While serving as the sport's national governing body, US 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. The NCAA and NFHS activity in lacrosse is almost exclusively focused on rules, with the additional NCAA focus on staging a post-season tournament. US Lacrosse is essentially responsible for everything else related to the development of and service to the sport as its NGB.
The NCAA governs college post-season play and writes rules for college post season play…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 US 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. US 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.
US Lacrosse stimulates and coordinates collaboration between the NCAA, NFHS and US Lacrosse with respect to a number of areas, including rules that focus on player safety. For instance, US Lacrosse is now leading initiatives focused on establishing consistency across levels of play with respect to rules prohibiting contact involving the head and related officiating mechanics. Our Sports Science and Safety Committee is leading efforts in many areas, including lacrosse injury surveillance and prevention.
US Lacrosse is the only national organization that establishes recommended rules and policy for youth play.
 The NCAA controls the sport’s top properties -- the NCAA championships. However, the health of NCAA lacrosse and, indeed, the entire sport, relies on the health and growth of the sport at lower levels of play, and US Lacrosse is essentially responsible for funding and developing sport-specific programs and resources that continue to feed the sport at lower levels…for the hundreds of thousands who play, coach and officiate below the NCAA level.
The funding and management of essential functions that define the healthy development and expansion of lacrosse are largely the responsibility of US Lacrosse. For example, although NCAA lacrosse tournaments contribute significantly to the sport’s national visibility, the growing profits generated by those events are split between the NCAA and the host facility…not earmarked for lacrosse development initiatives.
• More About US Lacrosse
• Rules of the Game Index Page
|