College rugby

College rugby, more specifically rugby union, is played throughout universities in the United States of America. College rugby is governed by USA Rugby, and does not fall under the auspices of the NCAA with the exception of 15 NCAA women's programs. Women's Rugby has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport since 2002. There are over 900 college teams—male and female—registered with USA Rugby.[1] There are over 32,000 college players registered with USA Rugby, making college rugby the largest section of USA Rugby's membership.[2]

Rugby has been played in universities since as early as the 1800s, but it was the 1960s when rugby really found a foothold in colleges, led by the Catholic colleges such as Notre Dame and particularly the Jesuit universities such as Boston College and St. Joseph's in Philadelphia.[3]

Today, college rugby continues to grow in popularity, and rugby is one of the fastest growing club sports across college campuses.[1] The 32,000 registered college players in 2010 marked a 14% increase from 28,000 college players in 2008.[4] Over 180 college rugby clubs started between 2010 and 2014.[5] The National Small College Rugby Organization grew from 85 teams in 2007 to 151 teams in 2011 and to over 200 men's teams for 2012.[6][7] Several schools have increased their investments in men's and women's rugby programs, by creating rugby programs with varsity or quasi-varsity status and funding for scholarships,[8] and Notre Dame and Texas have upgraded their rugby programs from "club" status to "Olympic" status. There has been increased interest in college rugby (particularly in rugby sevens) from TV since the International Olympic Committee's announcement in 2009 that rugby would return to the Summer Olympics in 2016. The highest profile college rugby sevens competition is the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), which began in 2010. The CRC, which is played every June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, is televised live by NBC Sports and regularly draws attendances of 18,000.[9][10] In 2015, the CRC set a new attendance record with over 24,000 spectators.[11] Several top schools started a competition in 2013 called the Varsity Cup, with the 2014 Varsity Cup final broadcast live on NBC Sports.

College club rugby includes a national championship competition (since 1980). California has won the majority of titles, with Air Force and BYU also winning multiple championships. In 2011 a new Division 1-A was created with approximately 30 schools forming the new division.[12]

A Boston College home match.

Governance

In the United States, college rugby is governed by (in descending order of authority): USA Rugby, geographical unions (GUs) and local area unions (LAUs) (e.g., NERFU). USA Rugby has established a College Management Committee and a collegiate director, Rich Cortez, to oversee college rugby.[13] The NCAA has no authority over college rugby. Often called a club sport, each college team is administered by either the athletic department or the student club department.

In 2011, USA Rugby continued to urge college rugby programs to adopt new conference structures similar to the conferences used by their other athletic programs. The highest profile example was the formation of the Ivy Rugby Conference in 2009.[14] This move signals a shift away from the LAUs and TUs as the governing bodies for regional college rugby.

Lynchburg College team photo after defeating Emory & Henry College, 35-15. Fall 2015

Play and participation

Winter and spring are the primary seasons for conferences in the pacific, northwest and south regions (e.g., PAC, Southeastern); the fall is the primary season for conferences in the northeast, mid-atlantic and upper midwest regions (e.g., Big 10, Atlantic Coast). Conferences establish playing schedules in the primary season, while in the secondary season the teams often set up friendly matches or focus on playing rugby sevens.

USA Rugby maintains player eligibility guidelines, administered by the local area unions. College players generally have five years of rugby eligibility from the time they graduate high school. On-field disciplinary issues are generally handled by the local area unions, while off-field disciplinary issues are governed by the academic institution and the local area union. USA Rugby's CIPP insurance program provides liability insurance to players, teams, administrators and pitch hosts in exchange for an annual dues payment. Roughly one quarter of college rugby programs offer financial aid to their players.[5]

Outstanding college rugby players are recognized as All-Americans.[15] Qualified All-Americans can represent the United States in international tournaments by playing on the United States national under-20 rugby union team.

Promotion and relegation

College rugby competition is divided into several tiers. The highest is Division I-A (formerly known as the College Premier Division). Other tiers include Division I-AA, and Divisions 2 through 4. USA Rugby generally allows colleges to select the division in which the college thinks it would fit best. Most schools remain in the same division from year-to-year, but there are exceptions. Schools that have been successful in a particular division may move up but are not required to do so; likewise, poorly performing schools may move down a division, but are not required to. Successful schools may have varied reasons for declining promotion. For example, a school may prefer to remain in its current conference against traditional rivals, or a school with a small budget might resist the additional travel expense that might come from switching divisions and conferences.

