Committee hears bill to sanction high school lacrosse in Nevada; debate centers on NIAA process and funding

Carson City — The Nevada Senate Committee on Education heard testimony on Senate Bill 305, which would require the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) to adopt regulations designating lacrosse as a sanctioned high school sport and would create a pipeline infrastructure fund to support related facilities and wraparound services for student athletes.

Senator Fabian Nunez (Senate District 10) presented the bill and said sanctioning lacrosse would put the sport on equal footing with other sanctioned activities, allow NIAA to set eligibility and competition rules, and enable state-level championship play. The sponsor also proposed authorizing the NIAA to accept grants and donations into a fund that could be used for facility development and support services such as tutoring or other student supports tied to athletics.

Proponents — including Paul Speaker, CEO of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs professional lacrosse team, coaches, club directors and dozens of students — said lacrosse has grown rapidly in Nevada and nationally, that sanctioning would unlock more school-based programs, enable inter-state competition against sanctioned programs (for example in California and Utah), and attract tournaments that bring economic activity. Paul Speaker cited national growth figures for girls’ and boys’ teams and pointed to lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a growth driver. Local club and school witnesses said there are already multiple high school and middle school programs and that sanctioning would expand scholarship and college-recruiting visibility for Nevada players.

Many student athletes and coaches testified in favor. Testimony from Northern Nevada described 20 years of local program development, with one witness saying the High Sierra Lacrosse League supports 10 boys varsity teams and nine varsity girls programs in the Reno area and that local fundraising has covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in program growth.

Opponents included representatives of the Nevada Association of School Boards, the Washoe County School District and NIAA Executive Director Tim Jackson. They said they support youth athletics and growth of lacrosse but objected to inserting a single sport into statute rather than following the NIAA's established process for adding sanctioned sports. Concerns included:

- Process and authority: NIAA and district officials said the association has a defined vetting and survey process to evaluate sanctioning, participation levels, competitive balance, and district costs; they recommended that any change follow that process rather than a legislative mandate. - Funding and equity: witnesses warned that creating or directing a fund for lacrosse could create perceptions of disproportionate support for a single sport and raised Title IX compliance questions; they noted most interscholastic athletic funding is managed through districts and NIAA-affiliated processes. - Club vs. high school competition: NIAA stated that sanctioning could restrict existing club-versus-high-school play and that sanctioning has implications for scheduling and competitive structures.

Committee members asked detailed questions about how the NIAA process works, how an "open division" might operate while sanctioning is phased in, and what wraparound services the proposed fund would support. Senator Nunez and supporters said they had preliminary discussions with NIAA and view the bill as a way to accelerate access and to allow the association to create consistent rules and an option for a donor-funded support mechanism. NIAA asked for careful review and suggested more coordination is needed to avoid unintended competitive or funding consequences.

No final vote was taken. The committee opened 20 minutes of public testimony on each side; dozens of students, coaches and club leaders provided in-person and phone testimony in support, and district and association officials testified in opposition. Sponsors said they would continue to confer with NIAA and district staff on technical language and implementation details.

Sources and attribution: direct quotes and details in this report are drawn from testimony by Senator Fabian Nunez (sponsor), Paul Speaker (Desert Dogs CEO), Jeremy Sievert (coach/nonprofit leader), Justin Cutler (High Sierra Lacrosse League), Tim Jackson (NIAA executive director), Tom Clark (Nevada Association of School Boards), Tess Opperman (Washoe County School District), and multiple student athletes and parents who testified in support.