NLL Commissioner Jennings Steps Down; George Daniel Named as Interim
January 10, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
New York, January 10 -- The National Lacrosse League, which opened its 23rd season on January 3, announced today that it has named Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer George Daniel as Interim Commissioner replacing Jim Jennings, Commissioner since 2000, who resigned effective today.
During Jennings tenure, the league enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth, including expansion to western markets, an increase in franchise values from $250,000 to $5.6 million and the broadcast of the NLL All Star and Championship games on NBC. Today lacrosse is one of North America's fastest growing sports.
"I have enjoyed the last eight years," said Jennings. "I feel that I have accomplished all the goals I set out to do at the NLL. I want to spend some time with my family before pursuing other opportunities and taking on the next challenge."
Daniel has served as Deputy Commissioner for seven of the past eight NLL seasons, leaving the league office for the 2007 season to serve as President of the New York Titans. The league has set no timetable on hiring a permanent replacement.
The Board of Governors of the National Lacrosse League said in a statement:
"We thank Jim for his contributions to building the league and establishing a solid foundation for the next phase of growth and development of our sport. At the same time, we are delighted that George will build on our momentum and confident that he will oversee a successful and exciting 2009 season. We will be working with him to continue to evolve our business model to meet the needs of sponsors while also delivering the most exciting overall product for our growing numbers of fans."
Said Daniel: "2009 promises to be a great season, with competitive teams, innovative packages for our sponsors, strong advance ticket sales and an ever-improving fan experience. There's nothing like professional indoor lacrosse and I look forward to helping to introduce the sport to thousands of new fans this season."
About the National Lacrosse League:
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America's professional indoor lacrosse league, featuring the best lacrosse players in the world. Founded in 1987, the league opened its 23rd season on January 3, 2009. The NLL drew a total attendance of 1,083,345 fans during the 2008 season. In 2008, the league's average attendance was 10,416 marking the fifth consecutive season in which the league drew an average attendance of more than 10,000 fans per game. The league also drew more than one million fans for the third consecutive season. For more information on the National Lacrosse League, please visit NLL.com.
National Lacrosse League Stories from January 10, 2009
- Mammoth drop home opener to Lumberjax - Colorado Mammoth
- Roughnecks win 10-9 over Rush - Calgary Roughnecks
- Jax Find Winning Combination In Colorado, 14-5 - Portland Lumberjax
- Wings Win First of the Year in Rochester 16-13 - Philadelphia Wings
- Bandits defeat Rock in home opener 8-6 - Toronto Rock
- NLL Commissioner Jennings Steps Down; George Daniel Named as Interim - NLL
- Roughnecks Down Stealth in Season Opener - Calgary Roughnecks
- Mammoth Slide Past 'Jax, 12-10 - Portland Lumberjax
- Mammoth Defeats Portland in Season Opener - Colorado Mammoth
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
