March 1997 | May 2001 | March 2006 |
The Magazine’s Story
Knowing that fans cannot be truly invested in a sport if they don’t have access to the news and the personalities surrounding it, Inside Lacrosse was born.
A ham and egg operation run out of Carpenter's spare bedroom in Towson, Maryland was all about printing and sending weekly score bulletins to lacrosse junkies nationally, in first-class envelopes so nothing was out of date. The maiden issue was a 16-page black-and-white newspaper consisting mostly of box scores and stats. Among the content was the news of Michigan State and New Hampshire dropping their men's varsity programs and Syracuse's epic 22-21 win over Virginia.
Awards and Honors Related Stories - Carpenter named influential Marylander- IL awarded at USILA Banquet
An Evolving Sport, Evolving Publication IL Publisher Robert Carpenter and Editor-In-Chief John Jiloty co-authored Lacrosse for Dummies.
1998- USILA Media Award
2003- IWLCA Media Award
2003- IWLCA Service Award
2005- USILA Media Award
- IL's Carpenter, Jiloty write book Lacrosse for Dummies
- Vestal bred insider enduring sport's toughest times
Three years ago, everything about the sport of lacrosse changed.
Critical mass happened. An east coast sport shot west like wildfire. Two pro leagues suddenly had legs beneath them. Companies were being bought by larger companies. And a media tailwind got behind all of it.
The game was becoming a national phenomenon.
To match the growth of the game, IL became a true media company in a two year top to bottom overhaul. Now, IL has evolved into a glossy, full-color format with 11 issues a year. This year's Men's and Women's Preview Issues were 170 pages each and the staff currently features nine full-time people and close to 100 freelancers.
>>> Check out the online magazine demo here
The staff took the magazine glossy with an A to Z redesign. Elbowed its way onto newwstands in all key markets. Bought several competing websites and relaunched them as one. Seeing the potential for complimentary products, a book was produced to show the community the IL capabilities on the high end.
IL has truly helped lacrosse become the far-reaching sport that it is today. It now has subscribers in all 50 states and eight foreign countries. And that’s without even mentioning the exposure that the highly popular website garners throughout the world.
As lacrosse continues to grow, with pro teams reaching the West Coast and college and high school programs increasing exponentially, IL will continue its mission of enriching the lacrosse community with cutting-edge content that is unmatched in the industry and some of sport's most dynamic photography.
The "Do you" Campaign
Testimonials Tons of players read Inside Lacrosse. We ask, do you? Check out IL's "do you" campaign.
"All I can say is 'Wow.' The new-look IL is simply awesome! I mean, top to bottom, you guys leapfrogged our little publication into the stratosphere of sports magazines! If you are or ever were a lacrosse player and this magazine doesn’t get you juiced for the game, then nothing will!
Paul Landon, Subscriber
Fort Detrick, Maryland
>>See what else people are saying
Inside Lacrosse Properties
11-time annual publication
IL is not just the only media outlet to have won both the men’s and women’s national media awards... IL has won them both twice.
The top website in lacrosse
The newest affiliate partner with ESPN.com. Garners over 450,000 unique users each spring.
>>See more of Inside Lacrosse's Properties
Our role in this game
IL recognizes the importance of this sport having super-stars. We don’t just cover the game’s personalities... We showcase them.
>>Read more about our role in the sport
Check out past issues of Inside Lacrosse.
Robert Carpenter
Publisher
Sidelined by shoulder surgery that cut short his playing career at Duke University, Robert Carpenter dreamed up another way to stay involved in his sport—by giving it the media attention it deserves. An English major, Carpenter used his remaining time at Duke to gather as much business knowledge as possible. Armed with his writing ability, some business savvy and investments from trusting friends and family, he moved to Baltimore and launched IL from his two-bedroom apartment just in time for the 1997 season. Since then, Carpenter has quarterbacked IL’s growth into an award-winning feature magazine and cutting-edge website. Carpenter has also earned numerous industry awards and honors for IL’s position as the leading media company in the sport. A lifelong lacrosse player from Vestal, New York, Carpenter grew up stringing sticks and idolizing the game’s best players. Now, his life’s passion has become his life’s work.
Carpenter appeared on the cover of Baltimore Smart CEO Magazine. See the cover here.
An article about Carpenter from his hometown newspaper, the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin: Vestal-bred insider enduring his sport's toughest of times
Feature on Carpenter/IL in Baltimore's Press Box: The Lax King
Submit a letter to the publisher for print in the magazine.
