The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Barring the Ivy League, it is the most selective group of higher education institutions in the NCAA, and has a very high student-athlete graduation rate for both the NCAA graduation success rate and the federal graduation rate.
The Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represents the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in NCAA Division I competition. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays their home games in the Hart Center. The program boasts such notable alumni as Boston Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn, and longtime Providence College basketball coach Joe Mullaney. Under coach Doggie Julian, the Crusaders won a national championship in 1947. It is the only school from Massachusetts to win an NCAA tournament. Dave Paulsen was appointed the program's 19th head coach on March 28, 2023.
The Loyola Greyhounds men's lacrosse team represents Loyola University Maryland in NCAA Division I lacrosse. Its home matches are played at the Ridley Athletic Complex. Charley Toomey has served as its head coach since 2006. It became a member of the Patriot League along with the university's other intercollegiate athletic programs on July 1, 2013. The Greyhounds were a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League from 2005 to 2013. It became the first member of the conference to win a national championship in 2012. It was also the first national title in the university's Division I history.
The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, the Crusaders are members of two other leagues, with men competing in the Atlantic Hockey Association and women in Hockey East. The men's rowing team is part of the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges. Of its 25 varsity teams, Holy Cross supports 12 men's and 13 women's sports, giving Holy Cross the largest ratio of teams-per-enrollment in the country. Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders.
The Colgate Raiders men's lacrosse team represents Colgate University in the Patriot League in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse. They play at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, New York.
The Loyola Greyhounds are the athletic teams that represent Loyola University Maryland. The teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, and tennis. Men's sports also include golf, while women's sports also include track and field and volleyball. The Greyhounds compete in NCAA Division I and have been a member of the Patriot League for all sports since July 1, 2013.
The Lafayette Leopards men's lacrosse team represents Lafayette College in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse. The program was created in 1926. Lafayette plays its home games at Fisher Stadium, which has a capacity of 13,162. The Leopards have competed in the Patriot League since its 1991 founding. Through 2020, the team has an all–time record of 278–690–1.
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's lacrosse team represents Lehigh University in NCAA Division I college lacrosse. The Mountain Hawks play their home games at Frank Banko Field, which is part of a complex that also includes Lehigh's soccer and field hockey venues.
The Navy Midshipmen women's lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I college lacrosse team representing the United States Naval Academy as part of the Patriot League. They play their home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
Freddie Owens is an American men's basketball coach, who is currently the interim head coach for the Green Bay Phoenix. During his nine years as a coach, he has been a part of four championships and NCAA teams at the University of Montana and the College of the Holy Cross (2016).
The Boston University–Holy Cross rivalry is an American college rivalry that exists between the Boston University Terriers sports teams of Boston University and the Holy Cross Crusaders sports teams of The College of the Holy Cross. The Terriers and Crusaders have a program-wide rivalry called the Turnpike Trophy, which BU leads 2–0 as of 2017.
The Boston University Terriers men's lacrosse team represents Boston University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse. The program was created in 2014. Boston U plays its home games at Nickerson Field, which has a capacity of 9,871. The Terriers have competed in the Patriot League since their 2014 founding. Through 2020, the team has an all–time record of 50–50.
The Johns Hopkins–Syracuse lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays and Syracuse Orange. The two programs are the most historically successful and winningest in collegiate lacrosse, combining for 60 national titles spanning the pre-NCAA and NCAA eras. Since the advent of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, the Syracuse and Johns Hopkins have the first- and second-most titles respectively. Hopkins leads the series 32–28–1 through 2023.
The Army–Navy lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen. The two programs, historical rivals in other sports like football and soccer, have a fierce and nationally-relevant rivalry in lacrosse as well. With 25 national championships, 10 Final Fours in the NCAA era, and 190 consensus first team All-Americans, the two teams have been integral to the game's history. The rivalry carries a different spirit than many others in collegiate lacrosse, described by former Navy goalie Ryan Kern as: "t’s the same camaraderie that you had in the fall with the football game and it kind of comes out again in the spring with the lacrosse game,” Navy junior goalie Ryan Kern said. “No doubt, all the other sports are important, but just the sheer number of people that come to this game is crazy — just like the football game. You see 16,000 people come to a regular season lacrosse game, and that’s not happening at other lacrosse programs." After 101 meetings, Navy leads the series 62–36–3 through 2021.
