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College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
s and
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and Canada. In both countries, men's
field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Fi ...
and
women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...
are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
is sponsored by the
Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association The Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) is an association of men's field lacrosse teams connected with several universities in Ontario and Quebec. Teams compete in the fall with league playoffs typically in early November. Hi ...
(CUFLA) and Maritime University Field Lacrosse League (MUFLL), while in the United States, varsity men's and women's lacrosse is governed by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA),
National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
(NJCAA) and
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA). There are also university lacrosse programs in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
sponsored by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and programs in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. In the U.S., as of the 2021–22
academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...
, there were 74 NCAA-sanctioned Division I men's lacrosse teams, 75 Division II men's lacrosse teams, and 247 Division III men's lacrosse teams. There are 120 Division I
women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...
teams, 114 Division II women's lacrosse teams, and 291 Division III women's lacrosse teams. There were also 21 men's programs and 11 women's programs at two-year
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...
s organized by the
National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
(NJCAA) and a growing number of
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA) four-year small college programs. As of 2016–17, there were 184 collegiate men's club teams competing through the
Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) is a national organization of non- NCAA men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United ...
(MCLA), including most major universities in the United States without NCAA men's programs, organized into two divisions and ten conferences. Schools that feature an NCAA Division I FBS football team must play in Division 1, while most other teams compete in Division 2. There are 225 collegiate club teams for women organized by the
Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates The Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) is a national organization of over 200 non-NCAA, women's college lacrosse programs organized and run by US Lacrosse, the national governing body. The mission of the WCLA is to promote the growth of ...
(WCLA).


History of college lacrosse

The first intercollegiate game in the United States was played on November 22, 1877 between
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
and Manhattan College. Lacrosse had been introduced in upstate New York in the 1860s. Lacrosse was further introduced to the Baltimore area in the 1890s. These two areas continue to be hotbeds of college lacrosse in the U.S. An organizing body for the sport, the U. S. National Amateur Lacrosse Association, was founded in 1879. The first intercollegiate lacrosse tournament was held in 1881, with Harvard beating
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...
, 3–0, in the championship game. New York University and
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
also participated. In 1882 three colleges formed a league called the Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA), which four other colleges soon joined. From this point through 1931, collegiate lacrosse associations chose an annual champion based on season records. In 1894, the Inter-University Lacrosse League (IULL) began play using slightly different rules. The two leagues merged in December 1905 to form the 8-team United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse League. The USILL was a closed-membership league, which excluded several lacrosse powers, such as the
U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...
. The national championship was officially bestowed only upon teams that were included in the membership of these organizations. In 1912, the USILL established Northern and Southern Divisions and began conducting a post-season playoff. Harvard defeated Swarthmore, 7–3, in the first formal playoff. This system continued through 1925. As Navy was not a member of the USILL, its teams were not eligible for the championship, even though Navy had the best collegiate record in many of those years. Navy was undefeated from 1917 through 1923, a stretch of 40 games with one tie. The USILL was replaced by the
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the vars ...
in March, 1926, as an open-membership governing body. Six more teams became new USILA members, in addition to the former USILL teams. The USILA bestowed gold medals upon the teams that it selected as national champions through the 1931 season. No official champions were named from 1932 through 1935. In 1936, an award was established in the memory of a Baltimore sportswriter to recognize annually the most outstanding teams. From 1936 through 1972, the USILA executive board awarded the
Wingate Memorial Trophy The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national champion in men's college lacrosse from 1936 to 1970, and the NCAA Men's Champion in 1971-1972. The first intercollegiate l ...
to the national champions. From at least 1951, if not earlier, lacrosse divisions were officially named after legendary lacrosse-men. These were the Cy Miller,
Laurie D. Cox Laurie Davidson Cox (August 18, 1883 – October 1, 1968) was a leading American landscape architect and Hall of Fame coach and contributor to the sport of lacrosse. He was professor of Landscape Engineering at the New York State College of ...
, and Roy Taylor Divisions. They were more commonly referred to Division I, or A; Division II, or B; and Division III, or C. All college teams were placed in one of the three divisions, dependent upon their records, schedules, and success for the preceding five years, and a point system was created. Any team of the three divisions was eligible to win the national championship, but this was virtually impossible for non-Division I teams. A Division II team, playing several Division I teams, might have been able to achieve it. A team's record was required to include six games against teams in its own division. Teams were realigned every three years, again reflecting their records. All schools were eligible for the national rankings. The team that achieved the highest point total each year, however, was not guaranteed a solo national championship. The system served as guidance to the USILA executive board, who chose co-champions on frequent occasions. This point system prevailed with modifications until the NCAA in the early 1970s established the playoff system for determining champions. At its 1969 annual meeting in Baltimore, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association voted for its first playoff tournament to determine a national champion. In 1971, the NCAA began sponsoring men's lacrosse and began holding an annual championship tournament for Division I schools. The USILA conducted a small college tournament for non-Division I schools in 1972 and 1973. In 1974, the NCAA took over the sponsorship of this tournament through the 1979 season, with separate tournaments being conducted in both 1980 and 1981 for Divisions II and III teams. The Division II tournament then was discontinued until returning in 1993.