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John Jiloty
Vice-President/Editor-in-Chief
John Jiloty is a 2000 graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications where he covered men's lacrosse for three seasons as assistant and head sports editor of The Daily Orange. He started with Inside Lacrosse in the fall of 2000 and became its editor-in-chief in October, 2001. He was recognized in the 2002 Best American Sports Writing for a piece on fighting in the National Lacrosse League. His experience includes internships with The Washington Times and the Syracuse Newspapers as well as freelance work for ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post. In addition to co-authoring "Lacrosse For Dummies", he also helped write IL's landmark coffee table book, "Lacrosse: North America's Game", and was the sole author of "Undefeated: Johns Hopkins Men's Lacrosse in the 2005 Season".
JeffWagner100@comcast.net |
Executive Consultant
After 22 years building Comcast SportsNet from the ground up, Jeff Wagner has joined the Inside Lacrosse staff as Executive Consultant. His expertise in ad sales and business development is a welcome addition at a pivotal stage in IL’s growth. His resume is as impressive as they get in sports marketing and sales, and includes stints as Vice President and General Sales Manager at Comcast SportsNet (formerly known as Home Team Sports), Vice President of Marketing and Sales for the U.S. National Soccer Team, Director of Marketing for ProServ, Inc. and Vice President and Sales Manager for Brine. At Comcast, Wagner was the first employee hired in 1983, just before the launch of the network. After creating the name Home Team Sports, Wagner took the reins of the ad sales, marketing, public relations and traffic departments. In his years there, he grew to be known as the heart and soul of the network. A lifelong lacrosse player who started with the Mt. Washington Midgets, Wagner played at Baltimore’s Northwestern High. He then took his talents to Brown, where he earned All-Ivy League honors three times and was considered one of the best face-off men of his era, controlling 79% of Brown’s face-offs in his senior year. He captained the ’73 undefeated Ivy Champs and led the Bears to a No. 6 national ranking. After one year as an all-star with the Maryland Lacrosse Club in Baltimore, Wagner traveled north to become Harvard’s assistant coach while working for Brine. He was also player-manager for the Brine Lacrosse Club, where he earned club all-star honors three more times before retiring.
bobv@insidelacrosse.com |
Senior Editor
Over a decade ago, Bob became a pioneer of media coverage for college lacrosse, launching Face-Off Yearbook in 1994. With his entire family, he assumed the roles of not only publisher and editor, but also writer, secretary, accountant, publicist, ad manager, shipping director, etc. His own love of statistics created the "Face-Off Stats Section," the first in the game to publish comprehensive statistics for a variety of categories. He also was the first to include a High School Academic Reference Section to help parents sort out the many different college choices available. Many parents wrote how they kept Face-Off on their kitchen table for the entire lacrosse season. Bob received the Doyle Smith Sports Information-Media Award for "Outstanding Service To The Game Of Lacrosse" in 1996. By 2000, he realized that the magazine was growing too quickly for him to keep up with it alone, so he contacted a good friend. Bob Carpenter and his Inside Lacrosse Staff were looking to expand their domain and a deal was quickly consummated that has benefited the entire lacrosse world. In June of 2005, Vlahakis retires from the world of teaching after 30 years in the classroom, and is set to re-dedicate more time and writing back to the lacrosse community once again. His youngest son Peter, a Fairfield graduate, is currently playing in the MLL and serving as an assistant coach at Adelphi University. His oldest son Jim, a three-year starting attackman at West Point, is just back from a 13 month tour in Iraq and will soon be promoted to Captain in the U.S. Army. His wife Susan has been happily retired for three years. Vlahakis now serves as the Girl's Varsity Lacrosse Coach at Shoreham-Wading River High School.
James Schaffer james@insidelacrosse.com
Art Director
Originally from Barnstable, Massachusetts, James Schaffer attended the University of Massachusetts from 1999-2003 and covered the UMass Lacrosse team for IL during their 2003 season. After graduating with a degree in Political Science James moved to Baltimore to work for IL as art director and assisted in the magazine's redesign from newsprint to glossy. Since being at IL, James has redesigned Face-Off Yearbook, launched IL.tv and IL Blogs and filled the magazines pages with numerous photos. When not working James can be seen trolling the streets of Baltimore taking photos, hanging out with his dog and watching the Red Sox and Patriots.
