via MCLA press release   ATLANTA – The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association, the preeminent non-varsity league in the country, will adopt the new rule changes set forth by the NCAA after a majority vote by the Board of Directors. All of the changes made by the NCAA Rules Committee and approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Wednesday will be adopted, including the new shot clock provision. “The MCLA operating procedures mandate that we automatically adopt any new NCAA rules, but we wanted to open up the topic to our membership because the shot clock will create a financial and staffing burden for our programs that don’t have the luxury of a dedicated event management staff,” said MCLA president Ken Lovic. “We had a very productive series of meetings, culminating on Wednesday night, that ultimately kept us on the same page as the NCAA,” added Lovic. All of the rules will be in place during the 2019 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour, which take place from May 6-11 in Salt Lake City. Because of the late nature of the rule changes – the MCLA season opens on Feb. 2 – conferences will be able to pursue alternatives to a visible shot clock at venues that don’t support one for the 2019 regular season before they become mandatory in 2020. This will happen in conjunction with the respective conference assignor. This is consistent with a precedent set by the NCAA men’s lacrosse first foray into a shot clock in 2016, which was made mandatory at the Division I level, but Divisions II and III were given a one-year window before a visible shot clock was required. The 2019 season will mark the 22nd season of MCLA, which includes nearly 200 teams in two divisions that covers 44 states and Canada. Michigan State and North Dakota State are the Division I and II defending champions, respectively.