 The conference was established in 1992 when college teams in Minnesota that were playing a loose schedule of tournament weekends decided to organize into a league that had a specific schedule and end of the season tournament.In 2000, the UMLC was accepted into the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates, which became the MCLA in 2006.The conference was known as the Upper Midwest Lacrosse League until 2011.