An NCAA decision reducing the number of personnel allowed on the sideline for the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament due to COVID-19 protocols has drawn sharp criticism from the lacrosse community.

The NCAA reduced bench sizes from 52 to 45 per team — including coaches, players and support staff. Participating teams learned of the restriction during a conference call Monday. On Wednesday, parents and other supporters of the programs started a change.org petition that had more than 3,600 signatures as of this writing.

Inside Lacrosse delved deeper into the issue Thursday, with Duke coach John Danowski informing publisher Terry Foy that the Blue Devils will have Danowski, three assistant coaches, an athletic trainer and 40 players on the bench for their NCAA tournament games — forcing the team doctor and equipment manager to work from the stands should their services be needed, not to mention 16 players who will become spectators.

The NCAA has long restricted tournament teams to a 40-player travel party, or those eligible to have expenses covered and receive a per diem from the association. Thirty-two players per team could be eligible to play in the games.

The difference this year, however, is schools will not be able to carry at their own expense the remainder of their rosters to travel with the teams, stay in hotels and support their teammates from the bench area, as has been allowed in recent years.

The 45-member restriction becomes even more glaring for teams like Duke that are carrying more players than usual due to an influx of transfers and returning fifth-year players in light of the NCAA’s decision to grant all 2020 spring sports student-athletes an additional year of eligibility due to the canceled season.

ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas brought more widespread attention to the issue by sharing the petition on Twitter with his nearly 2 million followers.

A petition from the Lacrosse Community: Asking the NCAA to reconsider its decision to limit rosters in the NCAA Tournament. https://t.co/eoxxrqp1mq via @Change

— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) May 13, 2021