The most recent significant movement across divisions occurred in 2011 when USA Rugby separated Division I into Division I-A and I-AA.[16] This new arrangement caused Division I schools to choose one or the other, with 31 schools joining Division I-A and the majority of Division I schools joining Division I-AA.[16] Additionally, the creation of Division I-AA caused several successful Division II schools to move up to Division I-A. The evolving division structures, caused significant shifts in schools between Divisions I-A and I-AA in the following years, with half of the original 31 D I-A members leaving by the end of 2013, and new schools from lower divisions taking their place.[16]

Varsity programs

Men's varsity

Most colleges classify their rugby programs as club sports rather than varsity sports. A small but growing number of universities, however, have begun offering rugby as a varsity sport, realizing that varsity rugby can be profitable, as a successful varsity rugby program can result in national championships and increased marketability.[17]

 Men's College Varsity Programs
College Athletic
Affiliation		 Metro area Varsity
since		 Achievements
California (Berkeley)[18] D1: Pac-12 Berkeley, CA 1882 26 national championships since 1980
SUNY Maritime College D3: Skyline Bronx, NY ???
Paul Smiths College (USCAA) Paul Smiths, NY ???
Cal Maritime (NAIA) Vallejo, CA 2001 NSCRO rank #1 (2009, 2010); runner up (2012)[19]
Franciscan University D3: 3RRC Steubenville, OH 2001 NSCRO Ranked #1 (2012); 3rd at Nationals
Norwich D3: GNAC Northfield, VT 2008 D2 national playoffs (2013)
American International College[20] D2: Northeast 10 Springfield, MA 2009
Life University[21] (NAIA) Atlanta, GA 2010 D1-A champion (2013); D1-A semifinals (2012)
Lindenwood D2: MIAA Saint Louis, MO 2011 D1 7s champion (2015); D1-AA runner-up (2013)
Wheeling Jesuit[22] D2: Mtn. East Wheeling, WV 2012
Notre Dame College[23] D2: Great Lakes Cleveland, OH 2012 2012 Great Lakes Conference Champion
Central Washington University[24] D2: Great NW Ellensburg, WA 2014
Army[25] D1: Patriot West Point, NY 2014
Bethel College[26] (NAIA) Mishawaka, IN 2015

Other schools have promoted rugby to quasi-varsity status, committing resources for scholarships and for paid full-time coaches, or given rugby some other form of elevated club sport status short of full varsity status.

 Men's College Quasi-Varsity Programs
College Athletic
Affiliation		 Metro area Status
Penn State D1: Big 10 University Park, PA "Team sports" status; member of Athletic Department, but not full varsity status.[27]
BYU D1: West Coast Provo, UT Rugby is one of four extramural sports teams sponsored by the school.[28]
Spring Hill College D2: SIAC Mobile, AL Receives support from the athletics department, including a full-time head coach.[29]
Davenport (NAIA) Grand Rapids, MI Officially listed as non-varsity, but is fully supported as a varsity program.[30]

Women's rugby: an emerging varsity sport

Since 2002, a small but growing number of schools have begun adding women's rugby as a varsity sport. Some of those varsity women's rugby programs have received sanctioning by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA has identified women's rugby as an "Emerging Sport." An "Emerging Sport" must gain championship status (minimum 40 varsity programs for team sports, except 28 for Division III) within 10 years, or show steady progress toward that goal to remain on the list.[31] Until then, it is under the auspices of the NCAA and its respective institutions. Emerging Sport status allows for competition to include club teams to satisfy the minimum number of competitions bylaw established by the NCAA.

The NCAA identified women's rugby as an "Emerging Sport" in 2002 in light of the fact that nearly 350 collegiate women's rugby clubs were active.[32] Growth was initially slow, with only 3 women's varsity programs forming within the first few years. The push for varsity rugby status received a boost in 2009 when the International Olympic Committee announced that rugby would return to the Summer Olympics in 2016. Although NCAA Division I programs dropped 72 women's varsity sports during 2008-2012 due to the economic recession,[33] women's rugby programs grew in number during that time frame.

