The Inter-university Athletic League, often abbreviated LAI, is a college athletics conference in the U.S. Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. The LAI is a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to regulate sports amongst its member institutions. The league was founded in 1929 by Cosme Beitía of the

University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, Charles Leker for the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has c ...

, and Luis Izquierdo Galo y José D. Morales from the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM ...

. The league is best known for its flagship inter-collegiate sports event locally called ''

Las Justas The ''Justas de Atletismo y Festival Deportivo de Puerto Rico'' ( en, Puerto Rico Athletic Games and Sports Festival) —better known as ''Las Justas Intercolegiales'' ( en, The Intercollegiate Games) or simply as ''Las Justas'' ( en, The Games) ...

'' which takes place yearly during the month of April, generally in the city of Ponce.

History

The League began celebrating three sports events amongst its member institutions in 1929;

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

. Initially the League's events were open to male athletes only, but the practice was relaxed with time. Today male athletes compete in some 16 events and female athletes compete in thirteen. Women began competing in the league starting in the 1969-1970 academic year. Every year the league hosts the '' Justas de Atletismo y Festival Deportivo'', their flagship sports competition event. For many years the event was held in San Juan, but in 1993 the event was moved to the city of Ponce. In 2010 the event was held in Mayagüez in preparation for the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

. Games resumed in Ponce in 2011, and continued in Ponce in 2012.''Ponce se duplicará durante las Justas.''
Jason Rodríguez Grafal. Ponce, Puerto Rico: La Perla del Sur. Year 30. Issue 1480. Page 4. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012. The league is administered by a "Administrative Council" made up of the Deans of Students, Athletic Directors, and a student representative. There is also a "Cuerpo Rectoral" called the "Junta de Gobierno" made up of the Rectors and presidents of the member institutions. The "Junta de Gobierno" chooses an employee called "The Commissioner" who is appointed to act as executive officer of the LAI for a period of two years. The League is a founding member of

International University Sports Federation The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU, en, International University Sports Federation) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. ...

Sports

* men's

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

* men's & women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

* men's & women's cross country * men's & women's

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

* men's & women's

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

* men's & women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

* men's & women's

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* men's & women's

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

* men's & women's

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

* men's & women's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

* men's & women's

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

* men's & women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

* men's

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

* men's & women's

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

* men's

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Member schools

Current members

;Notes:

Former members

;Notes:

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liga Atletica Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico Sports governing bodies in Puerto Rico Universities and colleges in Puerto Rico College sports conferences in the United States Sports organizations established in 1929 1929 establishments in Puerto Rico