This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.(September 2023) |
This is a list of colleges and universities in the United States (and one school in Canada) which sponsored a men's lacrosse team that belonged to the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association in 2015. Per MCLA rules, a University or College with fielding an NCAA Division I FBS football team must play at the Division I level. Any other school plays at the MCLA Division II level, but may petition to "play up" at the Division I level. Likewise, teams designated as Division I may petition to "play down" at the Division II level, if they are deemed a "developing" team, and are ineligible for post season play.
Before the 2019 MCLA season, there were many changes to conferences. The Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association and the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League agreed to merge into the Continental Lacrosse Conference, while the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference merged with the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference and Lone Star Alliance.
Following the shortened 2020 season several SELC mid-Atlantic teams left to create the newest conference in the MCLA, the Atlantic Lacrosse Conference.
The Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association merged with the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League before the 2019 season.
The Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference merged with the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference and Lone Star Alliance before the 2019 season.
The Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League merged with the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association to form the Continental Lacrosse Conference.
Several teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region separated from the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference in 2020 to create the Atlantic Lacrosse Conference, along with Mississippi schools leaving to join the Lonestar Alliance Conference.
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 States and Canada. The MCLA provides a governing structure much like the NCAA, with eligibility rules, All-Americans and a national tournament to decide national champions in both Divisions I and II.
The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and sponsors teams in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports; the RedHawks hockey team is a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. With sponsorship of men's swimming & diving transferring from the MAC to the Missouri Valley Conference in 2024–25, Miami will become a single-sport member of the latter. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level for college football. The RedHawks are arch-rivals with the Ohio Bobcats. In box scores for sporting events, the RedHawks sports teams are usually referred to as Miami (OH) to differentiate from the Miami Hurricanes, a Division I school in Florida.
The Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League (PCLL) was a conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The PCLL primarily incorporates teams in New England and New York and is divided into two divisions, Division 1 and Division 2. The conference is governed by a five-member executive board and the teams that win the conference's divisional playoffs receive bids to the MCLA National Tournament. Before the 2019 season, the conference merged with the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) to form the Continental Lacrosse Conference (CLC).
The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference.
The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University. Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, but will start a transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision on July 1, 2024. The majority of sports play in the Division I Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State football competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the women's beach volleyball team, nicknamed Beach Bears instead of "Bears" or "Lady Bears", competes in Conference USA (CUSA), having moved from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the spring 2023 season. Men's swimming & diving had competed in the Mid-American Conference through the 2023–24 season, but sponsorship of that sport is transferring from that conference to the MVC in July 2024. Missouri State will become a full member of CUSA on July 1, 2025.
College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse in Canada is sponsored by the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (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 (NCAA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are also university lacrosse programs in the United Kingdom sponsored by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and programs in Japan.
The Saint Louis Billikens are the collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The school has nationally recognized soccer programs for men and women. The school has heavily invested in its on-campus athletic facilities since the 1990s with the creation of Hermann Stadium and Chaifetz Arena. Chris May is the current director of athletics of the St. Louis Billikens.
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 II. The conference is governed by an executive board and the teams that win the conference's divisional playoffs receive automatic bids to the MCLA National Tournament.
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 Division II.
The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the Ohio Valley Conference for most of its sports since the 2022–23 academic year.
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, Division I and Division II.
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 divided into two divisions, Division I and Division II. Division II is separated further by region; Northwest and Southeast
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 8, 2018, the conference commissioners of the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association and the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League announced they would merge the conferences to form the Continental Lacrosse Conference.
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 divided into three divisions, Division I, Division II, and Division III.
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 divided into two divisions, Division I and Division II. With 17 members, it is one of the largest of the MCLA's nine conferences. In 2021 several teams in the mid Atlantic region split off to create the Atlantic Lacrosse Conference.
The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17.
The Michigan Wolverines men's lacrosse team is the intercollegiate men's lacrosse program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Prior to joining the NCAA, Michigan competed as a club-varsity program at the Division I level of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) in the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA), where the Wolverines secured three MCLA national championships and won 11 consecutive conference titles. The team is coached by Kevin Conry.
The Continental Lacrosse Conference (CLC) is a conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The CLC incorporates teams in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island and is divided into two divisions, Division I and Division II.
The Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (ALC) is a lacrosse conference in the United States that participates in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The ALC operates in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina and is split into two divisions, Division I and Division II. The conference is governed by an executive board and the team that wins the conference's divisional playoffs receive an automatic bid to the MCLA National Championship.