CCSD to delay implementing NIAA-sanctioned high school lacrosse

The Clark County School District will not implement sanctioned high school lacrosse for the 2026-27 season and focus on adopting it the following year.

“Bringing lacrosse to high schools remains an exciting part of our direction in CCSD,” district deputy superintendent Jesse Welsh said in a statement Tuesday. “Given that the bill paving the way for lacrosse went into effect in June 2026, CCSD is focusing on implementation for the 2027-2028 school year. This will allow us to work with our school communities and school leaders to build capacity and increase student interest across the District to foster the full adoption of lacrosse across CCSD high schools.”

Hours earlier, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs of the National Lacrosse League posted a statement to their social media accounts expressing disappointment with “the Clark County School District’s decision to pause the implementation of sanctioned high school lacrosse for the 2026-27 season.”

“We’ll be working with alongside CCSD, city leaders, state officials, and the broader lacrosse community to find a path forward as quickly as possible,” Desert Dogs chief business officer Jonah Haas said in the statement.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association said Tuesday that the implementation of boys and girls lacrosse as a state-sanctioned high school sport in Nevada will happen this spring.

NIAA executive director Timothy Jackson said in an email to the Review-Journal that “the NIAA is fully prepared for implementation of boys and girls lacrosse for the 26-27 school year.” An NIAA spokesperson confirmed Jackson’s statement, adding that “nothing has changed on (the NIAA’s) end.”

The change from CCSD is not expected to impact Southern Nevada private and charter schools, which still plan to participate this spring in sanctioned state titles against Northern Nevada teams.

The NIAA sanctioned lacrosse in August 2025 and approved a timeline for its full implementation for the 2026-27 school year for it to be played statewide in spring of 2027.

Earlier in 2025, a Senate bill was introduced during the most recent Nevada state legislative session that would require the NIAA to sanction lacrosse as a high school sport.

Senate Bill 305 passed through the Senate and Assembly but was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo. An amendment to the bill would have created a committee that would have oversight over the NIAA, which is what led to Lombardo’s veto.

After Lombardo’s veto, the NIAA announced in June 2025 it was going to sanction lacrosse for the 2026-27 school year.

At the spring NIAA Board of Control meetings in April, the board approved alignment and playoff formats for boys and girls lacrosse. There was no indication at the meeting that there were any issues from CCSD on the sport’s implementation.

Fourteen Southern schools have notified the NIAA at the time of the meeting that they will offer varsity boys and girls lacrosse: Arbor View, Gorman, Centennial, Chaparral, Cheyenne, Eldorado, Faith Lutheran, Foothill, Liberty, Palo Verde, Shadow Ridge, Sierra Vista, Sloan Canyon and Sunrise Mountain.

Losee will only offer girls lacrosse. Bishop Gorman, Faith Lutheran, Sloan Canyon and Losee are not CCSD schools and are not affected by the district’s decision.

CCSD schools can still offer club lacrosse programs and play other club lacrosse teams, but would not be eligible to play for an NIAA state title.