(Rochester, NY)… This summer, the National Collegiate Box Series (NCBS) National Championship is moving to Frank Ritter Arena in Rochester, NY. The world's best college box lacrosse players will converge on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) from Aug. 6-9 to battle for the prestigious NCBS Cup.
"From Denver University's Trevor Baptiste to Jack Hannah and now Notre Dame's Jake Taylor, the NCBS is the proving ground for tomorrow's lacrosse stars," said USBOXLA founder and president Shaydon Santos. "We are thrilled to finally bring this event to Rochester, NY, the campus of RIT, and their historic lacrosse program. Our goal is to make the NCBS Championship Series as accessible as possible for American collegiate players who cannot deny the benefits and thrill of elite-level box lacrosse."
Rochester is the home of two NCBS teams, the Hawkeyes and Armory, who play in the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL). The UCBLL also included Buffalo-based teams in the Buffaloes and Rapids. In 2024, the Hawkeyes won the national championship, earning a thrilling 14-13 overtime victory in Utica, NY.
This year's event will feature teams from collegiate box lacrosse leagues from Colorado (CCBLL), Connecticut (CTCBLL), Ohio (OCBLL), Upstate New York (UCBLL), California (CACBLL), Philadelphia (GPCBLL), Kentucky (KCBLL), and the DMV (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia area).
In 2025, the National Championship will be played in the 2,100-seat Ritter Arena, the former home to the RIT men's and women's hockey teams. The historic building has hosted five NCAA championships, most recently the women's Division III final in 2010-11. In the summer of 2024, synthetic turf was installed, and the facility was transformed into a new space for athletics. All the 2025 NCBS National Championship games will be live-streamed once again on Scorebreak at (https://app.scorebreak.io/federation/17/main).
Ritter Arena is on the campus of RIT, home to one of the premier lacrosse programs in the country. The RIT Tigers men's lacrosse team has won two national titles, made 16 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and advanced to five championship games under head coach and former Knighthawks Jake Coon (head coach) and Shawn Wilkins (assistant coach).
"We are really excited to be hosting the collegiate box championships this coming year in Ritter Arena at RIT," said Coon. "The box game has had such a huge influence and impact on so many of our players, both in youth and throughout high school. It is wonderful to see them carrying it on with the collegiate box league and continuing to grow their skill set."
RIT has produced over a dozen NLL players, including Rochester Knighthawks Brad Gillies and Taylor Jensen, and former Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League standout and current Las Vegas Desert Dog Luke Pilcher. Current RIT Tigers Liam Wheeler, Jackson McEnerney, Ian Dinga, Nate Senez, Cade Ratliff-Kailbourne, Clifford Gaston, and Sam Bennett have all played in the UCBLL.
Interested playewrs may Join the NCBS Player Pool Here
About the National Collegiate Box Series
The National Collegiate Box Series (NCBS) was established by the US Box Lacrosse Association (USBOXLA) in 2018. The highly skilled series provides American collegiate players an opportunity to improve their overall lacrosse skillset through box lacrosse, compete for a national championship, and increase their chances of one day playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). First formed in 2017, the Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (CCBLL) predates the formation of the NCBS, joining the series when it was officially launched a year later. In 2018, the Ohio Collegiate Box Lacrosse League was established with teams based in Columbus and Cleveland. In 2019, the OCBLL’s Rivermen won the inaugural NCBS National Championship, beating the CCBLL’s Fighting Bison two games to one at the 2019 USBOXLA Nationals. The NCBS resumed in 2021, after COVID, with the three new leagues participating in the Nationals: the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL), Connecticut Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (CTCBLL) and the California Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (CACBLL). In 2021, the NCBS National Champions were the CACBLL Royals from San Diego. In 2022, the NCBS welcomed the Mid Atlantic Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (MACBLL). In both 2022 and 2023, the CACBLL Royals won the NCBS Championship. In 2024, the UCBLL’s Hawkeyes captured their first title.
