NAL's national office was developed by the late Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell and Donna L. Elmquist. It was first introduced with eight junior high schools in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the 1991-92 academic year.

About the Baltimore City Division
Baltimore City has participated in the NAL since 1993. Over 600 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students from teams representing 26 Baltimore City public middle schools compete from November to March. The winner of the Baltimore City championship represents Maryland in the national single-elimination competition in March. Currently 20 school districts from across the country compete in the national tournament.

Goals of the Baltimore City NAL
The goals of The National Academic League program in Baltimore City are:

• to improve middle school students' perception of academic effort, preparation and achievement; to serve as an aid in improving student academic performance;
  
  
• To provide an academically-based co-curricular activity for motivated middle school students;
  
  
• to encourage ongoing academic inquiry and study in the areas of math, science, geography, language arts/literature, and in United States and world history;
  
  
• to encourage active study of current events;
  
  
• to foster team behavior and to provide opportunities for mentoring by coaches, judges, scorekeepers, principals, teachers and interested parents; and
  
  
• to improve participant self-esteem through providing leadership opportunities and opportunities for success for those students who do not participate in athletics or other publicized activities.

About the Game
Each game explores questions in all academic disciplines. The game is divided into four unique periods, each involving questions to be answered while a "shot clock" limits the time available to students.