As of the fall of 2016, the NCAA has sanctioned rugby for fifteen schools: eight in Division I, three in Division II, and four in Division III.[34] Current and planned varsity women's rugby programs include the following:[35]

Penn State vs West Chester University of Pennsylvania (2008).
Nichole Lopes '07 '09 with the ball for Penn State
No. School Varsity
since 		NCAA[36]
sanctioned
1 Eastern Illinois University[37] 2002 Yes (Div 1)
2 West Chester University 2004 Yes (Div 2)
3 Bowdoin College 2004 Yes (Div 3)
4 Norwich University 2008 Yes (Div 3)
5 Quinnipiac University 2010 Yes (Div 1)
6 Lindenwood University[38] 1 2011 No
7 Harvard University[39] 2013 Yes (Div 1)
8 Davenport University[40] 2013 No
9 Army[25] 2014 Yes (Div 1)
10 Cent. Washington University[41] 2014 Yes (Div 2)
11 Life University[42] 2014 No
12 Brown University[43] 2014 Yes (Div 1)
13 Sacred Heart University[44] 2015 Yes (Div 1)
14 Dartmouth College[45] 2015 Yes (Div 1)
15 American International College[46] 2015 Yes (Div 1)
16 Molloy College[47] 2016 Yes (Div 2)
17 University of New England[48][49] 2016 Yes (Div 3)
18 Castleton University[50] 2016 Yes (Div 3)
19 Wheeling Jesuit University[51] 2016 No
20 Long Island University [52] 2 2017 No

Notes:

  1. Lindenwood's program is described as varsity in several sources,[53][54] but is simultaneously listed as a club sport.[55]
  2. Text in italics represents varsity rugby programs that have been announced for the upcoming year.

Other schools, such as Penn State and Notre Dame College, do not grant varsity status to women's rugby, but commit significant resources comparable to varsity sports, such as offering scholarships, paid coaches and trainers, and medical attention.[56]

Division 1 National Championships (15's)

Men's National Championship

Sports Illustrated named Notre Dame national champion in 1966.[57] In 1967, Sports Illustrated named California national champions after their 37–3 defeat of Notre Dame.[58]

1980–2012

USA Rugby has crowned an official national men's champion each year since 1980.[59] After the 2010 season, USA Rugby split Division 1 into two, with the top flight called Division 1-A Rugby (formerly called the College Premier Division), and the second flight called Division 1-AA.

YEAR; CHAMPION; RUNNER-UP
  • 1980 – California 15, Air Force 9
  • 1981 – California 6, Harvard 3 (a.e.t.)
  • 1982 – California 15, Life College 14
  • 1983 – California 13, Air Force 3
  • 1984 – Harvard 12, Colorado 4
  • 1985 – California 31, Maryland 6
  • 1986 – California 6, Dartmouth 4
  • 1987 – San Diego St. 10, Air Force 9
  • 1988 – California 9, Dartmouth 3
  • 1989 – Air Force 25, Penn State 7
  • 1990 – Air Force 18, Army 12
  • 1991 – California 20, Army 14
  • 1992 – California 27, Army 17
  • 1993 – California 36, Air Force 6
  • 1994 – California 27, Navy 13
  • 1995 – California 48, Air Force 16
  • 1996 – California 47, Penn State 6
  • 1997 – California 41, Penn State 15
  • 1998 – California 34, Stanford 15
  • 1999 – California 36, Penn State 5
  • 2000 – California 62, Wyoming 16
  • 2001 – California 86, Penn State 11
  • 2002 – California 43, Utah 22
  • 2003 – Air Force 45, Harvard 37
  • 2004 – California 46, Cal Poly 24
  • 2005 – California 44, Utah 7
  • 2006 – California 29, BYU 26
  • 2007 – California 37, BYU 7
  • 2008 – California 59, BYU 7
  • 2009 – BYU 25, California 22
  • 2010 – California 19, BYU 7
  • 2011 – California 21, BYU 14[60]
  • 2012 – BYU 49, Arkansas State 42

