Harford Community College Announces the Discontinuation of Women’s Lacrosse Program

BEL AIR, MD - On July 11, 2024, the NJCAA announced its decision to discontinue women’s lacrosse as a sponsored sport, beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The decision follows an announcement made the year prior for the Women’s Invitational to replace the National Championship, and a string of recent years with low participation from NJCAA member schools. (Read the full NJCAA release here.)

As a result, Harford Community College will discontinue offering women’s lacrosse beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The last time a team was discontinued at Harford was in 2015 with the suspension of golf.

“Women’s lacrosse has had a long history in Harford County, the State of Maryland, and the NJCAA,” said Harford Athletic Director Ed Liesch. “It saddens us to see women’s lacrosse no longer being offered. However, we will cherish the memories of the hundreds of women who came through the program, the great coaches that led our teams, and our two National Championships.”

Harford’s women’s lacrosse team received the news shortly after their appearance in the 2024 Women’s Invitational hosted by Harford Community College in May. Harford was awarded the bid to host both the Men’s National Championship Tournament and the Women’s Invitational through 2028, and will now focus solely on the men’s event.

“While I’m disappointed with the NJCAA’s decision, I can understand how it wasn’t feasible to continue sponsoring the sport with a limited number of programs participating,” Fighting Owls Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Addie Kalama commented. “During my short time here, I have grown to love this community and was amazed every day by the accomplishments of my players on and off the field.”

The NJCAA went on to say that there is a potential for the sport to return once interest grows and more programs are willing to commit to fielding teams. Other sports have resurfaced in the past, and it is not impossible to imagine women’s lacrosse might do the same.

“Collegiate athletics is dynamic and ever-changing. If you look at what college sports looked like 10 or even 20 years ago, it is much different than today,” said Liesch. “Trends in sports come and go with the changes in popularity, funding, and influences on college athletics.” Harford will be offering women’s flag football in 2026 and is exploring opportunities to add Esports to stay current with NJCAA trends, as well as the potential for two-year college level programs to add opportunities for teams that are already thriving. The Fighting Owls continue to be a leader in sports offerings within the region and the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference.