Albany's National Lacrosse League franchise is still looking for a team name. It no longer is searching for a coach.

In a story broken by the Outsider's Guide last week, Terry Sanderson was named the team's first coach and general manager at a press conference Monday.

The Albany franchise will begin its first season in the eight-team NLL in January. Seven of the team's 14 regular season games will be played at Pepsi Arena.

Team owner Herb Chorbajian introduced Sanderson, 47, after announcing the team has received more than 200 ballots in the "Name the Team" contest. Fans have until next Monday to submit their votes.

Sanderson, a native of Orangeville, Ontario, has spent the last 10 years coaching amateur lacrosse in Canada.

"I am very excited about this," Sanderson said. "Coaching in the NLL is something I have wanted to do. It seemed like the right thing to do."

Chorbajian said Sanderson has not yet signed a contract and he has not decided how long the contract will be for. The owner did not release financial terms of the contract.

According to Chorbajian, Sanderson was the only candidate he interviewed for the position. The two had a few phone conversations, said Chorbajian, who met with Sanderson for 2 hours recently in Rochester.

"I was looking for someone who had coaching experience in indoor lacrosse," Chorbajian said. "He certainly has that, and he has also played the game. Right away I was impressed with his enthusiasm for the game and for building the franchise from the ground up."

The NLL plays its games only on weekends, and Sanderson said he will be splitting his time during the season between Albany and Ontario, where he has other business interests.

Sanderson last year was the co-coach of the Brampton Excelsiors, who won the Ontario Major Lacrosse Association championship. Sanderson said the players in that amateur league are 22 and older.

In 1997 he was named the Ontario Major Coach of the Year after leading the Niagara Falls Gamblers to the Ontario championship.

His record in the Ontario Major Lacrosse Pro League over the past two seasons was 54-15. He has also coached the Orangeville Junior 'A' Northmen Lacrosse to three championships in the 1990s. Players in that league are between the ages of 18 and 22.

His duties now will center around getting players for the Albany franchise. Teams can carry 23 players. Albany will get started in an expansion draft on Aug. 1 and will take one player from each of the other seven teams in the league.

He said it is possible that some of the players on the Albany roster could come from the teams he has coached in Ontario.

"This sport is a cross between hockey and basketball," Sanderson said. "There is a lot of hitting, and you might see between 25 and 30 goals a game. Once people see this game, I think they are really going to enjoy it."

The Outsider's Guide contributed to this article.