Participation and scholarships

Lacrosse is one of the least diverse sports in America. As of 2018, about 18% of all Division I men’s lacrosse players were people of color and there were just two
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
head coaches and two black assistants of its 68 teams. In some circumstances, NCAA Division I schools can offer several scholarships that cover up to 50% of tuition costs. As of 2018, the average awarded D-1 men's lacrosse scholarship is about $12,000 a year.


NCAA men's lacrosse

The
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA) is the largest association and governing body of collegiate athletics in the United States. The NCAA holds lacrosse championships for all three Divisions in men's and women's lacrosse. As of the 2022 season (2021–22 school year), the NCAA has 396 men's lacrosse programs and 525 women's lacrosse programs.


Division I men's lacrosse

In the 2022 season, Division I men's lacrosse had the smallest number of teams compared to the Division II and Division III levels. This distinction passed to Division II men's lacrosse for 2023. The most recent 2022 NCAA lacrosse season involved 74 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse teams organized into 11 conferences. The number of D-I teams increased to 76 in the 2023 season, but the number of conferences dropped to 10. These teams are heavily concentrated in the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
and Mid-Atlantic regions, and only five teams are not in the
Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a smal ...
(Air Force, Denver, Lindenwood, Marquette, and Utah). From 1936 through 1970 the
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the vars ...
(USILA) selected the
Wingate Memorial Trophy The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national champion in men's college lacrosse from 1936 to 1970, and the NCAA Men's Champion in 1971-1972. The first intercollegiate l ...
winners as national champions based on regular season records. Beginning in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...
, the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
began holding an annual championship tournament.
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
took the first title over
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
, 12–6. Syracuse has 11 Division I titles (*one vacated later),
Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
9,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
(7) and
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...
6. The NCAA national championship weekend tournament normally draws over 80,000 fans. The most recent national champions from 2022 are the Maryland Terrapins. The most recent change to the conference lineup was announced during the 2022 NCAA tournament when the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) made official its widely-rumored sponsorship of men's lacrosse effective in the 2023 season. This move, along with other moves during the early-2020s conference realignment, led to the Northeast Conference and Southern Conference dropping men's lacrosse after the 2022 season. Two men's lacrosse schools started transitions from Division II to Division I in July 2022. Lindenwood and Queens (NC) are playing men's lacrosse in the
ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divi ...
, with Queens as a full member and Lindenwood as an affiliate. Hartford began a transition from Division I to Division III in the 2021–22 school year; the 2023 season will be its last in Division I before joining the Commonwealth Coast Conference in July 2023. In September 2018 the NCAA rules committee implemented an 80-second shot clock that begins upon possession. A team must advance the ball across midfield within the first 20 seconds, and then 60 seconds to shoot the ball once across midfield. The clock will only reset if the ball hits the goalie or the post. Failure to score before the shot clock runs out results in a change of possession. ;Conferences * America East Conference *
ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divi ...
*
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
* Atlantic 10 Conference * Big East Conference *
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
*
Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
* Independents *
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
*
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...
* Patriot League