Geoff Shannon gshannon@insidelacrosse.com
Associate Editor
Fate and a bad storm brings new assistant editor Geoff Shannon to Inside Lacrosse. A Baltimore native and former longpole for Archbishop Curley High, Geoff was part of the mass exodus from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Geoff earned his B.A. in history from Tulane University in May, 2004. During his tenure he worked for the Hullabaloo student newspaper as a sports writer, later attaining positions as associate and head sports editor. Geoff and his staff took advantage of the New Orleans market, building relationships with the Saints, Hornets, AFL Voodoo and local boxing promotions. Career highlights include briefly interviewing Maryland coach Gary Williams during the 2003 Men’s Final Four and sitting a sweat wipe away from Pat Summit and the Tennessee Lady Vols during the 2004 women’s Division I championship game. After graduation Geoff joined the New Orleans suburban daily Slidell Sentry-News as a reporter, working the government and crime beats. Hired by The Tulanian, Tulane’s magazine, as an editor in August, Geoff was ready to settle in the Big Easy for the next five years. Instead, he and his girlfriend were forced to evacuate New Orleans to Houston in the wake of Katrina. After brief stays in Texas and Tennessee he returned to his hometown of Baltimore, ready to bring his editorial skills to Inside Lacrosse. Outside of his glory days at Curley, Geoff is also a former intern for the Baltimore Bayhawks media relations department.
terry.foy@insidelacrosse.com |
Assistant Editor
A 2007 Loyola College grad, lacrosse brought Terry to Baltimore, and now it's keeping him here. While at Loyola, he spent one year as the sports editor and two years as the Editor in Chief of The Greyhound, during which time he crossed paths with IL and quickly began writing and editing. He majored in History and, as such, his favorite movie is “The Last of the Mohicans” almost exclusively because of the lacrosse scene. Also having written for the Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore Ravens’ website, and a number of smaller publications, Terry’s (short) career highlights include asking Lewis Black who would win in a fight between Jon Stewart and Tucker Carlson, touching Michael Phelps' gold medal, and surviving an interview with Ray Lewis. A native of Cleveland (it rocks), Terry played football and lacrosse in high school and misses fall the way it should be – with cold weather and leaves to rake up.
Online Editor
Sean Burns joined up for his second stint with Inside Lacrosse in January, having previously served as a website intern covering the MLL's then-Baltimore Bayhawks in the summer of 2004. While away from the IL hype machine, Sean spent his time tending bar and joining the staff of Capital-Gazette newspapers, covering high school sports in Anne Arundel County.
A native of West Harford, Conn., Sean played lacrosse for three years at Conard High before going on to Loyola College in Maryland, where he continued to play club lacrosse and covered the varsity men's team for The Greyhound before graduating with a communications degree in 2003.
A Baltimore resident, Sean enjoys playing kickball and being able to buy cheap seats at Camden Yards before moving down to the front row whenever the Red Sox are in town.
jon.brand@insidelacrosse.com |
Staff Writer
A freelance contributor to Inside Lacrosse since 2006, Jon joined the staff at Inside Lacrosse in January after positions covering politics and news in Washington, D.C.
Although he was raised in the lacrosse hotbed of Chevy Chase, Md., his passion for the sport wasn't kindled until he left for Middlebury College, where, one spring, he found himself behind the microphone as the radio play-by-play voice of the Panthers men's team. Four years and two excruciating DIII championship losses to Salisbury ('03 and '05) later, he was hooked.
In addition to writing for the magazine, he hopes to use his experience in web journalism to help expand InsideLacrosse.com and the new NLLInsider.com.
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keely@insidelacrosse.com |
Assistant Art Director
Raised on the sport of hockey, assistant art director Keely Knopp discovered a disappointing lack of interest in ice hockey among Marylanders. Though lacrosse is growing on her, she still has to get her occasional hockey fix, whether it’s Washington Capitals games or UMBC club games. Keely graduated with honors from Michigan State University in May 2005. The 13th among her relatives to attend the school, Keely definitely bleeds green. While at MSU, Keely majored in journalism with a concentration in design publication. She has known she wanted to design magazines since her high school yearbook days when she was editor-in-chief, photo editor and sports editor. A three-year staff member of MSU’s yearbook, the Red Cedar Log, she spent a year as design managing editor. Keely interned for a summer at The Copper Press, an indie rock magazine based out of Traverse City, Mich. She also worked for the college radio station as an internet disc jockey and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
A big fan of sports, she played soccer for her high school, recreationally in college and plays currently in Baltimore club leagues.
