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Women's Lacrosse League

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Not to be confused with United Women's Lacrosse League or Women's Professional Lacrosse League.

Women's Lacrosse League
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2025 Women's Lacrosse League season
A lacrosse stick head in black and yellow, stylized as a wing, and holding a white ball in its mesh.
SportLacrosse sixes
First season2025 (planned)
Organising bodyPremier Lacrosse League
No. of teams4 (planned)
CountryUnited States
BroadcasterESPN

The Women's Lacrosse League (WLL) is a planned professional lacrosse sixes league owned and organized by the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). It is one of two professional lacrosse leagues for women in the United States, alongside Athletes Unlimited's women's lacrosse league. The league is due to commence in 2025, with four clubs based in existing PLL markets. Its matches will be broadcast domestically on ESPN.

History

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Prior to Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse, two attempts at establishing a professional league for traditional women's lacrosse were made – the United Women's Lacrosse League (UWXL), and the Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL).[1] The UWXL was established by United Women's Sports in 2016,[2] and played three seasons before quietly disbanding. Under the leadership of former UWXL Commissioner Michele DeJuliis,[3] the WPLL played two seasons in 2018 and 2019, before its 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States,[4][5] and collapsed as a result.[6][7] A number of players in the WPLL would be offered contracts to play in Athletes Unlimited's non-traditional, individualized league,[7] which commenced play in 2021.

By the 2020s, Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) executives were motivated to take advantage of both a growth in demand for women's sports in the United States, and the timing of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where discretionary lacrosse sixes tournaments will be contested.[1][8][9] The PLL established its "Unleashed" program in 2020, aimed at fostering women's participation in lacrosse through training camps and exhibition games, including the first Unleashed All-Star Game during the 2024 PLL Championship Series.[10][11][12] The establishment of the Women's Lacrosse League was announced by PLL President Paul Rabil on the November 13, 2024 broadcast of Get Up on ESPN.[10][13] United States national team players Lizzie Colson, Ally Mastroianni, and Charlotte North, former Northwestern Wildcats midfielder Izzy Scane, and Athletes Unlimited assistant coach Alex Aust, were also simultaneously unveiled as the league's first five signings.[9][11][14]

Format and rules

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See also: Lacrosse sixes § Rules

The lacrosse sixes format is used for games in the Women's Lacrosse League, which feature six-on-six teams, smaller fields, and shorter time periods than women's lacrosse.[12] The WLL Championship Series takes place concurrently with the annual PLL Championship Series in February. The format of the league's full season is yet to be determined,[15][16] though will avoid conflict with Athletes Unlimited's July–August schedule.[9][11]

Organization

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The Women's Lacrosse League is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Premier Lacrosse League.[17] Courtney Ellis serves as the league's operations director through her role as the PLL's director of women's growth, while Rachel DeCecco serves as its sporting director through her role as the PLL's vice president of lacrosse.[16][17]

Teams

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The Women's Lacrosse League is expected to consist of four clubs, all based in markets with existing PLL clubs, to be unveiled in late 2024.[8][10][15]

Broadcasting

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Women's Lacrosse League games will be broadcast in the United States on ESPN.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kinnear, Matt (November 13, 2024). "Breaking: PLL Launching Women's Lacrosse League in 2025". Inside Lacrosse. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  2. ^ Berkman, Seth (May 30, 2016). "Women's Professional Lacrosse League Begins With a Mission in Mind". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2024. Led by Digit Murphy and Aronda Kirby, the co-founders...
  3. ^ Berri, David (June 4, 2018). "The Women's Professional Lacrosse League Takes Off". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024. Michelle Dejuliis -- the CEO of the WPLL...
  4. ^ Shaw, Sydney (May 1, 2020). "WPLL CEO Explains Season Cancellation". Just Women's Sports. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  5. ^ ILWomen.com Staff (April 14, 2020). "WPLL Cancels 2020 Season Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic". Inside Lacrosse. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  6. ^ "WPLL Shutters as Pro Women's Lax is 'Constantly Fighting for a Presence'". USA Lacrosse Magazine. August 13, 2020. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Griggs, Halley (August 6, 2020). "Women's Professional Lacrosse League Closes, Opportunity Awaits Players in Athletes Unlimited". Inside Lacrosse. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Premier Lacrosse League announces launch of women's league". Reuters. November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Steele, Michele (November 13, 2024). "Premier Lacrosse launching women's league in 2025". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Champion, Brandon (November 13, 2024). "Pro women's lacrosse league coming in 2025 a 'groundbreaking step forward'". MLive.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Former Wildcat Izzy Scane to Compete in New Women's Lacrosse League". Northwestern Athletics. Northwestern University. November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Clinkscales, Jason (November 13, 2024). "Premier Lacrosse League to Launch Women's Division in 2025". Sportico. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Gould, Andrew (November 13, 2024). "ESPN's 'Get Up' Announces Launch Of Women's Lacrosse League". The Spun. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  14. ^ Reardon, Logan (November 13, 2024). "Premier Lacrosse starting new women's league for 2025 ahead of Olympic return". NBC 4 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c Fleming, Margaret (November 13, 2024). "PLL Launches New Women's Lacrosse League With 6-on-6 Format". Front Office Sports. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Brown, Kevin (November 13, 2024). "'Dream As Big as Possible': New Women's Lacrosse League Details, Timeline Emerge". Inside Lacrosse. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Mazzeo, Mike (November 13, 2024). "PLL launches Women's Lacrosse League, will debut in 2025". Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024. The WLL will live as a separate subsidiary of the PLL but be wholly owned by the league [...] The WLL will be run day-to-day on the commercial and operations side by Courtney Ellis, senior director/play operations and women's growth at the PLL, and on the lacrosse side by Rachel DeCecco, VP/lacrosse at the PLL.
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