Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association

| color = #000000

| font_color = white

| title = Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association

| logo = CCLAlogosm.png

| logo_size = 90px

| founded = 1972

| folded = 2018

| conference = Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association

| teams = 10

| sports = College lacrosse

| region = Midwest and Great Lakes

| commissioner = Sean Buzzard

| website = http://mcla.us/CCLA/

| map_size = 250

}}

The Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) was a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The CCLA incorporates teams in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. On August 8, 2018, the conference commissioners of the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association and the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League announced they would merge the conferences to form the Continental Lacrosse Conference.

History

The Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association was founded in 1972 as the Big Ten Lacrosse League. In 1999 the Big Ten Lacrosse League began accepting members outside of Big Ten schools. The CCLA is one of the original MCLA conferences and at one point included schools across the Midwestern United States. In 2002, schools from the southwestern portion of the conference left to form the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference.{{cite web|work=CCLA|url=http://mcla.us/CCLA/about-CCLA/|title=About the CCLA|accessdate=July 31, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220045747/http://mcla.us/CCLA/about-CCLA/|archivedate=December 20, 2010}} The current CCLA includes 10 teams split into two Divisions with the top programs and larger schools in Division I and smaller schools and programs in Division II.

Michigan won three straight MCLA DI Champions in 2008, 2009, and 2010 while the program was a member of the CCLA.{{cite web|work=NCAA|url=https://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2011/May/Michigan+adds+mens+and+womens+lacrosse|title=Michigan adds men’s and women’s lacrosse|date=May 27, 2011|accessdate=May 31, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531115651/http://ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2011/May/Michigan+adds+mens+and+womens+lacrosse|archive-date=May 31, 2011|url-status=dead}} In 2011 the university announced a move to the NCAA Division I level, ending the Wolverines long run of consecutive CCLA conference championships at 11.

At the Division II level the CCLA has been represented in the MCLA DII Championship in 2008 when Grand Valley State lost 17–10 to Westminster College{{cite news|last=Staff|publisher=KSL-FM|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=294&sid=3332608|title=Westminster College Men's Lacrosse Wins MCLA Championship|date=May 17, 2008|accessdate=July 31, 2010}} and in 2009 Dayton lost to the University of St. Thomas 11-16.{{cite web|work=University of Dayton|url=http://campus.udayton.edu/~mlc/alumni.html#|title=2009 CCLA Champions Earn National #1 Seed|date=May 3, 2009|accessdate=July 31, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020114941/http://campus.udayton.edu/~mlc/alumni.html|archive-date=October 20, 2009|url-status=dead}} In the 2011 MCLA Division II Championship Davenport defeated St. Thomas 14-9.{{cite news|last=Hanson|first=Tim|work=MLive.com|url=http://blog.mlive.com/panther_trax/2011/05/season_in_review_davenport_lac.html|title=Davenport Lacrosse Wins MCLA National Championship|date=May 31, 2011|accessdate=May 31, 2011}}

Division I

Seven institutions make up the CCLA Division I. All of the CCLA DI members are members of NCAA Division I except Davenport University. Currently the CCLA DI league includes two teams from the Mid-American Conference, two teams from Big Ten Conference, one team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, one team from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and one team from the Horizon League.

class="wikitable"

!Institution

!Location

!Founded

!Affiliation

!Undergraduates

!Team Nickname

!Primary conference

University of Minnesota

|Minneapolis, Minnesota

|1851

|Public