Division II men's lacrosse

Division II lacrosse is made up of 75 teams, mainly located in the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
and Southeast. The USILA conducted a "small college" lacrosse championship tournament in 1972 and 1973. Division II men's lacrosse held its first NCAA tournament in 1974 with an eight-team bracket. The format remained the same until 1980, when the field dropped to just two teams as the Division III tournament was inaugurated. From 1982 through 1992, a Division II playoff was not conducted. In 2001, a four-team bracket was instituted. The Division II men’s lacrosse championship bracket expanded from four to eight teams starting with the 2013 season.
Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...
currently holds the record for the number of D-II championships, with seven and also appeared in the championship a record 11 times. NCAA Division II lacrosse programs are organized into eight conferences, as well as independent programs consisting of mainly new D-II lacrosse teams. The newest addition to the roster of Division II men's lacrosse conferences came in 2017–18 when the Great Lakes Valley Conference began sponsoring men's lacrosse. On December 2, 2014; the University of Alabama In Huntsville (UAH) announced the additional of Men's and Women's Lacrosse programs. These programs began competition with the 2016 season, initially as independents. The most recent Division II men's national champions are the
Tampa Spartans The Tampa Spartans are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tampa, located in Tampa, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Spartans compete as members of the Sunshine State Conference for all sports besides beach ...
. Conferences: *
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fourteen member institutions are located in the northeaster ...
*
Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Divisi ...
* East Coast Conference * Great Lakes Valley Conference * Great Midwest Athletic Conference * Independents *
Northeast-10 Conference The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states ...
* Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference *
South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...
*
Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly ...


Division III men's lacrosse

The majority of schools playing NCAA men's lacrosse play in Division III, with 247 in all. Most Division III lacrosse teams are located in the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
, with only seven programs west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
. The USILA conducted a "small college" championship in 1972 and 1973. The NCAA Division III championship originally was combined with Division II from 1974–1979, before the NCAA split the non-Division I schools into separate Division II and III tournaments in 1980.
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
has made a record 15 appearances in the championship game and won a total of 13 championships. Hobart lacrosse also won the championship the first 12 years it was held from 1980–1991. The 12 consecutive championships are an NCAA record but Hobart has not won again since 1993, and now plays at the Division I level. Salisbury University now follows closely with 12 non-consecutive championships and 17 appearances. NCAA Division III lacrosse programs are organized into 24 conferences and over 20 independent programs. The defending Division III national champions are the
RIT Tigers The RIT Tigers are composed of 22 teams representing Rochester Institute of Technology in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, crew, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track and ...
. Conferences: *
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of New York and Pennsylvania ...
*
Centennial Conference The Centennial Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Eleven private colleges compose the Centennial Conference. Five of ten members of the Cen ...
* Coast to Coast Athletic Conference *
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is a college athletic conference which competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). CCIW schools have accounted for 50 national championships ...
* Colonial States Athletic Conference * Commonwealth Coast Conference * Empire 8 * Great Northeast Athletic Conference * Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference * Independents * Landmark Conference * Liberty League * Little East Conference * Middle Atlantic Conference *
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. There are nine teams in the conference, all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegia ...
*
Midwest Lacrosse Conference The Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) is a men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III lacrosse-only college athletic conference composed of schools located in the Midwestern United States. All schools are members of con ...
*
New England Collegiate Conference The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) is an NCAA Division III college athletic conference based in the Northeastern United States. History In June 2007, nine colleges from New England announced the creation of a new athletic conferen ...
*
New England Small College Athletic Conference The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. ...
* New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference *
North Atlantic Conference The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) is an athletic conference, affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division III, consisting primarily of small liberal arts colleges in the Northern New England states of Maine and Vermont, as well as New York. Th ...
*
North Coast Athletic Conference The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of colleges located in Ohio and Indiana. When founded in 1984, the league was a pioneer in gender equality, offering competition in a then-unpreced ...
* Ohio Athletic Conference *
Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other full member is in North Carolina. The conference also has an associate member in N ...
*
Presidents' Athletic Conference The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 11 current member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, nine are located in Western Pennsylvania. ...
*
Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is a college athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The league was originally chartered on May 16, 1989, as a men's basketball conference and now sponsors 17 sports ...
* Southern Athletic Association *
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulties related to travel dista ...
*
State University of New York Athletic Conference The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an NCAA Division III athletics conference consisting of schools in the State University of New York system. It was chartered in 1958 as the New York State Intercollegiate Athletic ...
* United East Conference *
USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina and Virginia ...


