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College Lacrosse

Participation & Growth

Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in America, at the collegiate level. Across both men’s and women’s collegiate athletic programs, lacrosse experienced greater growth in the number of teams than any other sport. The number of women’s lacrosse teams more than doubled between 2003 and 2023, rising from 256 to 541 teams. Men’s lacrosse experienced nearly a 70% increase during the same 20-year period, increasing from 236 to 398 teams. The growth across all three NCAA lacrosse Divisions has increased the scholarships available to students seeking to continue playing lacrosse at the collegiate level.

Lacrosse is one of the least diverse sports in America. In 2021, it was reported that ethnically white lacrosse players make up 72.8% of the total lacrosse population, followed by 8.9% Black or African American and 7.5% Latino or Hispanic players. At the collegiate level specifically, white women’s lacrosse players make up 84% of the population and 85% of men’s lacrosse players population. 7% of men’s lacrosse head coaches and 10% of women’s lacrosse head coaches are non-white ethnicities across all divisions.

Scholarships

According to NCAA, 51% of student athletes receive athletic aid in some capacity. The NCAA limits the number of scholarships that can be awarded to any athletic team. Not every team is fully-funded, and for teams that are not fully funded, there are even fewer scholarships that can be awarded. The funding per team is not public information, so players must communicate with coaches about whether they are eligible and will be awarded an athletic scholarship Ivy league schools do not provide athletic scholarships in any capacity.

Lacrosse is an equivalency scholarship sport, meaning that coaches pool the scholarship money they are provided and award it to both new recruits and current players. This model is different than a headcount sport, where every member of the team is guaranteed a full-ride scholarship. Combining an academic merit scholarship with athletic performance scholarships is how students have the opportunity to achieve a full ride in equivalency sports.