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 and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the sport. The USA Lacrosse national headquarters is located in Sparks, Maryland along with the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame. In addition, the headquarters campus features the IWLCA Building, Tierney Field and a memorial to the members of the lacrosse community that died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. USA Lacrosse also oversees the U.S. National Teams, which have won a combined 30 world championships.
USA Lacrosse was founded on January 1, 1998. It resulted from the merger of many different groups, including the Lacrosse Foundation, the United States Women's Lacrosse Association, the National Junior Lacrosse Association, the United States Lacrosse Officials Association, United States Lacrosse Coaches Association, United States Club Lacrosse Association, the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates, the Central Atlantic Lacrosse League and National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials Association.
Structure and function
USA Lacrosse headquarters features the IWLCA Building, Tierney Field and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum.
USA Lacrosse policy is determined by a national board of directors. Nine board committees have a comprehensive responsibility for strategy, planning and design of initiatives with direct board access for support and approval. These committees are Executive, Board Development, Strategic Planning, Sport Development, Women's Game, Men's Game, Finance, Human Resources and the Regional Chapters active within each geographic region of the country.
While serving as the sport's national governing body, USA Lacrosse works in collaboration with both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to oversee the game within the schools and colleges. NCAA and NFHS activity in lacrosse is almost exclusively focused on rules, with the additional NCAA focus on staging a postseason tournament. USA Lacrosse is essentially responsible for everything else related to the development of and service to the sport as its national governing body.
The NCAA governs college post-season play and writes rules for college post season competitive play for the sport, which have traditionally been adopted for regular season play by all men’s and women’s college lacrosse conferences and independents.
The NFHS is a body that provides support and coordination to each independent state high school athletic association. However, each state association operates independently of the NFHS and sets its own regulations and policies. The NFHS has committees that write/review rules for sports. The NFHS has an independent rules committee for boys’ lacrosse on which USA Lacrosse is represented. The NFHS also has an independent rules committee for girls’ lacrosse, but the NFHS has adopted US Lacrosse rules for girls and women’s lacrosse. USA Lacrosse also has formal representation on this committee. The NFHS rules committee for girls’ lacrosse provides feedback to the US Lacrosse Women’s Division Rules Committee annually.[3]
USA Lacrosse also publishes US Lacrosse Magazine nine times per year, with a circulation to over 350,000 USA Lacrosse members. Its mission is to "connect the sports community, educate players, coaches and officials, entertain fans and keep the membership of USA Lacrosse informed." In addition to the print magazine, USA Lacrosse maintains LaxMagazine.com, which features daily national, regional and international lacrosse news, information, and scores, along with original features.
Membership
Fans, players, parents, coaches and officials can all be members of USA Lacrosse. USA Lacrosse members receive access to a variety of programs and services, discounts on books, videos, educational materials and U.S. National Team merchandise. Additionally, all members receive USA Lacrosse Magazine, comprehensive lacrosse insurance, free admission to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame and discounts on products and services while supporting the mission of the organization.
U.S. National Teams
As the United States is a full member of World Lacrosse, it takes part in all competitions organized and sanctioned by it. USA Lacrosse oversees all aspects of the U.S. Men's and Women's National and Under-19 Team programs.
The U.S. Men's National Team has won 10 World Lacrosse Championships, and won six straight World Championships from 1982 to 2002. The last World Championships were held in Netanya, Israel in 2018 with the U.S. beating Canada in the gold medal game. In the Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships, the United States has won every tournament to date with a total of eight championships.
The U.S. Women's National Team has won nine Women's Lacrosse World Cups. The most recent World Cup was held in Towson, Maryland in July 2022, where the U.S. defeated Canada 11-8 in the championship. In the women's Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships, the United States has won world championships in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2019.
Facility
USA Lacrosse moved to its current location in May 2016 and formally dedicated the new facility on Sept. 11, 2016. The facility is the result of a $15 million capital campaign entirely funded by private donors. Previously, the organization's headquarters were located in Baltimore adjacent to Homewood Field on the Johns Hopkins University campus.
The IWLCA Building at USa Lacrosse National Headquarters is the centerpiece of the campus. The three-level 45,000 square foot structure hosts office and meeting space for the US Lacrosse staff, the Crum Family Education and Training Center, and locker rooms. A new National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, features the Richie Moran Hall of Fame Gallery and displays highlighting the heritage of the sport and the evolution to the modern game.
The building overlooks William G. Tierney Field, which will be the training home for the U.S. National Teams Program. The intimate, lighted facility boasts a permanent seating area for 500 fans and berms surround the field that will allow for additional spectators.
In addition to serving as the training facility for Team USA, Tierney Field hosts numerous college, high school and youth games each year along with coaching, officiating and player education clinics.
Just above the seating area to Tierney Field is the Henry A. Rosenberg Jr. Promenade, which includes The Creator’s Game statue sculpted by Jud Hartmann that was moved from the old USA Lacrosse headquarters. The promenade also includes 21 pillars honoring college lacrosse programs from around the country.
Surrounding the south end of the field is the Chris Sailer Trail honoring 11 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Trailblazers: Pat Genovese, Tina Sloan Green, Caroline Haussermann, Kathy Heinze, Carole Kleinfelder, Gillian Rattray, Sue Stahl, Sue Tyler, Lanetta Ware, Marge Watson and Judy Wolstenholme.