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matt.cain@insidelacrosse.com |
Senior Graphic Designer
Born in Maryland and raised in Virginia, Matt joined Inside Lacrosse this winter after two years as a designer and production artist in both the web and print industries. He graduated from George Mason in 2002 and holds a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. While attending George Mason, Matt participated in many activities, including working as a designer for the campus sign shop, holding an internship as a printmaker and papermaker, and was an active participant in the university's visual arts club. The last six years of his career have been marked by stints at various levels in the design industry, from exhibition design and advertising to marketing and communications.
Multimedia Manager
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Joe first left the City of Brotherly Love to attend the University of Scranton. He graduated from Scranton in 2006 with a degree in Communication and a concentration in television and radio production. Throughout college, he was involved in many activities, which included being elected as Vice-President of his class for 4 years and hosting an alternative radio show at Scranton's college station WUSR. He held an Internship for 2 years at SpinDVD Multimedia Network. His duties included Music Manager and Associate Producer. He also currently works for several Philadelphia radio stations doing promotions at various events.
Joe moved to Baltimore in 2007 to join the Inside Lacrosse team and work with IL Video. He is a typical Philly sports fan and is still trying to adjust to seeing the Orioles banners hanging all over downtown Baltimore. His lacrosse experience dates back to high school where he was voted as an All-Catholic Attackman at Father Judge High School.
shanahan@insidelacrosse.com |
NLL Editor
Brian Shanahan is the voice of the NLL and was brought on in 2005 to be the NLL editor for Inside Lacrosse. Shanahan has spent the past seven seasons as a television analyst for the National Lacrosse League on Rogers Sportsnet, The Score and NBC. He was a five-time Mann Cup Champion, the OLA Major MVP and Best Defensive Player in 1995, an assistant coach with the Toronto Rock in 1998 and he has over 25 years of coaching experience.
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Director of Sales
Jeff joins Inside Lacrosse full-time after assisting the gang with the Face Off Classic and Inside Lacrosse Television Show. With over twenty-five years of experience in sales, marketing and the lacrosse community, he will leverage his long-term relationships to help expand the Inside Lacrosse brand. Over the last three years, as president of the Sports Marketing Institute, Jeff focused on a variety of lacrosse specific projects including Lax Under the Lights (Friday night high school lacrosse series), Lax Wrap (Weekly lacrosse highlight show) and the MIAA Lacrosse Championships.
His other clients have included the Baltimore Ravens, Charm City Run, Ed Reahl Productions and Johns Hopkins Lacrosse.
Jeff graduated from Towson University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned a master’s in education from McDaniel College in 1996. Jeff also teaches Sports Marketing as an adjunct professor at Villa Julie College and Towson University. Jeff lives in Baltimore, Md. with his wife, Tricia, and their daughter, Emma.
Marketing Director
Christine is a 2000 graduate of the University of Maryland and a very proud Terp. After graduation, Christine chased her dreams and lived in New York City for four years. She held various positions in PR, Marketing, and Ad Sales within the magazine industry. Having enough of the Big Apple, she migrated back to Baltimore and worked in marketing for an architectural firm. She realized very quickly that the magazine world was her true calling and looks forward to putting her strong industry experience to use at Inside Lacrosse.
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ab@insidelacrosse.com |
Director of Business Development
Andy Bilello is responsible for the management of new business properties, including events such as the Face-Off Classic and IL television productions. Bilello has more than 18 years of professional experience with expertise in a wide-range of activities that impact sports marketing, sponsorship sales, public relations, and event promotions. Much of his career has focused on the college sports marketplace, serving as an athletic administrator at Johns Hopkins University, the Naval Academy, the University of Pennsylvania and Towson University. He managed all areas of marketing, promotions and media relations for Division I athletics programs at both Penn and Towson. Bilello has also provided leadership for a number of high-profile events, including the Penn Relays and the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships. He received a bachelor’s degree in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins in 1986 and a master’s of business administration from the University of Michigan in 1988. Bilello lives in Monkton, Md. with his wife, Shelly, and their two children – four-year old daughter Katie and two-year old son Josh.
dickerson@insidelacrosse.com |
David Dickerson
IT Director
David Dickerson joined our staff in November ’04 as Production Manager/Technical Support. (He’s been a little delinquent helping us put together his biographical introduction for the magazine but we finally coerced it out of him.) David’s extensive background in printing, graphics and related systems makes him an indispensable part of our team. Labeling himself as more of a nuts-and-bolts guy, David thrives in solving the hair-pulling, trouble-shooting, technical aspects of the job. Being a hands-on guy has given him the skills necessary to handle multiple critical areas for our publishing company. Prior to coming to Inside Lacrosse, David worked as pre-press manager for Technicolor, a DVD manufacturer previously located in Charlottesville, Va. David relocated from Richmond, Va. with his wife Gin and 3-year-old son, Samuel. Aside from computers and work, David enjoys fly-fishing and mountain biking. “Geographically, this is an ideal place for us,” Dickerson says. “We’ve got all types of landscapes reachable within a short jaunt.” Not having any prior exposure to lacrosse, we’ve got David working on his cradling and shooting techniques. He’s looking pretty good so far.