The Hobart–Syracuse lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between Hobart Statesmen and Syracuse Orange. The two programs, both based in Upstate New York, developed one of the most historically-relevant rivalries in lacrosse. The rivalry trails only the Cornell–Hobart and Johns Hopkins–Maryland rivalries as the third-oldest series in lacrosse. The Statesmen and Orange have combined for 32 national championships, with the two maintaining annual nature of the rivalry, even after the NCAA split into separate divisions. During the 1970s through the 1990s, Hobart competed in Divisions II and III, while Syracuse competed in Division I. Both programs dominated their respective divisions during this period, with Hobart capturing 15 national championships during this period and the Orange claiming 6. In 1995, Hobart promoted its team from Division III to Division I to preserve the series with the Orange and its other upstate rival Cornell. In 2008, the annual rivalry was jeopardized when Hobart's board of trustees voted to reclassify its lacrosse program back to the Division III level. After an emotional reaction from the alumni community, however, the decision was reversed on May 1. Syracuse leads the series, described as a classic "David versus Goliath" contest, 80–26–2 through 2023.
The Loyola–Towson lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between Baltimore's Loyola Greyhounds of the Patriot League and Towson Tigers of the Colonial Athletic Association. The teams first met in 1959 and competed at the NCAA Division II level until transferring up to Division I in 1980 for Towson and in 1982 for Loyola. The two programs share locations on Charles Street and are separated by only four and a half miles. They also share cross-street rivalries with foe Johns Hopkins. Successful in Division II, both the Greyhounds and Tigers have had success at the national level in the first division since moving up. Loyola has appeared in four Final Fours and won the 2012 national title, while Towson has appeared in three final fours of their own, in addition to their 1974 Division II championship. Through 2020, Loyola leads the series by a 34–29 margin, the most-played opponent for both schools.
The Duke–North Carolina lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Located just 9.8 miles apart on Tobacco Road, the two programs are classic rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference, headlined by their basketball and football rivalries, but also extending to lacrosse - even club lacrosse. The rivalry has carried national importance itself since the 1990s, leading to numerous thrilling contests between the two in the ACC and NCAA postseason tournaments. Duke leads the ACC series 9–4 and has compiled a perfect 4–0 mark against the heels in NCAA tournament play. Current Heels coach Joe Breschi summed up the rivalry as "when you’re 12 miles away from a school that you don’t like and doesn’t like you, it makes it more intense. There’s so much more meaning there than any other game. That’s what makes winning that much more sweet." In 2019, his counterpart Duke head coach John Danowski described the annual challenge of facing UNC: "They're really good. They're very well-coached, they get the best players in the country year after year, they have the top recruiting classes, and they hate Duke." As a testament to the national success between the two schools, the Blue Devils have won three national titles, while the Tar Heels lay claim to five. As of the end of the 2023 season, North Carolina leads the series 43–37.
The Johns Hopkins–Navy lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays and Navy Midshipmen. While historical rivals in football, the lacrosse series has been the headlining competition between the two universities. The Maryland programs were both national powers prior to NCAA sponsorship of the sport, with 35 national titles for the Blue Jays and 17 for the Midshipmen. They both continue to rank one-two in the most total national championships of any program in collegiate lacrosse. While both mainstays on the national stage in the modern era, Hopkins has dominated Navy head-to-head, winning 36 consecutive from 1975 to 2009. The series, annual since 1950 was halted in 2017 due to scheduling issues from conference realignment, as the longtime independents joined the Patriot League and Big Ten Conference respectively in the last decade. A 2020 renewal was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2020, Johns Hopkins leads the series 62–27–1.
The 2021–22 Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball team represented Loyola University Maryland in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Greyhounds, led by fourth-year head coach Tavaras Hardy, played their home games at Reitz Arena in Baltimore, Maryland as members of the Patriot League.
The 2022–23 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Brett Nelson, played their home games at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts as members of the Patriot League. they finished the season 10–22, 7–11 in Patriot League play to finish in a four-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 9 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they lost to Loyola (MD) in the first round.
