The Aurora University men's lacrosse team will represent the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships. The Spartans received a Pool A berth after winning the NACC tournament championship over Illinois Institute of Technology 22-4.
 
The Spartans will travel to Illinois Wesleyan University (14-3) and take on the Titans on Wednesday, May 10 with game time at 3:00 p.m. The match-up will be the 11th all-time between the schools and a second matchup in the NCAA tournament. In the 10 previous match-ups, AU is 4-6.

The Spartan men's lacrosse program, under the direction of Head Coach Reid Mayberry, will make its seventh NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships appearance in the program's 13th season and first since 2018. With a 4-6 all-time record in the NCAA tournament, four of the previous six NCAA appearances for AU resulted in the Spartans reaching the Sweet 16 after winning the programs and State of Illinois' first NCAA contest in 2013, defeating Ohio Wesleyan University 13-9 before falling to SUNY - Cortland 14-8. In 2014, AU defeated Adrian College 22-13 before falling to Denison University 11-8 and in 2015, AU defeated Otterbein University 8-6 before falling to Lynchburg College 19-8. In 2016, the Spartans defeated Albion College 12-11 in overtime before falling at Denison University 12-3. In 2017, the Spartans hosted the NCAA contest for the first-time and fell to Illinois Wesleyan on Vago Field 19-15. The last appearance in 2018, AU fell at Ohio Wesleyan 13-5.
 
AU will enter the NCAA tournament with a 15-4 record, having won 11 games in a row. The Spartans were the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament champions with an 8-0 regular season record and 2-0 in the NACC tournament. AU was dominant in the NACC Tournament, winning by a combined score of 42-8.

The winner of the AU vs. Illinois Wesleyan contest will then play at Denison University. There are 38 teams in the NCAA Division III championships and AU has played two other NCAA bound teams this season with a 0-2 record in those games including a rematch with Illinois Wesleyan.

NCAA championship bracket (interactive)
NCAA championship bracket (printable)