New York Riptide

On December 12, 2018, the NLL awarded an expansion franchise to Uniondale, New York and owner GF Sports. The team began play in December 2019 with its home arena being the Nassau Coliseum. The Riptide mark the return of the National Lacrosse League to the Long Island area after the departure of the New York Saints (1989–2003) and the New York Titans (2006–2009), both of whom also played at Nassau Coliseum.

The New York Riptide name and logo were announced on February 17, 2019, as chosen by fans.

On January 18, 2020, the Riptide got their first win in franchise history when they beat the Georgia Swarm by a score of 13–12 in overtime at Nassau Coliseum.

On June 3, 2020, the entire coaching staff and lacrosse operations team, including head coach and general manager Regy Thorpe, were fired.

On July 10, 2020, the Riptide announced the hiring of Jim Veltman as general manager and Dan Ladouceur as head coach.

Veltman was relieved of his duties on January 9, 2023, and replaced by executive vice president Rich Lisk.

Relocation to Ottawa

On February 20, 2024, John Rodenburg of sports radio station CFGO reported that the Riptide would be relocating to Ottawa for the 2024–25 season, citing poor attendance. The next day, the NLL officially announced that the Riptide would relocate to Ottawa, and will be renamed the Ottawa Black Bears. The team will play its games at Canadian Tire Centre. It will mark the return of the NLL to Ottawa; the Ottawa Rebel (a relocation of the Syracuse Smash) relocated to Edmonton as the Edmonton Rush in 2003 (that team later moved to Saskatoon as the Saskatchewan Rush).