The PLL has announced that league co-founder, Paul Rabil, will assume the role of President effective immediately.
Rabil previously served as the PLL’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Strategy Officer before the promotion to President. His tasks will still include overseeing the company’s media strategy and creative execution, and Rabil will still play a pinnacle role in assessing the lacrosse strategy and on-field endeavors of the league.
Paul Rabil’s brother, Mike Rabil, has served as the company’s CEO since the league was founded back in 2018. After nearly two decades playing professional lacrosse, Paul Rabil announced his retirement nearly a month ago. Paul’s retirement as a player means he will be able to work closer with his brother Mike on the front office operations than he had been able to prior, and being PLL President sets that in motion.
“The company has depended on and required Mike’s gracious and gritty skillset to build structure, drive performance, and create culture at the company,” Rabil said in a press release. “I’m excited to continue to help shape and develop our gameday product, interact with our players, and be a part of the on-field experience in a much deeper capacity.”
In only two years, the league was recognized by Sports Business Journal as the Sports Breakthrough of the Year in 2020. Rabil will look to continue the original mission of the PLL by growing the game at a professional level, and his newly-acquired role will give him the tools to do so. The league has been able to obtain some big-name sponsors over the years, and Rabil will aim to keep that momentum moving.
The PLL has struggled to obtain long-term media rights as it was originally on NBCSN for the league’s first year and the Peacock streaming app for the past two years. Meanwhile, the NLL recently signed a long-term deal with ESPN to stream every NLL game on the platform. Rabil and the PLL look to land a similar deal after successful viewership numbers from the past season.
Now for the other lacrosse news from the week of Nov. 16-22, 2021.
Last Week In Lacrosse
The IWLCA held its Coach’s Convention over the weekend to coincide with the IWLCA Presidents Cup.
The NLL unveiled NLL Unites, which will serve as the league’s umbrella social responsibility program. NLL Unites will combine the efforts of the league, teams, players, and partners to promote each of those pillars through storytelling, education, activation, and access.
The European Lacrosse Sixes Cup was announced yesterday and will be the first European-based international event featuring World Lacrosse Sixes. The event will take place in Portugal from Feb. 25-27, 2022.
Rumors are circulating that the PLL is approaching a deal to move from NBC to ESPN. ESPN would become the home of college lacrosse, the NLL, and the PLL.
Get Caught Up on LAS Content
Miss out on what we did last week? Here’s a recap of some of our top content from the last seven days
BILL TIERNEY IN COACH COTTLE’S CORNER, PART 3
Coach Cottle continues his conversation with legendary coach Bill Tierney in the third episode of Coach Cottle’s Corner.
WORLD LACROSSE WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBER, THREE MEMBER FEDERATIONS
World Lacrosse welcomes three new provisional members, which brings the organization’s global membership to 73, an increase of 30 in the last decade.
THE ULTIMATE LACROSSE ARM PROTECTION BUYERS GUIDE 2021-22
Tucker La Belle takes a look at the arm protection market and lists out his best options entering the 2022 season.
EXCITING NEWS FROM OUR FRIENDS AT FIVESTAR
The Fivestar App, the video-sharing mobile app designed exclusively for athletes, coaches, and sports enthusiasts, will officially launch in February 2022.
ARE THERE MORE AMERICANS IN THE NLL?
Ryan Conwell dives into every NLL roster to figure out how many Americans are currently playing in the NLL.
