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TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, eight trailblazing lacrosse organizations took a leap of faith. They believed we were better together — that a fragmented sport could thrive only as something greater than the sum of its parts.

And after a quarter century of unprecedented growth, we hold true to our unifying purpose. We believe lacrosse is for everyone, everywhere and that anyone who plays the sport should find the experience as meaningful as we did when we first picked up a stick.

To commemorate our 25th anniversary, USA Lacrosse invites you to share in our mission to fuel the sport’s growth and enrich the experience of participants.

We made history together. Let’s ignite our future. Together.

JANUARY 1998

US Lacrosse officially began operations, eventually becoming the sport’s first unified governing body.

July 1998

The USA men’s team beat Canada 15-14 in overtime in what some have called the greatest game in history. Canada rallied from a 10-goal deficit in the third quarter to push the USA squad to the brink. Played before a sellout crowd at Baltimore’s Homewood Field, it was the first major event hosted by US Lacrosse.

MAY 2001

US Lacrosse hosted its first national championship for women’s college club teams. Today, more than 200 club programs compete in two divisions of the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates.

JANUARY 2002

US Lacrosse hosted the first unified convention in the sport’s history, bringing the leaders from the men’s and women’s games together in Philadelphia to help build for the future.

JULY 2003

The U.S. men’s and women’s U19 teams swept the world championships in Towson, Md. It marked the first time that the men’s and women’s international championships had been held together.

NOVEMBER 2003

US Lacrosse entered into a multi-year partnership with CSTV (now CBS Sports Network) to help create and fund the first national television package for college lacrosse in history.

MARCH 2004

The Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) honored US Lacrosse with one of its national awards for building a positive environment for youth lacrosse across the country. In 2000, US Lacrosse had become the first national partner for PCA.

JULY 2004

US Lacrosse launched the online component of its coaches education program. Over the last nearly 20 years, the organization has trained thousands of coaches — both new and experienced — to help fuel the growth of the sport.

APRIL 2005

Sports Illustrated featured a nine-page story on the rise of the sport entitled “Get on the Stick.” Reporter Alexander Wolff attended the US Lacrosse Convention in January to gather material for the landmark article.

JULY 2005

Australia ended the USA’s hold on the women’s world championship, defeating the U.S. 14-7 in Annapolis, Md. The final was broadcast on CSTV, the first nationally-televised game for the women’s world championship in the USA.

OCTOBER 2007

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame celebrated its 50th anniversary.

MAY 2008

The 75th edition of the Women’s National Tournament was held in Baltimore. The historic event, now one of the top recruiting events for high school girls’ players, has been an annual celebration of the sport since the 1930s.

JULY 2009

US Lacrosse held its first U15 National Championships. Scores of the sport’s rising stars, including national team gold-medal winners, have since played in the event, now called the USA Lacrosse Youth Nationals.

JULY 2010

Members of the U.S. men’s team appeared on The Today Show in advance of their trip to England for the world championship. The U.S. defeated Canada to reclaim the world title.

JANUARY 2011

US Lacrosse published the first set of national age-based standardized rules for boys’ and girls’ lacrosse. The rules were featured in user-friendly guidebooks, making them easy to absorb by coaches, players, parents and officials.

JUNE 2011

US Lacrosse entered into a longterm partnership with the Tewaaraton Foundation that includes sponsorship of the Native American scholarship program for high school students.

JANUARY 2012

A record 102 programs received full equipment grants through US Lacrosse. The programs were spread across 31 states.

JULY 2014

US Lacrosse hosted the men’s world championship in Denver, featuring a then-record 38 nations. It was the first major lacrosse championship in the U.S. held away from the Eastern Seaboard and Uganda became the first nation from Africa to compete in a world championship, signifying the growth of the sport. ESPN carried more than 40 games on its networks, culminating with Canada defeating the USA 8-5 in the championship game.

MAY 2015

ASTM approved the first-ever performance standard for women’s lacrosse headgear, a key milestone in a multi-year effort to improve player safety. Product specifically designed for women’s lacrosse hit the market the next fall.

SEPTEMBER 2016

US Lacrosse held a public grand opening for its new headquarters in Sparks, Md. The facility, the result of a $15 million capital campaign funded entirely by private donors, features expanded office and meeting space, the Crum Family Education and Training Center, the Richie Moran Hall of Fame Gallery and Tierney Field, home to the U.S. national team program.

OCTOBER 2016

Tierney Field hosted its first college lacrosse game as the University of Denver (Bill Tierney’s current team) and Princeton University (his former team) held a fall exhibition game.

JANUARY 2017

NOCSAE officially finalized the world’s first performance standard for chest protection from commotio cordis. US Lacrosse was an active contributor to the process and became the first sports governing body to require the protective equipment to improve player safety.

JULY 2017

The U.S. women’s team swept the championships at the World Cup in England and The World Games in Poland. It marked the first time lacrosse had been included in the multi-sport World Games.

JULY 2018

The Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) held its first championship game at US Lacrosse headquarters. The New England Command beat the Baltimore Brave 12-11 in the first nationally-televised game (ESPNU) from the facility, which would go on to host Athletes Unlimited’s women’s lacrosse season in 2022. Brave midfielder Marie McCool was named the inaugural WPLL MVP.

JULY 2020

US Lacrosse issued a comprehensive list of guidelines to help lacrosse programs safely return to the field in measured steps during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

MAY 2021

US Lacrosse is renamed and rebranded to USA Lacrosse. The organization announced its continued commitment to putting the player first, aligning all of its properties, including the national teams, under one umbrella, while strengthening the value for members, donors and corporate partners.

JULY 2022

The USA downed Canada 11-8 to win the World Lacrosse women’s championship in Towson, Md., becoming the first nation to win the women’s world title on home soil. More than 100 games appeared on ESPN networks around the world.

Looking back on the last 25 years — and looking forward to what milestones await.

Help new players discover the joy of lacrosse.

Our mission, our vision and our shared passion.

Enjoy exclusive offerings from USA Lacrosse.

What we’ve been up to lately.