![How Many D1 Lacrosse Teams Are There [Revealed]](https://lacrossepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/How-Many-D1-Lacrosse-Teams-Are-There-Revealed.jpg)
As a fun experiment, I wanted to dig in deeper and figure out how many D1 lacrosse teams there are currently in the US. This not only serves as a demonstration of how much attention colleges are putting into the sport but also further proves the point lacrosse has grown very quickly over the years.
Additionally, I am also keen to find out how much progress has been done in women’s sport, specifically women’s lacrosse to close the gender gap. Currently, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse still differ in many significant ways, but we are seeing two sports slowly converge with one another in rules and style. Furthermore, Title IX makes it easier to add a women’s program to an NCAA school, which led to the continuous growth of women’s lacrosse.
As of 2022, there are 74 NCAA D1 men’s lacrosse teams and 120 NCAA D1 women’s lacrosse teams in the US. In total there are 194 lacrosse teams at the NCAA D1 level.
As you can see, there are actually more D1 women’s lacrosse programs than men’s, marking women’s lacrosse a faster growing sport than men’s lacrosse. In fact, the same is true at the high school level as well. If you take a look at the 2018-2019 NFHS high school athletes participation survey, lacrosse is the tenth most popular girls’ program whereas it’s the eleventh most popular boys’ program.
Read also: Most popular lacrosse states in the US
NCAA D1 Lacrosse
Thanks to the rising popularity, new college lacrosse programs continue to spring up every year; scholarship opportunities multiply.
Ever since the first NCAA lacrosse tournament started in 1971, the NCAA has added more than 40 new men’s programs and more than 90 new women’s programs, with 48 of those programs taking place after 2010. Over 14,000 men and 12,000 women participate in NCAA lacrosse, over 4,000 men and 4,500 women playing NCAA D1 lacrosse.
The NCAA D1 lacrosse season begins every year at the beginning of February. Teams play roughly 13 regular-season games and those advance to the post-season conference will start at the end of April. The championship game will take place at the end of May. This year the championship game is between May 28-30 at Rentschler Field.
Top 10 NCAA D1 Lacrosse Programs
Even in D1 lacrosse, there are many lacrosse teams in the league. If you are a college lacrosse fan or an aspiring high school laxer, you probably wonder what the best NCAA D1 lacrosse programs are in the states today.
As you can see below, almost all the best D1 lacrosse programs remain on the east coast:
Men’s Top Lacrosse Programs
| Ranking | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Princeton University | Ivy League |
| 2 | Yale University | Ivy League |
| 3 | Harvard University | Ivy League |
| 4 | University of Michigan | Big Ten |
| 5 | UNC at Chapel Hill | Atlantic Coast |
| 6 | UVA | Atlantic Coast |
| 7 | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 8 | University of Maryland | Atlantic Coast |
| 9 | Duke University | Atlantic Coast |
| 10 | UPenn | Ivy League |
Women’s Top Lacrosse Programs
| Ranking | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Princeton University | Ivy League |
| 2 | Stanford University | Pacific-12 |
| 3 | Harvard University | Ivy League |
| 4 | Yale University | Ivy League |
| 5 | UNC at Chapel Hill | Atlantic Coast |
| 6 | University of Michigan | Big Ten |
| 7 | UC Berkeley | Pacific-12 |
| 8 | University of Florida | Southeastern |
| 9 | Vanderbilt University | Southeastern |
| 10 | UVA | Atlantic Coast |
Full list of NCAA D1 Lacrosse Programs
Now it’s time to take a look at every school with a D1 lacrosse program. Especially for a high school athlete looking to compete at the next level of lacrosse, aiming for one of the D1 schools should be on your agenda. D1 schools have the best athletic programs and sources to help athletes continue to train and improve.
Click here to see all women’s D1 programs
Click here to see all men’s D1 programs
Newest NCAA D1 Lacrosse Programs
One great thing about the NCAA multi-division system is the fact that they don’t stay static. Every year there are new institutions that are being added to D1, D2 and D3. On Feb 23, Lindenwood University announced its transition to NCAA D1 lacrosse. Lindenwood’s women’s lacrosse is recognized for its outstanding performance and success over the past couple years. In addition, the lions will also host the 2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse National Championship in May.
Moreover, since 2020, there are several women’s lacrosse programs being added to the Division I league, namely the University of Akron in Ohio. In contrast, there was no D1 men’s lacrosse program being added.
As I wrote in the beginning, women’s lacrosse appears to be the ongoing winner in terms of growth and development. The reality is compared to women’s lacrosse, there are many challenges to overcome to add more D1 men’s programs for institutions such as Title IX and the cost of starting and operating a program. I hope this current situation could further help strengthen the popularity and growth of women’s lacrosse, leading to a more equal environment for both sports.
Read also: Lacrosse to return the summer Olympics, How much it costs to play lacrosse
