NCAA College Lacrosse Schools

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was founded more than 100 years ago as a way to protect student-athletes. Today, the NCAA is made up of three distinct classifications known as Divisions I, II and III. Each division creates its own rules consistent with the overall governing principles of the NCAA. All schools with an athletic program such as men's or women's lacrosse must affiliate with one of the three divisions. The NCAA holds numerous championships every year, including men's, women's and coed.

  1. Lacrosse in the NCAA

    • NCAA men's and women's lacrosse is made up of three divisions---Division I, Division II, and Division III. Division I is made up of schools with large sports budgets, bigger sports facilities and a high number of athletic scholarships, and Division III includes the smaller schools with less funding directed at athletics. Similar to NCAA men's and women's basketball, the national champion is determined at an annual NCAA Lacrosse Championship tournament. The semifinals and finals of the championship are played in professional football stadiums, placing it among the most attended NCAA Championships.

    Men's Lacrosse

    • As of 2011, there were 61 sponsored Division I men's teams, 42 sponsored Division II men's teams and 176 sponsored Division III men's teams. The men's NCAA lacrosse season begins in early February and ends in the late May with the national championship game. There is no required amount of games a team plays in a season. Generally, a team will play approximately 14 regular-season games, two or three more conference tournament games and as many as four more in the national championship tournament.

    Women's Lacrosse

    • As of 2011, there were 92 sponsored Division I women's teams, 62 sponsored Division II women's teams and 205 sponsored Division III women's teams. The women's NCAA lacrosse season begins in early February and ends in late May with the national championship game. During the year, a women's team plays approximately 15 regular-season games, two or three conference tournament games and as many as four national championship tournament games.

    National Champions

    • In 2010, Duke University was named the men's Division I champion and the University of Maryland was named the women's Division I champion. Since its inception in 1971, the men's championship has been won most often by the University of Syracuse, which has captured 10 titles. The women's championship, first played in 1982, has been won most often by the University of Maryland, which has won 10 titles.