Great Western Lacrosse League facts for kids
The Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) was a sports group where different colleges and universities played men's lacrosse against each other. It existed for 25 years, from 1984 to 2009.
Great Western Lacrosse League
What Was the GWLL?
The Great Western Lacrosse League, often called the GWLL, was a special group of schools that competed in men's lacrosse. A "league" or "conference" is like a club where teams play against each other regularly. This helped them have exciting games and decide who was the best team in their group.
Why Did the League End?
The GWLL stopped existing in 2009. This happened because one of its main teams, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, decided to leave. Notre Dame's main sports conference, the Big East, started its own men's lacrosse league. So, Notre Dame joined their main conference's new league. After Notre Dame left, the other five teams in the GWLL joined a different lacrosse league called ECAC Lacrosse. This meant the GWLL no longer had enough teams to continue.
Teams That Played
Over the years, several universities were part of the Great Western Lacrosse League. The teams that were members when the league ended were:
- United States Air Force Academy ("Air Force")
- Bellarmine University
- University of Denver
- University of Notre Dame
- Ohio State University
- Quinnipiac University
