Elongated Playoff Schedule Creates New Promotional Window for Teams
PHILADELPHIA, May 10, 2017 – The National Lacrosse League (NLL), the largest men’s professional indoor lacrosse league in North America, today announced the 2017 Champion’s Cup schedule for the League’s 31st year.
In line with its new vision and strategic plan, the NLL will continue its focus on positioning the League and its teams for success with an extended playoff schedule. Division Finals will take place mid-May and Champion’s Cup Finals will commence on the weekend of June 2. The new Champion’s Cup schedule allows teams an extra week for sales and promotions, as well as enables the League to connect with college lacrosse players and fans during the NCAA field lacrosse championship weekend on May 27-29.
Division Finals will take place on Saturday, May 13 and May 20 in a best of two series. Georgia Swarm, with the best season record in the League (13-5), will take on the Toronto Rock in the East Division Finals. Last year’s Champion’s Cup winners, Saskatchewan Rush, rank second (12-6) in the League and will compete against the Mammoth in the West Division final.
The East Division and West Division winners will fight for the Champion’s Cup in a best of three finals beginning the weekend of June 2-4.
“Extending the playoff schedule one week is a simple, yet important change. It aligns with our ongoing expansion and evolution as a top professional League and is consistent with our strategy to elevate the NLL, our teams, our players and our fans,” said Nick Sakiewicz, NLL Commissioner. “In addition to providing our players an additional week to rest and be fully healthy for the Champion’s Cup, we’re also enabling the two teams and the League more opportunities to maximize media exposure, extend fan promotions and give the Champion’s Cup Series the recognition it deserves as the top professional lacrosse championship. It also is the right thing to do respecting the NCAA playoff weekend, where we are very active and excited to connect with the future of the sport.” The League will have an on-site presence during NCAA championships – with activations for fans, opportunities to win lacrosse gear from NLL partners, and a chance to meet NLL players.
Playoff games will be live broadcast on NLLTV for subscribers, and available on-demand 24 hours after each match. Twitter Game of the Week will broadcast live starting with game two of the Division Finals.
2017 NLL Playoff Schedule:
Round
Game
Dates
Details
Division Finals
Game 1
Saturday, May 13
Swarm @ Rock, 7pm ET
Rush @ Mammoth, 9pm ET
Division Finals
Game 2*
Saturday, May 20
Rock @ Swarm, 7:05pm ET
Mammoth @ Rush, 9:30pm ET
Champion’s Cup Finals
Game 1*
June 2-4
TBD
Champion’s Cup Finals
Game 2*
June 9-11
TBD
Champion’s Cup Finals
Game 3 (if necessary)*
June 16-18
TBD
*Denotes Twitter Game of the Week
To stay connected to your team, the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit the recently redesigned NLL website: www.NLL.com.
About the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional indoor lacrosse league. Founded in 1986, the NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. The League is comprised of nine franchises across the United States and Canada: Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, New England Black Wolves, Rochester Knighthawks, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock and Vancouver Stealth. The 2017 NLL regular season, commemorating the League’s 31st year, is underway. For more information, visit NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
