Nine Months

As a gestation period, it seems like an eternity (especially that last trimester.) For organizing and promoting a major three day event, nine months is nothing.

A quick look at the calendar this week told me that a) my water bill is due, and b) the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship will be facing off in Baltimore in just nine months, after an absence of two years.

An event of this magnitude does not consist of intense labor pains on the last day (but you can count on that, too.) It's an ongoing engagement of community stakeholders committed to making the event a success. Nine months flies by as one detail after another is addressed. Logistics, marketing, outreach, volunteer recruitment, accommodations, media relations all need careful planning and lead time.

However, the rules of engagement first have to be blessed by the NCAA. It is, after all, their event and they have very specific regulations that must be followed to the letter. So while the host city and state are raring to begin, they take the lead from the NCAA governing body.

I called Terry to check the status and learned he was meeting with NCAA officials this week. He referred me to their site:

Much of the marketing and outreach will handled by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.

The 2010 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship will take place at Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium on May 28 and 30. This will mark the first time the men’s and women’s championships will be in the same city the same weekend.

There will also be, for the first time, an NCAA Youth Lax Day - Saturday, May 29th -to celebrate local and national youth lacrosse. There will be a special Youth Lax section in the stadium, featuring discounted tickets.

Youth Lax Day will have a pre-game gathering area for participating programs wearing team jerseys, with a parade to the stadium and around the field . When you consider all the lax programs in this area alone, you can imagine what a delegation that could be. They might have muster at Camden Yards and march in like the brigade of Midshipmen before the Notre Dame game.

There is more on the line than producing a well-organized event that provides a wonderful fan experience and generates lots of loot for the locals. It’s no secret that Team Terry and the Maryland lacrosse community have been lobbying the NCAA decision makers to designate Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend a lacrosse tradition.

“Permanent” is actually the word they have in mind, but with the continued growth in the popularity of lacrosse, it behooves the NCAA to stage their marquee event in emerging markets. So an occasional visit to the hinderlands is appropriate and healthy for the sport. But you can’t top Maryland as the holy grail of lacrosse action, or Baltimore as a venue people want to visit and celebrate the sport. The NCAA Championship should be held here regularly.

Anyway, the clock is ticking. Nine months. Let the stomach churning begin. Nothing a few Saltines can’t handle. . .