Men's lacrosse became the 12th team to be recognized as a varsity sport at Franklin & Marshall in 1950. Following several years as a club sport, lacrosse regained varsity status in 1959.

The legacy of success at F&M began eight years later as Ross Sachs took over the team for 21 years (1967-87), building one of the best small-college programs in the country. Under Sachs, the Diplomats won 58.1 percent of their games, seven Middle Atlantic Conference titles and were ranked among the Top 10 teams in NCAA Division III.

G.W. Mix took over the program in 1988 and elevated the lacrosse program to the next level, earning bids to the NCAA Division III tournament in two of his three seasons at F&M. The Diplomats won two MAC titles and set an F&M record for most wins in a season by going 13-3 and advancing to the NCAA Division III "Final Four" in 1988. In 1994 Frank Fedorjaka inherited a program that has been ranked in the top 20 since 1985. Under his direction, the Diplomats returned to the NCAA tournament in '95 and finished the year ranked sixth in the nation.

The tradition has continued as the 2001 and 2002 Diplomats' teams went 9-7, 3-3 in the Centennial Conference. In 2002, F&M won the ECAC South Championship game with an 18-3 victory over the Univesity of Scranton.

The Diplomats traditionally play one of the best Division III schedules in the country. In 2002, F&M played the third toughest schedule in Division III according to LaxPower.com