Interstate Box Lacrosse Association

Interstate Box Lacrosse Association

Sport	Box lacrosse
Founded	2017
No. of teams	52
Country	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Philadelphia Phunk (1st title)
Most titles	4 teams tied with 1
Official website	www.iblalacrosse.com

The Interstate Box Lacrosse Association (IBLA) is a men's semi-professional box lacrosse league based in the United States. Since 2019, the IBLA has served as an official partner of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), operating as a developmental funnel. The league was founded in 2017 to unite regional semi-professional leagues into a system similar to the Canadian Lacrosse Association structure of men's Senior A and Senior B indoor lacrosse teams. As of 2021 there are 52 total teams playing in 17 regional leagues. The Philadelphia Phunk are the most recent IBLA champions, defeating the Minneapolis Wheat Kings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 27, 2020.

History

2017

Colorado formed the first organized regional box lacrosse league with four teams after initial in-state competition in 2016. Seeing the success of Colorado's competition model, RBLL - Minnesota was formed using the same structure. The 2017 champions were the Parker Rangers, who took down the Hastings Walleye to capture the inaugural league title.

2018

An Iowa Dogfish player (Green) looks to defend the Aksarben Stampede (Brown) as a forward dodges toward the goal during the 2020 season.

RBLL - New England and RBLL - New Jersey began play on the east coast under the IBLA structure. The midwest was organized into RBLL - Ohio and RBLL - Missouri. The second league title was awarded to the Cambridge Nor'easters after defeating the Denver Mile High Stars.

2019

The IBLA expanded again, adding new competition on the west coast in the form of RBLL - Arizona and RBLL - California. Additional midwest talent was also brought into the fold with RBLL - Nebraska. The Maine Northmen came out on top in the playoffs, beating the Louisville Canards 17 - 14 in the final game.

2020

Due to the spread of COVID-19, most teams faced shortened season schedules and the league championship tournament location was moved from Boston to Pittsburgh. By the end of the summer, 10 regions were able to crown division champions. Teams from these 10 regions were invited to compete for the IBLA Nationals league championship. For group play the teams were divided into the Steel and Maple groups. The San Diego Whalers, Grand Rapids Grizzlies, Mooncrest Munitionz, Aksarben Stampede, and Louisville Canards made up the Steel group. The Maple group consisted of the Maine Northmen, Philadelphia Phunk, Charlotte Reapers, Albany Hyenas, and Minneapolis Wheat Kings.

A league milestone occurred on September 17 with the first IBLA player taken in the National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. Mooncrest Munitionz Forward Larson Sundown was drafted by the New York Riptide in round 2 with the 36th overall pick. Sundown is transferring to RIT for the 2021 NCAA Lacrosse season, meaning New York will retain his rights through the 2021-2022 season. The 2020 IBLA season concluded with 25 playoff games from September 25 – 27. For the fourth year in a row, the championship matchup was played by two teams having never reached the title game. In the lowest scoring championship game to date, the Phildalphia Phunk outlasted the Minneapolis Wheat Kings 9 - 5 to capture their first title.

2021

2021 will see the return of several teams that were on hiatus in 2020 due to local COVID-19 restrictions, as well as continued league expansion. The newly formed RBLL - Louisiana will represented by teams in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, RBLL - Texas will have two franchises in Austin, RBLL - Florida will create teams in Orlando and Tampa, RBLL - Maryland will bring in four teams, and the RBLL- Empire South will be formed by splitting three teams off from an RBLL - New Jersey that is adding two expansion teams. In total, 22 different states will field an IBLA team in 2021. The 2021 playoffs are set to take place September 17 through September 19 at the 8,178 seat RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida.

Teams

Current Team Locations

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Locations of IBLA teams. 2021 expansion teams in yellow.

