In STACK’s college lacrosse rankings, we take you beyond wins and losses to reveal what truly makes a lacrosse program great. To come up with our list of the top 10 lacrosse programs, we consider a variety of factors—not just a team’s record, but also academic rankings from U.S. News & World Report and Academic Progress Rates. The result is a list of schools we’d recommend to any lacrosse player seeking an elite athletic program and a strong education. Learn more about how we arrived at our rankings through the Elite 50 guide, and browse through STACK’s rankings for 20 other sports at the bottom of this page.

STACK’s Top Lacrosse Schools

College	Score	’12 U.S. News Rank	APR [Out of 1,000]	National Ranking ’11/’10/’09	Games Above .500 [Past 3 Seasons]	STACK Factor
1. Duke	100	10	997	3/1/3	31	156
2. Virginia	94.51	25	976	1/2/4	34	132
3. Notre Dame	81.19	19	998	8/3/9	25	108
4. Syracuse	78.67	62	964	5/5/1	38	48
5. Cornell	76.04	15	990	6/4/2	26	24
6. North Carolina	74.80	29	982	10/6/6	20	144
7. Maryland	70.60	55	983	2/7/8	23	84
8. Johns Hopkins	54.03	13	983	7/17/7	14	12
9. Princeton	48.94	1	990	NR/10/5	12	36
10. Villanova	46.92	1*	1000	11/19/18	16	48

 
 

 
Inside the Rankings: Notre Dame Lacrosse
Tradition is a key driver of Notre Dame’s lacrosse program. The Fighting Irish have made it to the NCAA tournament 16 times in the past 22 years, appearing in the Final Four twice and, in 2010, defeated several higher-ranked opponents before losing to Duke in the championship game. The program has also spawned numerous All-Americans.
At the start of the 1996 season, team member Sean Meehan began leading the Irish onto the field before every game while playing “Scotland the Brave” on the bagpipes. This tradition has been passed down to other standout players, including faceoff specialist Chad DeBolt, Daniel Hickey, goalie Colt Power and USILA All-American Regis McDermott.
Reflecting on how he received the honor, McDermott said, “My dad played in bagpipe bands my whole life, so I’ve always been around them. When Dan Hickey was graduating, no one else stepped up, so it was my choice.” To keep the tradition alive, McDermott practiced every day throughout the fall of his sophomore year. Now many players vie for the privilege.
Check out the rest of STACK’s college rankings:

Football	Softball	Men’s Swimming	Men’s Cross Country
Volleyball	Women’s Track	Women’s Swimming	Men’s Golf
Men’s Basketball	Men’s Track	Hockey	Women’s Golf
Women’s Basketball	Men’s Soccer	Wrestling	Men’s Tennis
Baseball	Women’s Soccer	Women’s Cross Country	Women’s Tennis