2013–present

In 2013, eight of the top college rugby teams withdrew from the USA Rugby D1A competition and organized their own championship called the Varsity Cup. The media and other rugby commentators view the Varsity Cup as equivalent to the USA Rugby D1A championship, given the strength of the teams participating and the fact that the 2013 Varsity Cup finalists – BYU and Cal – finished the spring 2013 season as the consensus #1 and #2 ranked teams in all of college rugby.[61][62][63] Four additional schools joined the Varsity Cup for 2014, bringing the number of teams in that tournament to twelve. The Varsity Cup was successful in gaining media exposure, with the 2014 Varsity Cup final televised live on NBCSN. USA Rugby responded to the successful promotion of its Varsity Cup rivals by signing a ten-year contract in October 2014 with IMG that would focus on the marketing and increase exposure of USA Rugby's Collegiate National Championship.[64]

The lists below show the champions for the Division 1-A Rugby and the Varsity Cup championships for each year, along with the teams' final rankings, as ranked by RugbyMag/RugbyToday.com.

USA Rugby championship:
  • 2013: (#3) Life University 16 – 14 St. Mary's (CA) (#5)
  • 2014: (#1) St. Mary's (CA) 21 – 6 Life University (#3)
  • 2015: (#3) St. Mary's (CA) 30 – 24 Life University (#4)
  • 2016: (#3) Life University 24 – 20 St. Mary's (CA) (#5)
Varsity Cup Championship:
  • 2013: (#1) BYU 27 – 24 California (#2)
  • 2014: (#2) BYU 43 – 33 California (#4)
  • 2015: (#1) BYU 30 – 27 California (#2)
  • 2016: (#1) Cal 40 – 29 BYU (#2)

Men's Division 1-AA

YEAR; CHAMPION; RUNNER-UP

Women's Division 1

The following are the results from the D1 women's national championship, from 1991 to the present.[71] USA Rugby established a new division called "Division I Elite" that began championship competition in 2016.

Division I Elite

Division I

  • 1991 – Air Force, runner-up Boston College
  • 1992 – Boston College, runner-up Connecticut
  • 1993 – Connecticut, runner-up Air Force
  • 1994 – Air Force, runner-up Boston College
  • 1995 – Princeton, runner-up Penn State
  • 1996 – Princeton, runner-up Penn State
  • 1997 – Penn State, runner-up Radcliffe
  • 1998 – Radcliffe, runner-up Penn State
  • 1999 – Stanford, runner-up Princeton
  • 2000 – Penn State, runner-up Princeton
  • 2001 – Chico State, runner-up Penn State
  • 2002 – Air Force, runner-up Penn State
  • 2003 – Air Force, runner-up Illinois
  • 2004 – Penn State, runner-up Princeton
  • 2005 – Stanford 53, Penn State 6
  • 2006 – Stanford 15, Penn State 12
  • 2007 – Penn State 22, Stanford 21
  • 2008 – Stanford 15, Penn State 10
  • 2009 – Penn State 46, Stanford 7
  • 2010 – Penn State 24, Stanford 7
  • 2011 – Army 33, Penn State 29[72]
  • 2012 – Penn State 32, Stanford 12[73]
  • 2013 – Penn State 65, Norwich 10[74]
  • 2014 – Penn State 38, Stanford 0
  • 2015 – Penn State 61, Central Washington 7
  • 2016 – UC Davis 30, Virginia 25[75]

College Rugby Sevens

Since the 2009 announcement that rugby sevens will be included in the 2016 Olympics, college rugby sevens has grown in popularity. The addition of Rugby 7s to the 2016 Olympic games has led to increasing interest from TV and other media, and an increased emphasis in the collegiate ranks on the 7s game. For example, the University of Texas founded its competitive rugby sevens program in 2010.[76] Cal rugby announced in December 2011 that beginning in 2013 it would use the fall term for sevens.[77]

Collegiate Rugby Championship

The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is the highest profile college sevens rugby championship in the US. The inaugural CRC, held in Columbus, Ohio in June 2010 was televised live by NBC and NBC Universal.[9] The result was high ratings, with the CRC ratings beating the NCAA lacrosse championship.[78] The success of the inaugural 2010 tournament lead to a second tournament in 2011 at PPL Park in Philadelphia, again televised live by NBC.[10] NBC recognized that rugby is growing in popularity, participation and interest.[79] In 2014, the Penn Mutual Life Insurance company become the title sponsor of the championship. The tournament has grown each year and has recently been signed to a multi-year deal with several large sponsors and Talen Energy Stadium (Formerly PPL Park) for the tournament to be held in Philadelphia for the several more years.[80] As the sport grows more funding is made available and the success of the tournament in 2016 has shown just how popular this collegiate level event has become.[81] The CRC is run by United World Sports, the same company that organizes the USA Sevens rugby sevens tournament every February in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Men's

