Our first National Lacrosse League ownership team we are taking a look at as part of our series profiling important figures in pro lacrosse is the father-son duo of John Arlotta and Andy Arlotta of the Georgia Swarm.
This will be broken up into a brief history of both John and Andy Arlotta’s careers and will then take a look at the history of the Swarm under their leadership.
John & Andy Arlotta: NLL Franchise Owners
Career History
John Arlotta
The Georgia Swarm is one of the more recently successful franchises in the NLL, having won the championship in 2017 and has made regular appearances in the playoffs the last few years in addition to multiple playoff appearances before it was announced the franchise was to be moved from Minnesota in 2015.
John Arlotta purchased the Minnesota Swarm in 2008 alongside his son Andy from Minnesota Sports & Entertainment. John Arlotta graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1971 with a undergraduate degree in marketing and a minor in transportation management. While he was there, he also graduated from the Army ROTC and is a retired captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.
John Arlotta has spent a large portion of his career in the healthcare industry — over 40 years. According to his profile on the Georgia Swarm website, he has specialized in turnarounds and startups with experience as CEO in both private and public companies.
The senior Arlotta is currently the CEO of eviCore healthcare, which became a part of Express Scripts in 2017. Express Scripts has been one of the most highly-valued companies in the United States and the largest pharmacy benefit management organization in the country. If you’ve ever had process pharmaceutical claims or transfer prescriptions between different pharmacy companies, chances are that you used Express Scripts to do it. According to Forbes, Express Scripts had revenues of over $100 billion dollars in 2016.
eviCore healthcare, specifically, “offers proven, diversified medical benefits management solutions that help clients reduce costs while increasing quality of care for their members,” according to its LinkedIn profile.
Andy Arlotta
Swarm co-owner Andy Arlotta also worked in healthcare before joining the front office of the Swarm and becoming a part-owner.
Andy Arlotta graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1999, achieving the Army ROTC Dean’s List during his time there and was an NCAA Division I College Wrestling letter winner. He also was a member of the 1997 U.S. National Wrestling Team.
The younger Arlotta has worked for Beverly Enterprises (a chain of nursing home providers) in addition to Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. both in which he held various management roles.
Andy Arlotta was announced as a co-owner of the Minnesota Swarm in 2008. He has acted as vice-president in the organization and has represented the Swarm as the Associate Governor for the National Lacrosse League. He has also served on the board for various non-profit organizations.
The Swarm Under The Arlotta’s
Accomplishments
The Swarm’s most successful year came after their move to Georgia in 2017 when they won the NLL championship, defeating the Saskatchewan Rush in a three-game series 2-0.
Lyle Thompson is arguably the Swarm’s most well-known player since the franchise drafted him with the first-overall pick in 2015. Thompson was named league-MVP in 2017 as well as Offensive Player of the Year. Many consider Thompson to be one of the best lacrosse players in the world today. His brother, Miles, who is a phenomenal player in his own right and another star in the lacrosse world — having won the 2014 Tewaaraton Award with his brother Lyle and has held numerous NCAA records — plays for the Swarm with Lyle.
The Swarm franchise — whether located in Minnesota or Georgia — has made it to the following rounds of the playoffs the following amount of times:
Swarm Playoffs History (Appearances)
- Championship (2017)
- Division Finals (2012, 2013, 2018)
- Division Semifinals (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011. 2016, 2019)
Both John and Andy Arlotta have been named GM of the Year and Executive of the Year for the NLL. John was named Executive of the Year in 2009 and GM of the Year in 2012 and 2017. Andy was named Executive of the Year in 2012. They have been finalists for these awards in numerous other years as well.
Video
We’ve included a few fun clips from when the franchise was located in Minnesota in addition to memorable moments while located in Georgia.
Jason Noble scores overtime winner for Minnesota Swarm for first career goal – NLL YouTube Channel
2012 Minnesota Swarm Highlight Video – Georgia Swarm YouTube Channel
Relive the 2017 NLL Champion’s Cup Final – NLL YouTube Channel
