In June 2013, Buttafuoco formed a committee of coaches, administrators and business consultants to review the attendance downturn and pinpointed a number of factors: the economic slowdown; the proliferation of quality television broadcasts; and the cost of tickets and travel. Anthony Holman, the N.C.A.A.’s championship administrator for Division I lacrosse, said those issues have been addressed this year, particularly with the lower ticket prices.

“It’s absolutely a concern,” Holman said. “We’ve spent the last 18 months developing strategies and plans around how we can increase the attendance at the championship. But our No. 1 priority is the experience we can provide to our student-athletes.”

One of this year’s quarterfinals sites was, for the first time, Denver, a significant step toward having the championship weekend shed its Eastern Seaboard image, a potential benefit considering the sport’s westward expansion in the youth ranks and the success of the University of Denver, playing in its third consecutive Final Four, and Notre Dame.

Such a move would be celebrated at Marquette, where lacrosse is slowly trying to build support among fans and players. The team still uses a county park as its home field and an office-supply storage room as its equipment area.

But, at 10-6 this season, the Golden Eagles held their own on the field, and Broeker said he was paying closer attention to the strong youth participation numbers in neighboring states than to the Final Four attendance figures.

“If you’re trying to build a department for the future,” Broeker said, “and you want it to be successful in the long term, you want it to be representative of the kids that you’re recruiting.”

Buttafuoco has been among those urging caution about moving the Final Four site far from Interstate 95, pointing to the N.C.A.A.’s relocation of the men’s hockey tournament to Anaheim, Calif., in 1999, which he considered a blunder. He said that he would prefer the N.C.A.A. to focus on improving attendance at the more traditional sites.