YEAR: CHAMPION; SCORE; RUNNER-UP

Women's

USA Rugby National Championship

USA Rugby announced in September 2011 the creation of a new sevens tournament, the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.[85] The tournament is held annually at the end of the fall season and features 24 teams. Qualification is based on performance at sevens tournaments during the fall, where tournament winners receive automatic bids, with the remaining places in the 24-team field filled by invitation. Some of the more high-profile qualifying tournaments include tournaments based on traditional conference rivalries, such as the Atlantic Coast 7s (composed mostly of ACC schools), the Southeastern 7s (composed mostly of SEC schools) and the Heart of America 7s (composed mostly of Big 12 schools).

The inaugural Championship tournament was held December 16–17, 2011 in College Station, Texas, and was contested by 24 teams that qualified based on performance in qualifying tournaments throughout the fall of 2011. The 2011 tournament was won by Life University, defeating Central Washington 22-17 in overtime.[86] Tim Stanfill of Central Washington was the tournament MVP, Derek Patrick of Miami was the tournament's leading try scorer, and Colton Caraiga of Life University was the tournament's leading points scorer.[87] In the first three years, strong teams that won bids have declined to participate.[88][89][90]

Men's Division I

Women's

American Collegiate Rugby Championship Sevens

The American Collegiate Rugby Championship Sevens (ACRC7s) is an annual college sevens tournament played in late April or early May. For some D1 teams, the ACRC7s is the first spring opportunity to play elite-caliber sevens rugby in the run-up to the Collegiate Rugby Championship.[94] In its first three years, the tournament has taken place at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Men's Division 1 ACRC7s Champions

Conference membership

Team rankings are in parenthesis, based on Goff Rugby Report rankings, current as of December 2014.[98]

Division I-A

Main article: Division 1-A Rugby

Division I-AA

Italics indicate second teams of clubs competing in D I-A. These teams are ineligible for Division I-AA playoffs.[100][101]

Atlantic Coast
Clemson (12)
North Carolina St. (28)
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Chesapeake
Maryland (20)
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Georgetown
James Madison
Mary Washington
Mount St. Mary's
Salisbury
Towson
East Coast
AIC (17)
Middlebury (25)
Albany
Boston College
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New England College
Northeastern
Southern Connecticut

Empire
Stony Brook (25)
Army
Binghamton
Brockport
Colgate
Fordham University
Merchant Marine Acad.
Rutgers
Syracuse
Gold Coast
Claremont
Long Beach
Loyola Marymount
San Diego
Santa Barbara CC
USC
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
Heart of America
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Oklahoma State
Truman State
Ivy
Dartmouth (15)
Cornell
Brown
Columbia
Harvard
Pennsylvania
Princeton
Yale

Keystone
Rutgers
St. Joseph's (27)
Millersville
Pittsburgh
Shippensburg
James Madison
Lock Haven
Temple
Villanova
West Chester
MAC Schools
North South
Bowling Green (18) Cincinnati
Ball State Dayton
Central Michigan Louisville
Northern Illinois Miami (Ohio)
Western Michigan Ohio
Northwest
West East
Oregon Boise State
Washington Eastern Wash.
Western Oregon Idaho
Western Wash. Washington State
PAC Rugby
California (3)
UCLA (6)
Utah (10)
Arizona (14)
Arizona State (15)
Oregon State
Pacific Western
Chico State
Fresno State
San Francisco St.
San Jose State
Stanford
Nevada
UC Santa Cruz
Humboldt State

[102]

[103]

Mountain States
Northern Southern
Idaho State Univ. BYU (2)
Montana State Dixie State
Salt Lake CC Snow College
Utah State Southern Utah
Weber State UNLV
Utah Valley
South Independent
North South
Arkansas State Central Florida (7)
Georgia Southern Florida International
Georgia Tech Florida State
Kennesaw State South Florida
Memphis
Middle Tenn. St.