Current Teams

Team	City	Arena	Joined	Head Coach	References
RBLL - California
Huntington Beach Screamin' Eagles	Huntington Beach, California	The Rinks, Huntington Beach	2019
Irvine Skyfire	Irvine, California	The Rinks, Irvine	2019
San Diego Whalers	San Diego, California	Sportsplex USA	2020
RBLL - Empire North
Albany Hyenas	Albany, New York		2020
Saugerties Nightpandas	Saugerties, New York		2020
Salt City Eels	Syracuse, New York		2021
Utica Yeti Lacrosse Club	Utica, New York	Adirondack Bank Center	2021
RBLL - Empire South
Hudson Valley Arsenal LC	Newburgh, New York	Ice Time Center	2021
Long Island Sharks	Bethpage, New York	Bethpage multi-sport	2019
NYC Spiders	New York City, New York	Staten Island Sportsplex	2020
RBLL - Florida
Orlando Rockets	Orlando, Florida	TBA	2021
Tampa Bay Twisters	Tampa, Florida	TBA	2021
RBLL - Louisiana
Baton Rouge Redfish	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	TBA	2021
New Orleans Mambo	New Orleans, Louisiana	TBA	2021
RBLL - Maryland
Baltimore Bombers	Baltimore, Maryland		2021
Golden Bears	Washington, D.C.		2021
Maryland Arrows	Bowie, Maryland		2021
Westminster Wild	Westminster, Maryland		2021
RBLL - Michigan
Detroit Hooligans	Detroit, Michigan	2SP The Rink	2020
Grand Rapids Grizzlies	Grand Rapids, Michigan	East Kentwood Arena	2020
Rouge River Steelheads	Detroit, Michigan	TBA	2021
Illinois Doughboys	Naperville, Illinois	Players Indoor Sports Center	2021
RBLL - Minnesota
Eastside Freeze	Hastings, Minnesota	Hastings Civic Arena	2017	Lucas Ailport
North Metro Nordiques	Lakeville, Minnesota	Lakeville Hasse Arena	2018	Jon Mitchell
Minneapolis Wheat Kings	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Northeast Ice Arena	2018	Nick Midboe
RBLL - Nebraska
Aksarben Stampede	Omaha, Nebraska	Off the Wall Omaha	2019	Bill Wostoupal
Ralston Regals	Omaha, Nebraska	Off the Wall Omaha	2019	Greg McManus
Iowa Dogfish	Davenport, Iowa	River's Edge Arena	2020	Louis Deeny
RBLL - New England
Auburn Aviators	Auburn, Massachusetts	Horgan Arena	2019	Jack Piatelli
Cambridge Nor'easters	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Simoni Rink	2019	Mike Vergano
Maine Northmen	Biddeford, Maine	Biddeford Ice Arena	2019	Kyle Baker
RBLL - New Jersey
Delco Devils	Broomall, Pennsylvania	Marple Sports Arena	2021
Morristown Rally	Morristown, New Jersey	Mennen Arena	2019
Olympos Lacrosse Club	Aberdeen, New Jersey	Highline Arena	2021
Philadelphia Phunk	Voorhees Township, New Jersey	Flyers Skate Zone	2019
RBLL - Ohio
Cincinnati Flying Pigs	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincy Sports Nation	2018
Cleveland Demons	Cleveland, Ohio		2021
Columbus Coyotes	Columbus, Ohio		2020
Louisville Canards	Louisville, Kentucky	King Louie Sports Complex	2019
RBLL - Pacific Northwest
Everett Express	Everett, Washington		2018
Portland Voodoo	Beaverton, Oregon	Indoor Goals Sports Center	2018
Seattle Kings	Seattle, Washington		2020
RBLL - Pennsylvania
Mooncrest Munitionz	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Robert Morris University Island Sports	2020
Pittsburgh Gnomes	Cheswick, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena	2020
Seneca Marksmen	Salamanca, New York	Allegany Community Center	2021
RBLL - Rocky Mountain
Denver Otters	Denver, Colorado		2021
Salt Lake Storm	Salt Lake City, Utah		2021
RBLL - Southeast
Charlotte Reapers	Charlotte, North Carolina		2020
East Cobb Hedgehogs	Atlanta, Georgia		2020
Nashville Ignite	Nashville, Tennessee	TSC Indoor Soccer Arena	2020
RBLL - Texas
Austin Jazz	Austin, Texas	The Crossover	2021
Austin Scorpions	Austin, Texas	Rock Sports Arena	2021

Association Champions

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Location	Venue	Reference
2017	Parker Rangers	Hastings Walleye	22 — 2	Lakewood, Colorado	Foothills Fieldhouse
2018	Cambridge Nor'easters	Denver Mile HighStars	14 — 6	Lakeville, Minnesota	Lakeville Hasse Arena
2019	Maine Northmen	Louisville Canards	17 — 14	Huntington Beach, California	The Rinks - Huntington Beach
2020	Philadelphia Phunk	Minneapolis Wheat Kings	9 — 5	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	RMU Island Sports Center
2021	TBD	TBD	TBD	Lakeland, Florida	RP Funding Center

Rules

IBLA rules are nearly identical to NLL rules with minor adjustments to account for slight arena dimension variations.

Notable League Rules:

• Diving is Allowed
• Face-off clamps are allowed
• Shot clock runs on man-down kill

Awards

• IBLA Top 25 NLL Prospect List
• IBLA National Championship Cup

Notable Players

• Casey Dowd (Maine Northmen) - MLL (Denver Outlaws)

• George Downey (Philadelphia Phunk) - NLL (New England Black Wolves, Philadelphia Wings)

• Brad Gillies (Maine Northmen) - NLL (Rochester Knighthawks, Halifax Thunderbirds)
• Jules Heningburg (Minneapolis Wheat Kings) - PLL (Redwoods Lacrosse Club), NLL (San Diego Seals, New England Black Wolves)
• Will Jennings (Maine Northmen) - MLL (Boston Cannons)
• Jake Morris (Portland Voodoo, Minneapolis Wheat Kings) - WLA (Coquitlam Adanacs)
• Bill O'Brien (Philadelphia Phunk) - NLL (New England Black Wolves)
• Bobby Schmitt (Louisville Canards) - MLL (Ohio Machine)
• Tim Semisch (Nashville Ignite) - NFL (Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers)
• Chris Shevins (Detroit Hooligans, Minneapolis Wheat Kings) - MLL (Ohio Machine)
• Larson Sundown (Mooncrest Munitionz) - NLL (2020 Draft selection by the New York Riptide with round 2 pick 36)
• Corbyn Tao (Minniapolis Wheat Kings) - NLL (Colorado Mammoth, Minnesota Swarm)
• Ty Thompson (Albany Hyenas) - Iroquois Nationals, PLL (Chrome Lacrosse Club)
• Chad Toliver (Louisville Canards) - MLL (Philadelphia Barrage)
• Rachel Vallarelli (New York City Spiders, Cambridge Nor'Easters) - ALL (Whitby Steelhawks)