HANOVER, Md. — On Sunday, April 10, the Next Collegiate League (NCL), the first-ever HBCU lacrosse league, launches at 2 p.m. Eastern with the intent of revolutionizing the sport of lacrosse.

The Next Collegiate League (NCL) is set to begin this Sunday at Kehoe Track at Ludwig Field in College Park, Maryland. The NCL will make history when, for the first time, six HBCUs will compete in lacrosse league action.

The six founding members for the NCL include: Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Lincoln University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Morgan State University.

The inaugural season of the NCL will feature Olympic-style lacrosse, a faster-paced, higher-scoring version of the sport with the aspiration to have players from this league play in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“The Next Collegiate League will innovate and elevate the sport of lacrosse to make it more prominent and more accessible on campuses, especially for Communities of Color, and throughout the country,” said André Gudger, Owner/CEO of Next Level Sports & Entertainment. “We are providing a platform for Olympic-style lacrosse for students from Historically Black Colleges & Universities that has global reach, and it will give athletes an opportunity to rapidly expand the sport and compete at all levels.”

The schedule for the NCL, which will have games primarily played on Sundays, is as follows: April 10, April 17, April 21, April 30 and May 1. All games are set to be played at Kehoe Track at Ludwig Field at the University of Maryland, College Park, with the exception of Thursday April 21, which will be played at USA Lacrosse in Sparks, Md.