NCAA women's lacrosse

Women's college lacrosse differs significantly from men's lacrosse in terms of rules and equipment. The NCAA holds lacrosse championships for all three divisions and currently has 524 women's lacrosse programs. Women's collegiate lacrosse was originally governed by the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association, which joined with the
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
(AIAW) to determine an annual champion. The USWLA and AIAW conducted
championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
from 1978–1982 before being usurped by the NCAA. The NCAA began sponsoring a Division III championship in 1985 and added a Division II championship in 2001.


Division I women's lacrosse

The NCAA began sponsoring a women's lacrosse championship in 1982. Lacrosse has grown into 120 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse teams organized into 15 conferences. Only 12 programs are located outside the Eastern Time Zone— Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Denver, six Pac-12 Conference members, and three California schools outside the Pac-12. Of these 12 schools, only Denver also sponsors varsity men's lacrosse. The most recent change to the lineup of women's lacrosse conferences came during the 2021 offseason, when the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and Southern Conference (SoCon) dropped women's lacrosse. The MPSF, which had previously dropped to three women's lacrosse schools when the Pac-12 Conference established a women's lacrosse league, lost one of them when Fresno State dropped the sport, leaving
San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
and
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institu ...
to become independent. Both played as independents in the 2022 season, and will remain such in 2023 until joining Pac-12 women's lacrosse after that season. The three full SoCon members that sponsored the sport ( Furman, Mercer, Wofford) became single-sport members of the Big South Conference, while the two associate members,
Coastal Carolina Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...
and Delaware State, rejoined
ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divi ...
women's lacrosse. Six schools will start Division I play in the 2023 season. Three existing D-I members are launching new teams in that season— Clemson will compete in its all-sports home of the ACC;
Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
will compete in its all-sports home of the Northeast Conference (NEC), and Xavier will play as an independent before joining its full-time home of the Big East Conference in the 2024 season. Three others began transitions from D-II to D-I in July 2022. Lindenwood and Queens (NC) will play women's lacrosse in the
ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divi ...
, with Queens as a full member and Lindenwood as an associate member, while Stonehill will play in its new full-time home of the NEC. The 2023 season is the last for Hartford in Division I competition; it will play that season as an independent before joining the Division III Commonwealth Coast Conference. The 2024 season will also see the debut of South Florida in its full-time home of the American Athletic Conference. Two schools will debut in the 2025 season—
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
in The American, which it joins in 2023, and
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
in its full-time home of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The defending Division I national champions are the North Carolina Tar Heels. Conferences: * America East Conference * American Athletic Conference *
ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divi ...
* Atlantic 10 Conference *
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
* Big East Conference * Big South Conference *
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
*
Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
* Independents *
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
*
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...
*
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the t ...
* Northeast Conference * Pac-12 Conference * Patriot League


Division II women's lacrosse

A total of 114 programs compete at the Division II level. Division II women's lacrosse is one of the newest championships sponsored by the NCAA. The first Division II women's lacrosse championship was held in 2001, when
C.W. Post Charles William Post (October 26, 1854 – May 9, 1914) was an American innovator, breakfast cereal and foods manufacturer and a pioneer in the prepared-food industry. He was the founder of what is now Post Consumer Brands. Early life Char ...
beat West Chester 13–9. Since then, the Division II level has been dominated, much like its men's counterpart, by
Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...
with nine national championships, most recently in 2019. The 114 NCAA Division II women's lacrosse programs are organized into 10 conferences, as well as independent programs. The defending Division II national champions are the
Indianapolis Greyhounds The Indianapolis Greyhounds, also UIndy Greyhounds and formerly the Indiana Central Greyhounds, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Indianapolis, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. ...
. Conferences: *
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fourteen member institutions are located in the northeaster ...
*
Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Divisi ...
* East Coast Conference * Great Lakes Valley Conference *
Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the M ...
* Independents *
Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 12 schools, m ...
*
Northeast-10 Conference The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states ...
*
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers ...
* Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference *
South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...
*
Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly ...


