The Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (WILA) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 (NCAA) Division II lacrosse-only college

College lacrosse

College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...

 athletic conference

Athletic conference

An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other at the professional, collegiate, or high school level. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels...

 composed of schools located in the Western United States

Western United States

.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...

. All schools are members of other conferences in other sports. WILA was formed at the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year in order to name a champion (which will not involve a tournament), players of the week, and an all-league team at the end of the season. With no automatic qualifiers (AQ) currently in NCAA Division II men's lacrosse, conferences play a different role than in Division III.

The WILA is a loose confederation that not only assures games for its members, but also hopes to act as a catalyst for other NCAA Division II institutions looking to make a move to varsity lacrosse and eyeing stability. "It's what you need to do in non-traditional areas," said Notre Dame de Namur men's lacrosse coach Steve Dini. The WILA schedule features home-and-home contests with all schools. The 2010-11 season included Adams State, Fort Lewis, Mesa State and Regis competing in women's lacrosse, while Adams State, Dominican, Grand Canyon, Mesa State and Notre Dame de Namur competed in men's lacrosse.

Lindenwood University

Lindenwood University

Lindenwood University, often referred to as Lindenwood or LU, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Saint Charles, Missouri, United States...

 joins the conference beginning with the 2011-12 academic year with both men's and women's teams. They replace Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University is a for-profit Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Grand Canyon Education . GCU was founded in 1949 as a non-profit liberal arts college. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. purchased Grand Canyon University in February 2004...

, which left the conference at the end of the 2010-11 season, announcing that their program going forward will compete at the club level in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association

Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association

The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association is a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United States and Canada...

.

Member schools

Institution	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Primary Conference
Adams State College Adams State College Adams State College is a small state-supported liberal arts college in Alamosa, Colorado, U.S., in the San Luis Valley.-History:Adams State was founded in 1921 as a teacher's college but now offers a variety of programs including masters degrees in many fields...	Alamosa, Colorado Alamosa, Colorado The city of Alamosa is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 8,682 in 2005...	Public Public university A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...	3,500	Grizzlies	Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
Dominican University of California Dominican University of California Dominican University of California is a four year, accredited, private, Catholic-heritage, and co-educational institution located in San Rafael, California. Founded in 1890 as Dominican College, Dominican is one of the oldest universities in California. The U.S. News and World Report ranks... *	San Rafael, California San Rafael, California San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...	Private Private university Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...  (Catholic Catholic The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"... )	2,125	Penguins	Pacific West Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II...
Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado.-History:Military FortThe original site of Fort Lewis College began southwest of its present location back in 1880. Set up originally as a Military Fort for the 22nd Regimental Infantry which occupied the land from... **	Durango, Colorado Durango, Colorado The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...	Public	3,685	Skyhawks	Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
Lindenwood University Lindenwood University Lindenwood University, often referred to as Lindenwood or LU, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Saint Charles, Missouri, United States...	Saint Charles, Missouri Saint Charles, Missouri St. Charles is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 65,794, making St. Charles the 2nd largest city in St. Charles County. It lies just to the northwest of St. Louis, Missouri on the Missouri River, and, for a time,...	Private (Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S... )	17,351	Lions Lindenwood Lions The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lions are currently in the process of transitioning from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to the NCAA Division II...	Mid-America
Mesa State College Mesa State College Colorado Mesa University is a public comprehensive university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university has its primary campus in central Grand Junction. The university also has other campuses as well; Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction...	Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction, Colorado The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...	Public	7,042	Mavericks	Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
Notre Dame de Namur University Notre Dame de Namur University Notre Dame de Namur University — formerly the College of Notre Dame — is a private, Catholic University located in Belmont, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Notre Dame de Namur University is an accredited university in San Mateo County, and the fifth-oldest university in California... *	Belmont, California Belmont, California Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...	Private (Catholic)	1,600	Argos	Pacific West Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II...
Regis University Regis University Regis University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic, Jesuit university in the United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities... **	Denver, Colorado Denver, Colorado The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...	Private (Catholic)	7,732	Rangers	Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...

* Men's team only.

** Women's team only.

Former members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Years	New Conference
Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University is a for-profit Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Grand Canyon Education . GCU was founded in 1949 as a non-profit liberal arts college. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. purchased Grand Canyon University in February 2004... *	Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...	Antelopes Grand Canyon Antelopes The athletic teams of Grand Canyon University are known as the Antelopes . Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Pacific West Conference...	2010-11	TBD (MCLA Club Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association is a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United States and Canada... )

* Men's team only.

** Women's team only.

Champions

Men's

• 2010-11: Notre Dame de Namur

Women's

• 2010-11: Regis

External links

• Official site