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Sales and Marketing Coordinator
Danica Strutt is a 2006 graduate from Boston University, not to be confused with Boston College…ever. During her time there she studied Communication and graduated with a degree in Advertising. While attending Boston University she was a member of the Women's lacrosse team attaining such accolades as being an annual member of the America East All-Conference team and ending her career as an IWLCA All-American. Born and raised in Baltimore, she has been playing lacrosse for 18 years and thought working at Inside Lacrosse could feed her need for everything that is lacrosse. In addition, hoping to add a little more lacrosse to her life, she spends her extra time coaching at a local high school.
deanna@insidelacrosse.com |
Office Manager
Deanna joined Inside Lacrosse after working in banking for five years, but decided to leave the industry after being robbed for the second time. She started at IL as the Customer Service Manager and was promoted to Office Manager in 2006. Deanna came to IL looking to interact with customers, and can't let them go even after being promoted. A native of Baltimore, Deanna is married and has two children. Her oldest daughter has been playing lacrosse since she was three, and Deanna hopes she'll turn into the next Jen Adams. When she is not taking her oldest daughter to and from lacrosse practice, she enjoys hanging with her Akitas Lani and Bo. She also loves paintball, and is on a paintball team with her husband and younger brother. Now that her children are getting older, Deanna has time to go back to school and will eventually go into nursing.
Mark Wertz mark@lacrosseforums.com
Founder/Administrator
"The Lacrosse Forums"
Born and raised in New Jersey, Mark was introduced to the game of lacrosse at an early age. He will tell you, “While most neighborhood dad’s were buying baseball gloves for their kids, I was attracted to this funny looking object called a lacrosse stick." Shortly after Mark’s dad bought him his first stick, friends started asking if he was sleeping with it. As a four-year varsity starter for Clifton High School, his dedication to “The Wall” paid off. To this day, most of his scoring records as an attackman remain unbroken. After a short run at Montclair State College in Montclair, New Jersey, Mark joined the United States Navy in 1985 and served six years. Settling down in Jacksonville, Florida he attended the University of North Florida and graduated with a degree in business. During the past 10 years, Mark has played club lacrosse throughout Florida and has been very active in developing youth lacrosse in North Florida. In May 2003, Mark founded www.lacrosseforums.com. The Lacrosse Forums was born out of love for the game and had a very humble beginning. Then, in December of 2004, Inside Lacrosse acquired the website and the rest is history. Mark remains very active on the back end of the forums doing administrative tasks and assisting Inside Lacrosse in making decisions on “TLF."
Women's Editors: Bob Lessick, Crista Samaras
Writers: Peter Lasagna, Christian Swezey, Ty Pilson, Quint Kessenich, Tyler Kreitz, Bob Chavez, Nathaniel Badder, Mark Medina, Scott Conroe, Kevin Fixler, Aimee Duffy, Paul Caulfield, Jay Dyer, Jamie Taylor, Aimee Berg, Brad Nelson, Michael Rothstein, Kristen Bulkley, Erik Boland
Photographers: Larry French, Jay VanRensselaer, Bill Jones, Jerry Lai, JJ Quenault, Gary Knoll, Todd Andrew Love, John Pellino, Charles Berch, Gerald H. Ling, Greg Wall, John Mecionis, Joe Rogate, Karen Jonas, Dirk Dewachter, Mary Johnston, Graig Abel, Dave Gottenborg, Jane Shafer/20 Toe Photo, Robert Ogrudek, Kyle Clapham, Peyton Williams, David Petkofsky, Dana Kaplan, Joe Auriemma, Kent Manno, Jared Chandler, Cecil Copeland, Chris Ryan, Myles Tintle, Dick Reygers, Don Kelly
Address: 701 East Pratt Street, Suite 100 Baltimore, MD 21202 Click here for complete directions Click to see a map of where we are located | |