This was a hybrid organization that included both college and men's club teams in Southern California.

UCSB captured the final state championship played under this arrangement defeating their northern counterparts in 1978.

The union that would eventually become the WCLL was founded on Super Bowl Sunday, January 20, 1980, as the California Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA).

Prior to the 2000 season, Whittier College departed joining the NCAA Division III as an independent.

Following the 2002 season, Division II member Cal State San Marcos left the conference.

That same year, the USLIA reorganized into the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA).

[5] The University of California, Merced joined the league for the 2009 season but the league lost its entire Central Division, made up of Chapman, UC Santa Barbara, Claremont, Loyola Marymount, USC, and UCLA; and lost the majority of its Southern Division, including: Arizona State, San Diego State, Arizona, San Diego, UC San Diego.

In 2014, Sierra Nevada College joined the conference, they would go on to win four back-to-back division II championships from 2015 to 2018.

At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Dominican University announced that it would be departing the WCLL, joining the NCAA Division II as an independent in 2024.

[7] ^a Despite the official mascot of Cal Poly Humboldt being the Lumberjacks, the lacrosse team is referred to as the Hogs due to an initial lack of support from the University.

*Despite winning the championship game, Biola were made to forfeit the title because they fielded ineligible players