Norfolk State University’s women’s lacrosse club was up early Sunday honing its skills at a scrimmage.
The NSU lacrosse program is just getting off the ground. It is getting an opportunity for professional exposure this weekend that its coach hopes will open doors for historically Black colleges and universities.
The team is preparing for a trip to Springfield in Northern Virginia to participate in the Premier Lacrosse League’s first HBCU All-Star game.
Coach Richard Linyear said the game presents an opportunity to network with players at other schools and draw eyes to Norfolk State’s program.
“Hopefully it gives us ground to grow,” he said. “Once they see that we're growing in numbers, and we definitely had a huge following at the beginning of the year. Let's see where we can take this. You know, could Norfolk State actually become a NCAA team? Anything's possible.”
The all-star game showcases the Olympic style of lacrosse, also called “sixes.” As the name suggests, six players per team are fielded, unlike traditional field lacrosse with 10. It coincides with the PLL’s Championship Series tournament as well as the debut of the Women’s Lacrosse League.
The game will be the first of the season for Norfolk State’s women, which captain and psychology major Torry Stacey said is exciting and nerve-racking.
“It really is. It’s, like, an important game,” Stacey said. “I’ll be okay once I get on the field.”
Norfolk State is one of eight HBCUs in the all-star game, joined by schools such as Spelman and Morehouse colleges from Atlanta and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Linyear started coaching the men’s club before taking the helm of the women’s club, now in their third and second years respectively. While the men participated in the PLL’s HBCU Invitational last year, this is the first opportunity for the women’s club to step onto a stage of this size.
“They're tapping into the HBCUs, recognizing that, you know, this is something that definitely has legs and we can run with it,” Linyear said.
HBCUs make up a small but growing slice of the college lacrosse world. Despite its Native American roots, the sport has a reputation for being a predominantly-white venture.
That’s been slowly changing with more HBCUs founding school clubs or elevating their teams. Destiny Lee, a political science major and defender for Norfolk State, said she was often one of three Black players on her high school and club teams.
“I just feel like opening those doors and showing people that you can play these sports that we're usually not playing, it is pretty inspirational,” she said. “It really just does open a lot of doors and open a lot of minds.”
The HBCU Lacrosse Consortium hosted its first all-star game in 2013. Hampton University became the first HBCU with a Division I men’s team in 2016. The first to field a team was Morgan State in 1971, which contended with powerhouse schools including defeating a Washington & Lee team that hadn’t lost a regular-season game in two years.
Norfolk State hopes to reach those heights. The school plays in the Next Collegiate League, the first HBCU lacrosse league, founded in 2022. The league consists of six women’s teams and nine men’s – most recently joined by the University of South Carolina, the sole non-HBCU member.
Kiya Minggia, a health services management major and defender, has played since last year. She said it’s heartwarming to be a part of Norfolk State’s program as it’s getting established and expects Black women’s prominence in the sport to grow.
“I feel like it's a possibility for Black women to dominate any sport and I feel like you don't know what you don't know,” Minggia said. “Once more people get introduced to the sport, there'll be a lot of people out there that are very good at the sport.“
