Hopkins competes with Maryland in college lacrosse's most historic rivalry, the two teams having met more than 100 times, both joining the Big Ten Conference in the 2014–2015 season.

[3] The Blue Jays also consider Princeton and Syracuse, their top competitors for the national title in the NCAA era, as significant rivals, and play Loyola in the cross-town "Charles Street Massacre".

In the past, the Johns Hopkins lacrosse teams have represented the United States in international competition.

On May 17, 2013, President Ronald Daniels announced in an open letter to the Hopkins community that he was accepting the positive recommendation of a committee empaneled to explore seeking conference affiliation for the team.

On June 3, 2013, the university announced that the team would join a "newly formulated" Big Ten as an affiliate member for lacrosse, effective in the 2014–2015 season.

On May 2, 2015, the Blue Jays won the inaugural Big Ten men's lacrosse championship, defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 13–6.

The award is presented by the USILA and is named after William C. "Father Bill" Schmeisser, a player and coach for Johns Hopkins University in the early 1900s.