Florida State University adds women’s lacrosse to boost Title IX compliance

Seventeen months after a report showed Florida State was not in compliance with Title IX laws, the Seminoles formally added women’s lacrosse to become more equitable with its athletic scholarships.

Athletic director Michael Alford on Tuesday announced the addition of the varsity sport and said it’s projected to begin competition in spring 2026.

“Lacrosse is the fastest-growing college sport nationally and it is evident that our culture and community will enthusiastically embrace it,” Alford said. “Lacrosse provides another opportunity to compete at a championship level.”

FSU, which will compete in the formidable Atlantic Coast Conference, becomes one of 118 Division 1 NCAA women’s lacrosse programs spanning 16 leagues. The ACC has produced 17 NCAA women’s lacrosse national champions and has placed a team in the national title game in 13 of the last 14 seasons.

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Alford will begin searching for a coach in the coming weeks.

The move comes more than a year after USA Today reported that FSU double- and triple-counted scholarship female athletes in track and field to apparently improve gender-equity numbers.

The report said the Seminoles claimed to have offered 175 track and field and cross country “opportunities” to women. The accounting method erased half of the school’s overall gender participation gap that year.

Prominent Title IX lawyer Arthur Bryant reportedly threatened Florida State with legal action last year while in consultation with the school’s club women’s lacrosse team.