About Riverview High school
Riverview High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in grades 9 through 12. Located on a 51-acre campus in Sarasota, Florida, Riverview serves more than 2,600 students and is home to a wide variety of academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs.
Sarasota County has an estimated population of approximately 480,000 residents. Riverview’s campus is the largest in the Sarasota County school district.
Riverview High School was established in 1958. Its original campus was designed by internationally recognized architect Paul Rudolph, a leading figure in the Sarasota School of Architecture. The original school welcomed students in 1958 and became one of Sarasota’s best-known examples of mid-century modern architecture.
The Rudolph-designed school was demolished in 2009 and replaced by Riverview’s current 532,000-square-foot campus. The current campus is organized around an expansive central courtyard and includes seven Small Learning Communities, including Riverview’s International Baccalaureate program.
ABOUT RIVERVIEW LACROSSE
First played by Native Americans, lacrosse is often referred to as “America’s oldest sport,” yet in recent years, exponential growth has also made it the nation’s fastest growing sport. Participation at the high school level has grown over 100 percent since 2006, far outpacing the growth of any high school team sport. In Florida alone, the sport has grown over 70 percent in the last five years. Since 2013, over 100 new varsity lacrosse teams have been started at the college level, with 34 more starting in 2016. It’s statistics like these that led Dave Brandon, Athletic Director at University of Michigan to dub lacrosse the “sport of the future.”
For the 2026 lacrosse season, the Florida High School Athletic Association classified 421 varsity lacrosse teams across the state, including 210 Boys teams and 211 Girls teams. As with anything new, establishing this new sport within the existing framework of our public high schools took time, effort and money. Through the efforts of SRQLAX, girls’ and boys’ varsity lacrosse teams were brought to Riverview High School in the Spring of 2016, with the goal of expanding the program to all of the Sarasota County Public High Schools in the coming years. During the 2018 Season, three additional “public” high schools in the area were approved by FHSAA and the school boards to play lacrosse; Lakewood Ranch, Manatee and Venice High School. In 2019, Sarasota High School was also approved, with each school now having both Boys and Girls Varsity Lacrosse programs. These schools, along with Riverview High School, join the four other private high schools, Cardinal Mooney, Out-of-Door Academy, St. Stephen’s Episcopal and Sarasota Military Academy, bringing the total number of student-athlete lacrosse players in the area to over 500!
We encourage the Sarasota Community to become one of our supporters, where you will be exposed to the many families discovering this emerging competitive sport, as well as the students, faculty and families of Riverview High School and those schools we will play throughout our inaugural season. It is a wise investment and a fantastic way to show your commitment to the children of Sarasota County! With your help, we can ensure that the current and future boys and girls of Sarasota County have the opportunity to play high school lacrosse under the auspices of the FHSAA. Please use our Contact Form to request further information.
2027 FHSAA DISTRICT REALIGNMENTS:
There are two Division (1A & 2A) classifications, with assignments based on school size, geography and District balance. The Riverview Varsity Boys and Girls programs are both in Division 2, Region 3, District 12, and for the first time in many years, will have the same schools in their respective Districts.
The Riverview Varsity Boys (Division 2, Region 3, District 12):
| School | City |
| Lakewood Ranch | Bradenton |
| Manatee | Bradenton |
| Parrish Community | Parrish |
| Riverview (Sarasota) | Sarasota |
| Sarasota | Sarasota |
| St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg |
| Venice | Venice |
The Riverview Varsity Girls (Division 2, Region 3, District 12):
| School | City |
| Lakewood Ranch | Bradenton |
| Manatee | Bradenton |
| Parrish Community | Parrish |
| Riverview (Sarasota) | Sarasota |
| Sarasota | Sarasota |
| St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg |
| Venice | Venice |
For a complete listing of all FHSAA assignments, visit the FHSAA Website.