer than three years for financial reasons. Teams in the NLL play 16 games in a season that runs from January to April. The NLL has national television coverage on Fox Sports Net and the YES Network.
Partially because of the NLL’s success, Major League Lacrosse began play in 2001. The MLL’s founders include Jake Steinfeld, star of infomercials and commercials for his company, Body by Jake Enterprises, and former national champion and U.S. Team member Dave Morrow. The lacrosse played in the MLL more closely resembles lacrosse played at the high school and collegiate level. Games take place on an outdoor field that is larger than the NLL’s field.
The MLL season is comprised of 12 games during the summer, May through August. Four of the six MLL teams compete in the league playoffs. All of the MLL’s teams play in the northeast region of the country. The MLL has a television deal for a game of the week to be shown on ESPN2 throughout the regular season. In 2003, the Long Island Lizards won the MLL “World Championship” for the second time in the league’s three-year history.
Georgetown is well-represented in Major League Lacrosse, with seven Hoyas on the six league teams’ 2003 rosters. The Boston Cannons, Bridgeport Barrage and Long Island Lizards each include one Hoya on their rosters: midfielder Steve Dusseau (COL ’02), defenseman Kyle Sweeney (MSB ’03) and midfielder Greg McCavera (COL ’99) respectively.
The New Jersey Pride must have admired Georgetown’s program, because the team boasted four Georgetown alums on its roster last season. Attackman Scott Urick (COL ’00) was the Pride’s third-highest point scorer and second-highest goal scorer, with 45 points and 40 goals. Urick, the son of Georgetown men’s Head Coach Dave Urick, is also an assistant coach for the Hoyas. Speaking of his son’s success, the elder Urick said, “There are some reasons that Scott is still playing. One is he’s got some skills for sure, but he works awfully hard at it. He takes a professional approach at it.”
When discussing his son’s role as a coach, Dave Urick added, “Our players know that he plays at that level and they respect that. He works with our goalies. It keeps the stick in his hands.” Scott Urick’s point and goal totals were good enough for eighth and third in the league, respectively. Joining him as members of the Pride were defenseman Rodger Colbert (MSB ’01), goalie Scott Schroeder (MSB ’02) and defenseman Pat Collins (MSB ’03).
Former Hoyas have not fared as well in the NLL, where no Hoyas currently play. In the past two years, three Georgetown alumni have attempted to pull double duty and play in both leagues. Collins and Sweeney were both drafted by the Philadelphia Wings in 2003 and Dusseau was drafted in 2002. None of the three made their team’s final roster for regular-season play.
Coach Urick is proud of his former players’ success in professional lacrosse. “They’ve done well in the league. It’s fun to watch them play,” he said.
While there are not one but two pro leagues for men, there are no professional women’s lacrosse leagues. Professional women’s sports have not enjoyed much success in the United States. The two most publicized professional women’s leagues in the past few years are the Women’s National Basketball Association and the Women’s United Soccer Association. The WNBA has outlasted competitors and critics, but its survival can be mainly attributed to the financial backing of its brother league, the NBA. With attendance barely totaling 10,000 at most games and very low TV ratings, the WNBA would have slim prospects for survival without the NBA’s backing. The WUSA was founded after the U.S. Women’s National Team’s success in the 1999 World Cup. The WUSA ceased play after last season, and is currently seeking corporate sponsorship. Due to the low level of success for the WNBA and WUSA, the prospects for a women’s lacrosse league are very slim.
Players in the professional lacrosse leagues typically play lacrosse as a part-time job along with a full-time job. This is not uncommon among minor league athletes in leagues such as the Arena Football League.
Dave Urick said that a player’s decision to play professionally is relative to their desire to continue playing. He said, “A lot of it has to do with if it works in with their real jobs too. A lot of these guys up on Wall Street, they [play] for a year or two, and you can tell that it catches up with them a little bit and maybe they retire before physically they really need to in a year or two. [The players] are making money at it, but they’re not getting rich doing it, that’s for sure. The pro league has had some growing pains. I’d love to see it keep growing.”