Southeastern
West East
Alabama South Carolina (23)
Auburn Georgia
Florida Kentucky
Mississippi Tennessee
Mississippi St. Vanderbilt
LSU Arkansas
Southwest
Houston
North Texas
Rice
Saint Edward's
Stephen F. Austin
Texas State
Independent
Air Force (8)
Navy (10)
Cent. Washington (21)
Notre Dame (30)
East Carolina
Grand Canyon

Former Conferences:

Organization and conferences

American college rugby is governed by World Rugby and USA Rugby. Within the US, college rugby has historically been governed by the respective Geographical Unions (GUs) and Local Area Unions (LAUs).

Organization of college rugby has been evolving, however. Since 2009 many schools have been organizing into conferences similar to the traditional NCAA conferences. In November 2010, USARFU's college management committee set out a plan for transitioning universities to NCAA style groupings.[104] The purpose of the realignment is for college rugby to be able to capitalize on the marketability of major college conferences.[105] Playing in traditional conferences capitalizes on traditional rivalries, and brings in more sponsorship.[106]

Conferences and conference tournaments

Beginning around 2010, college rugby programs began realigning into conference structures that mirror the traditional NCAA conferences used by the member schools' other athletic programs. The first high-profile example was the formation of the Ivy League Rugby Conference in 2010.[14] Following the organization of the Ivy League schools, the members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference followed suit in 2010.

Ivy Rugby Conference

Main article: Ivy Rugby Conference

The Ivy Rugby Conference was formed and had its first full season in 2009.[107] in 2009. The IRC was formed to foster better competition among rugby teams from the Ivy League schools and to raise the quality of play.[108] The IRC has had consistent success in attracting commercial interests.[104] The IRC formed committees to manage the league, independently of the LAUs and TUs.[108] Prior to formation of the IRC, clubs from the eight Ivy League schools had competed in the Ivy Rugby Championship Tournament since 1969.

Atlantic Coast Rugby League

The formation of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League was announced in March 2010, beginning play in the spring 2011 season. The purpose behind the formation of the ACRL was for the Atlantic Coast schools to schedule rugby union matches against other regional schools, which would both reduce travel and create more competitive matchups with traditional college rivalries.[109] Maryland won the 2011 inaugural ACRL, defeating North Carolina in the title match.[110]

The Atlantic Coast Rugby League schools started moving in the direction of setting up their own conference in 2008, beginning with the Atlantic Coast Invitational (ACI) tournament.[109] The ACI tournament changed to a sevens format in 2010.[109] N.C. State won the 2010 tournament. Beginning in 2011, the winner of the Atlantic Coast Invitational has advanced to the USA Rugby National Championship.[111] N.C. State again won the ACI tournament in 2011 defeating Virginia 24-17 in the final.[112]

In March 2010, nine of the twelve schools that participate in the NCAA's Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced that they had formed the Atlantic Coast Rugby League (ACRL) that would begin play in spring 2010.[113] The ACRL quickly gained commercial success, announcing in February 2011, before it had even begun its inaugural season, that it has partnered with Adidas as its corporate sponsor.[114] In addition to its early commercial success, the ACRL expects to improve rugby in the ACRL universities by capitalizing on traditional ACC rivalries, increasing the number of fans, and attracting talented high school rugby players.[113]

Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference

In December 2010 a core group of founding schools formed the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC). By April 2010 the SCRC had expanded to 11 schools, comprising the entire membership of the NCAA's Southeastern Conference (SEC) at that time except for Arkansas. Tennessee won the 2010 Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championship beating LSU 19-17, and repeated in the 2011 SCRC Olympic Sevens Championship, beating Florida 26-14 in the final. Similar to other conferences, the SCRC has also enjoyed commercial success, announcing in fall 2010 that the SCRC had formed commercial partnership agreements with Adidas and the World Rugby Shop.[115]

The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference, formed by the aforementioned 11 SEC schools, was created in late 2010 and began play in the 2011-12 season. Florida won the conference title in the inaugural season, defeating Tennessee in the championship match. Although the SEC has since expanded to 14 schools, the SCRC membership remains at 11.