Located off the trail is the 9/11 Memorial, honoring the nearly 70 individuals from the lacrosse community that died during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Landscape architect Kris Snider, a former All-American player at the University of Virginia, designed the memorial.
Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame
USA Lacrosse operates the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame at its headquarters in Sparks, Maryland. The new facility opened to the public in September 2016. Each year, members are inducted into the Hall of Fame for their contributions to the sport.[4]
Related Research Articles
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 extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form.
Women's lacrosse, sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time. Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduced in 1890 at the St Leonard's School in St Andrews, Scotland. The rules of women's lacrosse differ significantly from men's field lacrosse. The two are often considered to be different sports with a common root.
An All-America team is either a high school- or higher education-level sports team composed of outstanding players in the United States. The players selected are broadly considered by media and other relevant commentators as the best positional players in a particular sport, for a specific season; for example, an All-American basketball point guard for the 2021–22 season. Such athletes at the high school and college level are referred to as All-Americans.
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. The USATF was known between 1979 and 1992 as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 130,000. The organization has three key leadership positions: CEO Max Siegel, Board of Directors Chair Steve Miller, and elected President Vin Lananna. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be USATF members, but permanent residents only can participate in masters events in the country, and they cannot receive any USATF medal, prize money or score for a team.
USA Softball is the governing body for the United States national softball team. It is a member of the sport's international governing body, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). In addition, it oversees more than 150,000 amateur teams nationwide. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
USA Wrestling is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. USA Wrestling is also the official representative to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and to United World Wrestling (UWW) and is considered the national governing body of the sport at the amateur level. Their mission statement is, "USA Wrestling, guided by the Olympic Spirit, provides quality opportunities for its members to achieve their full human and athletic potential."
Lacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. There are many respected amateur programs at the club, college, and high school level, as well as several respected past and present professional teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Major League Lacrosse (MLL).
The Florida Gators women's lacrosse team represents the University of Florida in the sport of college lacrosse. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and are single-sport members of the American Athletic Conference, which they joined in 2018 after four seasons in the Big East Conference. Before joining Big East women's lacrosse, the Gators were members of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC), which folded after the 2014 season due to aftereffects of conference realignment. They play their home games in Donald R. Dizney Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Amanda O'Leary. The Gators have won regular-season conference titles in 11 of the 12 completed seasons of the women's lacrosse program's existence, with four each in the ALC and Big East plus two in The American. Additionally, they have won eight conference tournament titles and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament six times, with their best NCAA finish being a semifinal berth in 2012.
US Squash is the national governing body for the sport of squash in the United States. Previously called The United States Squash Racquets Association, it is headquartered in New York City and is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. US Squash owns and licenses the U.S. Open, the North American Open, and all other U.S. championships.
The NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the annual top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I. This tournament has determined the national champion since the inaugural 1971 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. From 1936 through 1970, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy annually to the collegiate champion based on regular season records.
Trevor R. Tierney is a current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's lacrosse assistant coach, former Major League Lacrosse (MLL) defensive coordinator and retired lacrosse goaltender who has played professional box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and professional field lacrosse in MLL. Trevor starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1998 through 2001, where he was an NCAA goaltender of the year, two-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American, a national goals against average (GAA) and save percentage statistical champion and a member of two national champion teams.
The Virginia Cavaliers women's lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I college lacrosse team representing the University of Virginia as part of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They play their home games at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Taylor Cummings is a lacrosse midfielder, formerly for the University of Maryland's women's lacrosse team. Winning the Tewaaraton Trophy in 2014, 2015, and 2016, Cummings was once regarded as the best female collegiate lacrosse player in the country. She helped the Maryland Terrapins win two National Championships in 2014 and in 2015.
Alex Aust is an American women’s lacrosse player. Having played with the Maryland Terrapins at the collegiate level, she was named to the US national team for the 2015-16 season and is currently still an active member, wearing jersey number 10. In 2016, she was selected by the Baltimore Ride with their second pick overall in the inaugural United Women's Lacrosse League Draft.
The sport of lacrosse has been played in the United States by Native Americans long before European exploration. The sport is most popular in the north-east and mid-Atlantic areas of the country. However, the game has recently developed into a popular team sport for both men and women in all regions of the United States.
Tina Sloan Green is a former women's lacrosse head coach of the Temple Owls from 1975 to 1992. Apart from coaching, she was the first African American to play for the United States women's national field hockey team from 1969 to 1973. Sloan Green was inducted into the US National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997, the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Mildred Barnes is an American basketball coach and executive. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Committee from 1965 through 1972 and served as the chair of that committee from 1974 to 1976. Barnes was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Denise Wescott is an American lacrosse coach. She has been the head coach of several college women's lacrosse teams, including Delaware, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, and Rutgers. Wescott won more than 200 games in her college coaching career. She also coached the Germany women's national lacrosse team. The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inducted Wescott in 2018.
Carson "Missy" Wassell Foote is an American lacrosse coach. She served as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Middlebury College from 1978 through 2015, amassing a 422-114-1 record. At the time of her retirement, that win total ranked second amongst all head coaches in NCAA Division III history.
Shannon Elizabeth Smith is an American lacrosse coach and former player. Smith concluded her collegiate career at Northwestern University as their all-time leading goal scorer with 254, three-time IWLCA first-team All-American, three-time All-ALC first-team choice, and a two-time MVP of the NCAA Championship.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
