Despite the advent of a rival professional women’s league, the United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX) is forging forward under new leadership.

Co-founded in 2016 by Digit Murphy and Aronda Kirby, the UWLX features teams based in four major sports markets: the Baltimore Ride, the Boston Storm, the Long Island Sound and the Philadelphia Force. The league wrapped up its second season in early August. Long Island capped an undefeated campaign with its second straight UWLX title.

On Sept. 2, 3d Lacrosse, a leader in the lacrosse services industry, announced an agreement with UWLX to take over all aspects of the league’s operations. STX Lacrosse and Nike also remain invested in growing the league’s presence and fan base.

“We are thrilled to join forces with the United Women’s Lacrosse League’s management to take the product to the next level and continue the original mission of creating opportunities for women,” 3d Lacrosse CEO Greg Waldbaum said in a press release.

3d Lacrosse will provide training and development opportunities for players and coaches in conjunction with UWLX games, while also creating opportunities for the league’s players to coach and introduce the game to youth players in 14 markets where 3d Lacrosse operates clubs and deploys programming.

“The opportunity to combine the organizational mission and athlete influence of UWLX with the expansive reach of the 3d Lacrosse development platform is unmatched,” said Ed Saunders, director of marketing for STX Lacrosse.

Murphy, who recently was named the general manager and coach of a professional women’s ice hockey team in China, said establishing an operating partner was an important step in making the UWLX more sustainable.

“We proved there’s a market for it and it reinforces the importance of women’s sports,” she said. “We blazed a trail.”

Long Island captain Hillary Fratzke said she was grateful for the UWLX when it debuted in 2016. She starred at Towson but then went six years before she could take the field again as a player in a team setting. Fratzke said she’s encouraged by the league’s progress in its first two years.

“I also don’t think anyone expected it to be run perfectly and I knew people weren’t in it for the money,” said Fratzke, who also is the head coach at William and Mary. “But I know the financial support and a strong organizational structure will make the players, coaches and fans feel valued for the time and energy they put forth to give the UWLX a sustainable future.”

Within a week of announcing it had taken over UWLX operations, 3d Lacrosse appointed a new board of commissioners and Kristan Ash as general manager for the league. Joining Murphy and Waldbaum on the board are Gary Gait, Carol Rainson-Rose and Regy Thorpe.

Gait, the head coach at Syracuse, was the interim commissioner this year after Michele DeJuliis left to start the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League, which will debut its product with an exhibition Sept. 30 at US Lacrosse in Sparks, Md. The UWLX appears undeterred.

“I’ve supported professional women’s lacrosse from the beginning and got involved with the UWLX last year hoping to make a positive impact,” Gait said. “I’m excited to continue on next season and look forward to working with a group of energized people to bring the women’s game to more fans and to create an excellent experience for the players and the coaches.”

Ash, a longtime coach in the Mid-Atlantic region, and Thorpe, Gait’s assistant at Syracuse and head coach of the U.S. men’s indoor team, also works for 3d Lacrosse as senior manager of the Mid-Atlantic division and chief lacrosse officer, respectively. Rainson-Rose, CEO of Long Island Elite and founder of the Yellow Jackets club program, is also the general manager of the Sound, who are coached by Thorpe.

“We have really brought some outstanding lacrosse minds together to lead the UWLX into the future,” Ash said. “Our board of commissioners features some of the best women’s coaches in the world, and that will be really powerful moving forward.”

3d Lacrosse also announced that Don Zimmerman, who spent nearly four decades as a Division I men’s lacrosse coach and will be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame this Saturday, will coach the Baltimore Ride.

The UWLX will hold a supplemental draft Sept. 30 and a collegiate draft in early winter.