Division III women's lacrosse

The NCAA Division III level is made up of 291 women's lacrosse teams. It is the largest women's lacrosse division and also the largest NCAA lacrosse division, surpassing the number of men's Division III teams by 44 members. The defending Division III national champions are the
Middlebury Panthers The Middlebury Panthers are the 31 varsity teams of Middlebury College that compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The Panthers lead the NESCAC in total number of national championships, having won 34 team titles since the c ...
. Conferences: *
Centennial Conference The Centennial Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Eleven private colleges compose the Centennial Conference. Five of ten members of the Cen ...
*
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is a college athletic conference which competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). CCIW schools have accounted for 50 national championships ...
* Coast to Coast Athletic Conference * Colonial States Athletic Conference * Commonwealth Coast Conference * Empire 8 * Great Northeast Athletic Conference * Independents * Landmark Conference * Liberty League * Little East Conference * Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference * Middle Atlantic Conference * Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference *
New England Collegiate Conference The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) is an NCAA Division III college athletic conference based in the Northeastern United States. History In June 2007, nine colleges from New England announced the creation of a new athletic conferen ...
*
New England Small College Athletic Conference The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. ...
* New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference * New Jersey Athletic Conference *
North Atlantic Conference The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) is an athletic conference, affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division III, consisting primarily of small liberal arts colleges in the Northern New England states of Maine and Vermont, as well as New York. Th ...
*
North Coast Athletic Conference The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of colleges located in Ohio and Indiana. When founded in 1984, the league was a pioneer in gender equality, offering competition in a then-unpreced ...
* Ohio Athletic Conference * Ohio River Lacrosse Conference *
Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other full member is in North Carolina. The conference also has an associate member in N ...
*
Skyline Conference The Skyline Conference is a college athletic conference based in the New York City area that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The league was originally chartered on May 16, 1989, as a men's basketball conference and now sponsors 17 sports ...
* Southern Athletic Association * Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference *
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulties related to travel dista ...
*
State University of New York Athletic Conference The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an NCAA Division III athletics conference consisting of schools in the State University of New York system. It was chartered in 1958 as the New York State Intercollegiate Athletic ...
* United East Conference *
USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina and Virginia ...


NAIA lacrosse

As of October, 2016, There are a 39
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA) schools that offer men’s and/or women’s varsity lacrosse, Lacrosse is an officially recognized sport by the NAIA. NAIA programs are currently in year two of NAIA invitational sport status. During this phase of recognition, teams compete to participate in a post season championship called the NAIA National Invitational. Each conference and A.I.I group receive one automatic qualifier with the remaining four bids going to the highest remaining teams from the NAIA national ranking. NAIA programs also regularly compete against NCAA DII and DIII teams. The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) announced on January 27, 2012, the addition of lacrosse for both men and women as conference sports effective the fall of 2012. The WHAC was the first conference in the NAIA to offer lacrosse as a conference championship sport. The Appalachian Athletics Conference and the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference recognized lacrosse as a conference sport in the Fall of 2015.


NJCAA lacrosse

The
National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
(NJCAA) is the primary governing body of
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...
athletic programs in the USA and currently oversees 21 men's and 11 women's lacrosse programs predominately in the Northeastern United States. The NJCAA lacrosse programs do not compete in their regular conferences, but instead are ranked within their NJCAA Regions. The NJCAA has sponsored a men's lacrosse championship since 1970 and a women's lacrosse championship since 2004. There are also new lacrosse programs at community colleges that are not members of the NJCAA, such as the
California Community College Athletic Association The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...
, which does not sponsor the sport at this time.


Men's club lacrosse


Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA)

The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), formerly known as the US Lacrosse Men’s Division of Intercollegiate Associates (USL MDIA), is a national organization of non-NCAA, college men's
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
programs. The MCLA was created by the MDIA Board of Directors and its creation was announced by
US Lacrosse USA Lacrosse is the national governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States. It provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game and has more than 450,000 members throughout the United States, and offers programs ...
on August 24, 2006. The MCLA oversees play and conducts national championships for 184 non-NCAA men's lacrosse programs in 10 conferences and in two divisions throughout the country. The defending National Champions at the MCLA Division 1 Level are the Grand Canyon University Antelopes. The Division II National Champions are the Concordia-Irvine Eagles. Conferences: *
Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association The Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) was a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The CCLA incorporates teams in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. On August 8th ...
*
Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference The Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC) was a conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The GRLC incorporated teams in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio and was divided into two divisions, Divi ...
*
Lone Star Alliance The Lone Star Alliance (LSA) is a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The conference incorporates teams in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska and is ...
*
Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League The Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) is a conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association. The PNCLL is divided into two divisions, Division I and Division II, and incorporates teams from the U.S. States of Oregon, Was ...
* Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League *
Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference The Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) is one of ten conferences in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association. Currently the RMLC consists of 15 teams encompassing four Rocky Mountain states; Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. It is divi ...
*
Southeastern Lacrosse Conference The SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) is a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The SELC incorporates teams in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and is di ...
* Southwestern Lacrosse Conference *
Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference The Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) is a men's college club lacrosse conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The UMLC includes teams in the midwest in two divisions - nine teams in Division I and six teams in Divis ...
*
Western Collegiate Lacrosse League The Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL) is a conference that participates in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The WCLL operates in California, Nevada, and Oregon and is split into two divisions, Division I and Division ...


