NCAA Approves Simplified Penalty Structure for Women's Lacrosse

The NCAA has approved significant changes to the penalty structure in women’s lacrosse, aiming to align penalties with the severity of fouls. These adjustments were ratified by the Division I Women's Lacrosse Oversight Committee and the Divisions II and III Playing Rules Oversight Panel, effective from the 2026-27 academic year.

Key Changes to Penalty Structure

The modifications approved reflect a commitment to improving both player safety and consistency in officiating. A notable change is that all yellow cards will now result in a two-minute nonreleasable penalty. The rules have been reorganized to provide clearer definitions of illegal actions, consolidating stick and body contact fouls into "illegal check" and "illegal contact" categories.

• Illegal Check: Contact involving uncontrolled or swinging stick motions that strike an opponent’s stick, hand, or body.
• Illegal Contact: Unsafe use of stick or body against another player, including actions like pinning or restraining.

Introduction of Flagrant Fouls

The committee has also revised how flopping and embellishment are handled. These are now classified under a single "flopping" foul and elevated to a flagrant status. This results in a yellow card and a two-minute nonreleasable penalty. Additionally, targeting has been introduced as a flagrant foul leading to a red card. As defined, targeting involves forcible contact without a legitimate attempt to play the ball, elevating risks of injury.

Video Review Enhancements

Adjustments have been made to the video review process, aiming for more efficient and accurate officiating.

• Video review requests are now limited to coaches.
• Officials must inform both teams when a review is requested.
• Reviews should conclude within two minutes.

Video reviews now cover situations such as verifying correct offenders and are applicable to flopping fouls. Timing restrictions mean requests after goals must occur before the draw clock expires, and during timeouts, within 30 seconds.

Additional Rule Modifications

Women's lacrosse games will revert to a prior rule allowing possession retention through quarte changes during power plays. Stick checks are mandated once per quarter and before overtime periods, ensuring equipment compliance.

Significantly, players can exchange sticks while not in possession, and although players ejected with red cards are removed from the game, they're no longer automatically suspended for subsequent matches. The possession and game clocks will pause during official warnings and defensive false starts.

Experimental Rules for Fall

In the fall season, teams are invited to experiment with several potential changes.

• Possession Clock: Set at 60 seconds following a draw or possession award.
• Team Size: Reducing on-field players from 12 to 10.

If an attacking team fails to maintain possession below the restraining line, the other team gains possession at the ball’s position.

These rule changes demonstrate a significant recalibration in NCAA women’s lacrosse, focused on ensuring fairness and safety while maintaining the sport’s pace and integrity.