American Lacrosse Conference facts for kids
The American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) was a group of colleges and universities in the eastern half of the United States that played NCAA Division I women's lacrosse against one another each season. Women's lacrosse was the only sport that this conference ever played—all members were (and still are) in other conferences for other sports. The conference champion earned a spot in the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament.
The ALC was founded in 2001 by seven schools, with play starting in 2002. Nine schools were members at one time or another, but no more than seven played in any season. The conference folded after the 2014 season, mainly because the Big Ten Conference, home to four of the ALC's final seven members, planned to start a women's lacrosse league in the 2015 season.
Members
Nine schools were members of the ALC during its history.
Note that because NCAA women's lacrosse is a spring sport, the year of joining is the year before the first season of play.
| School | Location | Founded | Type (affiliation) |
Nickname | Joined | Left | Current lacrosse conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson College | Davidson, North Carolina | 1837 | Private (Presbyterian) | Wildcats | 2001 | 2006 | Atlantic 10 Conference |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida | 1853 | Public | Gators | 2009 | 2014 | American Athletic Conference |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, Maryland | 1876 | Private (nonsectarian) | Blue Jays | 2001 | 2014 | Big Ten Conference |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 1817 | Public | Wolverines | 2013 | 2014 | Big Ten Conference |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, Illinois | 1851 | Private (nonsectarian) | Wildcats | 2001 | 2014 | Big Ten Conference |
| Ohio University | Athens, Ohio | 1804 | Public | Bobcats | 2001 | 2007 | – (dropped women's lacrosse) |
| Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio | 1870 | Public | Buckeyes | 2001 | 2014 | Big Ten Conference |
| Pennsylvania State University | State College, Pennsylvania | 1855 | Public/private hybrid | Nittany Lions | 2001 | 2014 | Big Ten Conference |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1873 | Private (nonsectarian) | Commodores | 2001 | 2014 | American Athletic Conference |
- Notes