National College Lacrosse League (NCLL)

The National College Lacrosse League (NCLL) is a men's lacrosse league comprising mostly Eastern US college lacrosse clubs (non-varsity). There are approximately 130 teams divided into 12 conferences. The programs are split into Division I and Division II. Many of the clubs are at schools that currently have varsity NCAA Men's lacrosse programs. Conferences: * Blue Ridge Conference * Capitol Conference * Chesapeake Conference * Deep South Lacrosse Conference *Eastern Pennsylvania Conference * Empire East Conference * Empire West Conference * Keystone Conference * Liberty Conference * Midwest North Conference * Midwest South Conference * NY Metro Conference * Tidewater Conference


Other U.S. college club lacrosse leagues

* Great Lakes Lacrosse League (GLLL) *
California Junior College Lacrosse Association The California Junior College Lacrosse Association (CJCLA) was formed in 2013 and is dedicated to expanding junior college lacrosse opportunities for the student-athletes of California. Membership in the CJCLA is open to any California junior coll ...
(CJCLA)


Women's club lacrosse


Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA)

The
Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates The Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) is a national organization of over 200 non-NCAA, women's college lacrosse programs organized and run by US Lacrosse, the national governing body. The mission of the WCLA is to promote the growth of ...
(WCLA) is a collection of over 260 college club teams that compete under the
US Lacrosse USA Lacrosse is the national governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States. It provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game and has more than 450,000 members throughout the United States, and offers programs ...
umbrella. Teams are organized into various leagues and two divisions. The association regulates different aspects of the teams, including minimum number of games played. A recent rule modification allows community colleges to become members. Teams that have been classified as either Division I or Division II have the opportunity to compete in a national championship each spring under US Lacrosse.
Central Plains Women's Lacrosse League

Central Women's Lacrosse League
* Carolina Women's Lacrosse League * East Coast Women's Lacrosse Association * Mid Atlantic Women's Lacrosse League * North East Women's Lacrosse League
Rocky Mountain Women's Lacrosse League

Southeastern Women's Lacrosse League

Texas Women's Lacrosse League

Western Women's Lacrosse League

Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League

Women's Lacrosse Association


See also

*
F. Morris Touchstone Award The F. Morris Touchstone Award is an award given by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association to the nation's most outstanding Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I lacrosse head coach. The award was first presented in 1958. The award is ...
* Intercollegiate sports team champions#Lacrosse, Women * List of college lacrosse events *
NCAA Men's Division I Lacrosse Records NCAA Division I men's lacrosse records listed here are primarily records compiled by the NCAA's Director of Statistics office. Included in this consolidation are the NCAA men's Division I individual single-season and career leaders. Official NCAA ...
* NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship * NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship *
NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship The NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship is the annual championship in men's Field lacrosse, lacrosse held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA for teams competing in NCAA Division III, Division III. After the inaugurati ...
* NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship *
NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship The annual NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament has determined the top women's lacrosse team in the NCAA Division II since the 2001 season (2000–01 school year). Adelphi is the most successful team, with nine national tit ...
*
NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship The annual NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament has determined the top women's lacrosse team in the NCAA Division III since 1985. The Middlebury Panthers are the current champions. The College of New Jersey, previously know ...
* USILA All-American Team * U.S. Lacrosse * US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates


References


External links


Lacrosse (men's)
at NCAA
Lacrosse (women's)
at NCAA {{DEFAULTSORT:College Lacrosse