Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League

The Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League (PCLL) is a conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The PCLL primarily incorporates teams in New England and New York and is divided into two divisions, Division 1 and Division 2 (formerly A & B).[1] The conference is governed by a five-member executive board and the teams that win the conference's divisional playoffs receive bids to the MCLA National Tournament. Before the 2019 season, the conference merged with the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) to form the Continental Lacrosse Conference (CLC).

Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League
PCLL
AssociationMCLA
Members15
Sports fielded
RegionNew England
HeadquartersDurham, New Hampshire
CommissionerDan Morris
Websitehttp://mcla.us/PCLL/

History

In the spring of 1984, players from 15 colleges competed in a club All-Star game held at Dean College. It was during this event that the idea of hosting a New England college club championship germinated.[2] Over the next year meetings between the club lacrosse programs in the New England region were held and by the spring of 1986, four teams gathered at Dean College for a single elimination tournament.[2] In the semi-final match-ups, Boston University defeated the University of Connecticut, 6-5, and Dean College defeated the University of Rhode Island, 14-2. That same day, Dean College became the first "New England Club Champion", defeating Boston University by a score of 6-5.

After two years of successful tournaments, six teams petitioned the US Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) for sanctioning of the league. In 1987, Assumption College, Bentley College, Clark University, Dean College, Roger Williams University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute founded the Patriot Lacrosse League.[2] The league's original purpose was to provide structure and legitimacy to the member teams, hoping their institutions would elevate them to varsity status. Five of those six founding Patriot League members were able to obtain their goal.[2] During the spring of 1988, the first Patriot League Championship was played. Dean College defeated Bentley 18-9.[2]

The following year, although Roger Williams departed, the University of Rhode Island and Bryant College were accepted into the league.[2] In the spring of 1990, University of Connecticut and Northeastern University joined the league and at the USILA's request to avoid confusion with the NCAA's Patriot League, the league changed its name to the Pioneer Lacrosse League.[2]

The Pioneer operated along the same lines for the next several seasons. Teams left the league to compete at the varsity level in the NCAA while new teams joined to fill their place. In the fall of 2000, the league underwent a major change by officially joining what was then known as the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates (USLIA).[2] That same year, the University of New Hampshire defeated Boston University to earn the league's first automatic qualification and represent the PCLL at its first national tournament as members of the USLIA. In St. Louis, Missouri.[2] In 2006 the USLIA became the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA).

