ARNOLD, Md. – Due to the recent cancellation of several women's lacrosse programs, the National Junior College Athletic Association has decided to discontinue women's lacrosse as an NJCAA sponsored sport effective for the 2024-25 academic year. With this decision, Anne Arundel Community College will no longer offer women's lacrosse as a varsity sport.
"It's never easy to discontinue a sport especially when as an association we strive to provide opportunities at the two-year level across the board," said Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President and CEO. "However, we haven't seen a great deal of participation in this particular sport and as a result did what we think is best. Women's Lacrosse will continue to grow at the collegiate level and one day we hope to be able to add it back as we've done with other sports in the past."
Over the last three seasons, the opportunity for meaningful competition has shrunk to fewer and fewer games, leaving AACC to face only the same three NJCAA opponents in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons. In 2024, the NJCAA changed the national championship to a national invitational tournament due to the low number of competing teams association-wide.
AACC had nine total contests on the schedule in 2024, facing three NJCAA opponents and one NCAA Division III team. This is in stark contrast to the 2018 season when AACC played 19 regular season games plus a four-game postseason. The Riverhawks faced 14 different opponents that year, including nine NJCAA schools.
"While the NJCAA's recent announcement of the discontinuation of women's lacrosse is unfortunate, it is not unexpected," said Athletic Director Duane Herr '07. "Due to the dramatic increase in the number of programs at the four-year level compounded by the increased roster sizes at those institutions, we have witnessed a reduction in the number of viable programs at the junior college level for several years."
"We are fortunate, however, for the hundreds of student-athletes we have meaningfully engaged in the sport and transferred to the four-year level for academics and, in many cases, additional years of athletic participation," added Herr. "I am incredibly grateful and indebted to head coach Jim Griffiths with whom I've had the opportunity to work with for my entire career. AACC has been privileged to have one of the most successful head coaches in junior college lacrosse, known not only for his teams' competitive abilities, but also recognized for their academic achievements."
Since women's lacrosse was first recognized as a championship sport by the NJCAA in 2004, AACC won three national championships (2006, 2007, 2023) and made 15 appearances in the national tournament – the most of any program.
"It's disappointing that the NJCAA is no longer sponsoring women's lacrosse, however, with the number of teams remaining, it was inevitable," said Head Coach Jim Griffiths. "I am extremely grateful and thankful to all the players, coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic staff that contributed to the success of the program. Their commitment and belief in our goals were the reason for the successes that we enjoyed, both individually and as a team, and academically as well as athletically. In addition, the success of the players after AACC speaks for itself. I could not be prouder of being a part of the women's lacrosse program at AACC since 2004."
In 21 seasons, including two during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Riverhawks produced 58 NJCAA All-Americans, with nine two-time recipients. AACC had five NJCAA Tournament MVPs, including three on offense and two on defense. AACC also had the 2018 NJCAA Betty Jo Graber award winner, presented to the NJCAA female student-athlete of the year, in Sofia Michael.
AACC closes its program with an overall record of 215-68, all recorded under Griffiths. In addition to the program's success on the field, his squads have performed equally as impressively in the classroom with six NJCAA Academic Team of the Year awards, given to the women's lacrosse team with the highest GPA in the nation.
"We will work to place our current student-athletes who wish to continue to play women's lacrosse at other institutions," added Herr. "We are also exploring the addition of other women's athletic programs offered by the NJCAA to complement our current offerings and replace the opportunities lost from women's lacrosse."