The NCAA has sponsored women’s lacrosse championships since the early 1980s. For a number of seasons between 1985 and 2001, multiple NCAA crowns were handed out at the same site.
That is, until 2002, when Loyola hosted the Division I semifinals and final, West Chester hosted Division II, and Rowan hosted Division III. That year was the second season that Division II hosted its own championship tournament; for a time, one Division II school would be part of the Division I bracket, but the onset of a discrete D-2 tourney sent the three divisions on their own separate paths.
The three divisions cross-crossed the length and breadth of lacrosse country. Florida, Indiana, Long Island, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, and southern Virginia hosted Final Fours for the last two and a half decades. Each Final Four site had a story, expanding exposure throughout emerging areas of the country and highlighting places where the game was gaining a foothold.
But the lords of the NCAA, prodded somewhat by the recent IWLCA “white paper” on expanding and improving the sport in the future, seem to have fired its own shot in support of it by announcing recently that the 2026 Division II and III Final Fours would be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
What I find interesting about this championship is its schedule. The national semifinals and finals are to be held over the course of four days. The Division II semifinals are scheduled for the Thursday before Memorial Day as a doubleheader. The Division III semifinals are being held the next day. Saturday, the Division II final is being contested as a standalone game, while the Division III final is being held on Sunday.
Time was, the Division I and III championship weekend would either be a two-day or a three-day show. Depending on the year, you could buy one ticket and get four games, as the Division III and Division I semifinals would be all held at the same site on the same day. The finals would be the next day. The format also sometimes called for three doubleheaders — Division I semifinals on Friday, Division III semifinals on Saturday, and both championships on a Sunday. The last time that happened was 2001.
But having the semifinals and finals dedicated to one division on a single day does give me pause. Could the three-division festival start with doubleheaders on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with the championships being held on Saturday, Sunday, and Memorial Day Monday?
It makes too much sense.
But it’s something to think about.