Past PCLL Champions
Year League Champion
New England Champion
1986 Dean College
1987 Boston University
Patriot Lacrosse League
1988 Dean College
Pioneer Lacrosse League (Independent)
1992 University of Rhode Island
1993 University of Rhode Island
1994 Dean College
1995 Dean College
1999 Coast Guard Academy
Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League (MCLA conference)
Year Div. League
Champion		 Runner-Up Score Nat'l Tournament
Location		 Nat'l Tournament Results
2000 N/A University of New Hampshire Boston University unknown St. Louis, Missouri lost in first round to
Brigham Young University
2001 N/A University of Rhode Island University of New Hampshire unknown St. Louis, Missouri unknown
2002 N/A University of New Hampshire University of Connecticut 10-4 St. Louis, Missouri lost in first round to
Sonoma State University
2003 N/A Boston College University of New Hampshire 11-10 St. Louis, Missouri lost in first round to
Colorado State University
2004 A1 Boston College University of New Hampshire 14-8 St. Louis, Missouri lost in first round to
University of Oregon
2005 A Northeastern University University of New Hampshire 15-12 Blaine, Minnesota lost in first round to
University of Michigan
2005 B United States Coast Guard Academy Framingham State College 10-6 Blaine, Minnesota N/A2
2006 A Northeastern University University of New Hampshire 8-4 Plano, Texas unknown
2006 B Salem State College University of New Haven 10-8 Plano, Texas Did not attend
2007 A3 Northeastern University Boston College 8-4 Plano, Texas lost in second round to
UC Santa Barbara
2007 B Salem State College Framingham State College 15-10 Plano, Texas Did not attend
2008 A Boston College Boston University 12-4 Irving, Texas lost in first round to
Brigham Young University
2008 B Central Connecticut Coast Guard Academy 5-4 Irving, Texas unknown
2009 1 Boston College Northeastern University 9-8 Denver, Colorado lost in first round to
University of Minnesota Duluth
2009 2 Stonehill College Briarcliffe College 4-3 Denver, Colorado lost in first round to
University of Northern Colorado
2010 1 Boston College New Hampshire 10-9 Denver, Colorado lost in first round to
Colorado State
2010 2 Briarcliffe College Stonehill College 14-6 Denver, Colorado lost in first round to
Utah Valley
2011 1 SUNY-Buffalo Boston College 5-3 Denver, Colorado lost in first round to
Arizona State
2011 2 Briarcliffe College Coast Guard Academy 13-6 Denver, Colorado lost in second round to
Davenport
2012 1 SUNY-Buffalo Northeastern University 9-6 Greenville, South Carolina lost in second round to
Arizona State
2013 1 Boston College University of Connecticut 10-4 Greenville, South Carolina lost in first round to
Sonoma State University
2014 1 Northeastern University University of New Hampshire 12-5 Irvine, California lost in first round to
Chapman University
2016 1 Boston College University of Connecticut 14-5- Irvine, California lost in second round to
Grand Canyon University
2016 2 Bridgewater State Southern Connecticut State University 15-7 Irvine, California lost in first round to eventual champion
University of St. Thomas
2017 1 Northeastern University University of New Hampshire 10-9 Irvine, California lost in first round to eventual champion
Grand Canyon University
2017 2 Bridgewater State Central Connecticut State University 9-7 Irvine, California lost in first round to
Grand Valley State University

1 Division B only included one team (University of New Haven) in 2004 and therefore did not have playoffs.
2 The PCLL did not have enough Division B teams in 2005 to receive an automatic bid to the national tournament. 3 The PCLL(B) did not receive an automatic bid to nationals.

Current Teams

Division 1
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Team Nickname Primary conference
Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 1863 Private/Catholic 14,395 Eagles ACC (Division I)
University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut 1881 Public 20,846 Huskies Big East Conference (Division I)
University of New Hampshire Durham, New Hampshire 1809 Public 20,126 Wildcats America East (Division I)
Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts 1898 Private/Non-sectarian 21,000 Huskies CAA (Division I)
University of Rhode Island Kingston, Rhode Island 1892 Public 19,095 Rams Atlantic 10 (Division I)
SUNY-Buffalo Buffalo, New York 1846 Public 28,601 Bulls MAC (Division I)

Division 2
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Team Nickname Primary conference
University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, Connecticut 1927 Public 2,897 Purple Knights ECC (Division II)
Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, Massachusetts 1840 Public 9,628 Bears MASCAC (Division III)
Central Connecticut State University New Britain, Connecticut 1849 Public 12,233 Blue Devil NEC (Division I)
Framingham State University Framingham, Massachusetts 1839 Public 6,429 Rams MASCAC (Division III)
University of New Haven West Haven, Connecticut 1920 Private/Non-sectarian 5,233 Chargers Northeast Ten (Division II)
Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, Connecticut 1893 Public 12,326 Owls Northeast Ten (Division II)
Stonehill College Easton, Massachusetts 1948 Private/Catholic 2,426 Skyhawks Northeast Ten (Division II)
Westfield State University Westfield, Massachusetts 1838 Public 4,900 Owls MASCAC (Division III)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, Massachusetts 1865 Private/Non-sectarian 4,556 Engineers NEWMAC (Division III)

Former teams

Current Executive Board
  • Commissioner: Dan Morris
  • Vice-Commissioner: William Wezenter
  • Treasurer: Al Lattell
  • Secretary: Jim Morin

References
  1. "About the PCLL". PCLL. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  2. "History of the PCLL". PCLL. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
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