I’ve been doing a little poking around social media in the last few days, trying to ascertain where and when the next season of Next Collegiate Lacrosse, the Sixes league which was originally planned for club teams at historically-black colleges and universities, would be taking place.
I have seen a handful of pictures showing some players with updated teamwear, but I don’t yet see a 2025 schedule.
Last year’s third season of men’s NCL had nine teams — Bowie State, Copppin State, Delaware State, Howard, Lincoln, Morgan State, Norfolk State, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, and the University of South Carolina.
On the women’s side, the teams playing their inaugural season last spring included Bowie State, Morgan State, Coppin State, Norfolk State, Hampton, and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Now, we did see something interesting in the world of NCL team members a few weeks ago when the Premier Lacrosse League and Women’s Lacrosse League played their championship series in Springfield, Va. On the men’s side, it was Team Legacy and Team Excellence; on the women’s side, it was Team Magic vs. Team Royalty.
Interestingly, the Magic vs. Royalty match differed greatly from the women’s NCL gameplay in that the players did not wear helmets or pads, and used with the shallower conventional women’s stick.
It will be interesting to see what will happen with the league — especially the women’s league — this spring.