Pacific Athletic Conference

Main article: PAC Rugby Conference

Several members of the Pac-12 conference agreed in spring 2012 to form a conference beginning play in the 2012-13 season.[116]

Big Ten Universities

Main article: Big Ten Universities

The Big Ten schools have formed the Big Ten 7s tournament, which features a round of pool play followed by knockout play. The inaugural Big Ten tournament was held August 2011, and hosted by Wisconsin.[117] Wisconsin and Penn State both won their respective pools. Both teams were also successful in knockout play, reaching the finals, where Wisconsin defeated Penn State 21-14.[117] Wisconsin's Ben Knight was the tournament MVP.[118] Wisconsin's victory at the 2011 Big Ten 7s earned it the right to compete for the national championship at the 2011 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.[119]

Other conferences

The Red River Conference, which replaced the Allied Rugby Conference in 2014–15, is composed mostly of teams from what had been the Big 12 South from 1996 to 2011. The Southwest Conference (SWC) was created in 2011 with the charter members from seven Texas schools. University of Texas was immediately added, and Texas won the conference in the inaugural 2011-12 season.

Other competitions: rivalry trophies

College rugby includes rivalry trophies such as the World Cup between the University of California, Berkeley and the University of British Columbia (Canada),[120] the Wasatch Cup between BYU and Utah,[121] the University Cup between Texas and Texas A&M,[122] the Koranda Cup between Yale and Princeton,[123] and the Common Wealth Shield between Virginia and Virginia Tech.[124]

Other competitions: Bowl Series

Main article: ACRC Bowl Series

The ACRC Bowl Series annual championship 15s tournament takes place in November. College conference champions and select elite sides participate. The tournament provides an opportunity for teams to play outside of their conferences, and is therefore important to establishing final fall 15s college rankings.[125]

Other competitions: Divisions 2–4

15s

Division II

Men's
Women's

Division III

Division III is governed by the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO). The National Small College Rugby Organization was created to give a competitive outlet to small colleges which would not otherwise have an opportunity to compete on a national stage. Each year, the NSCRO hosts rugby tournaments for Division III Men's and Women's college teams, and during 2006-2011 it also conducted a Division IV Women's college tournament.

Men's
Women's

Division IV

The National Small College Rugby Organization conducted a Division IV championship from 2006 to 2011.

Women's only

Sevens

Division II

USA Rugby
Men

Division III

National Small College Rugby Organization
Men
Year Champion
2013 Occidental[144]
2014 New England College[145]
2015 New Mexico Highlands 22, New England College 19

Women

Year Champion
2014 Wayne State College (Nebraska)[146]
2015 Wayne State College 22, Mt. Saint Mary's 17

References

  1. 1 2 Forbes, "Why Pro Rugby Could Win In The United States", February 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ USA Rugby, "Membership Statistics, 2010-2011".
  3. ↑ Delco Times, "Notre Dame and Boston College to Represent Catholc College Rugby in National Sevens Championship", June 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ Florida Rugby Union, "Latest stats from USAR membership", May 7, 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Need Scholarship? Join Scrum", New York Times, John Otis, May 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ Gainline.us
  7. ↑ Rugby Rugby, "NSCRO Changes D3 Reference to Small College Rugby", August 24, 2012.
  8. ↑ WV Metro News – Sports
  9. 1 2 Bleacher Report "Rugby: NBC's Collegiate Sevens Championship Preview".
  10. 1 2 2011 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship
  11. ↑ Clifton, Pat. "CRC Attendance Record Shattered". www.rugbytoday.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  12. ↑ Royall Rugby, "College Premier Division Set to Launch" Archived March 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine..
  13. ↑ College Contacts, USA Rugby.
  14. 1 2 About Ivy Rugby, Ivy Rugby Conference.
  15. ↑ USA Rugby, College
  16. 1 2 3 "USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a mythical championship'", Deseret News, May 17, 2013.
  17. ↑ Rugby Mag, College Rugby State of the Union: Part Deux, Oct. 12, 2011, http://rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2303:college-rugby-state-of-the-union-part-deux&catid=101:op-eds&Itemid=302
  18. ↑ "Three UC Berkeley athletic teams to be preserved", Berkeley News, February 11, 2011.
  19. ↑ Cal Maritime, Cal Maritime's Highly Successful Rugby Coach Announces Departure, August 25, 2010, http://www.csum.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=1a48d66d-7506-4e55-aec4-88776bcd4a14&groupId=61902
  20. ↑ AIC Rugby. Accessed October 14, 2015. ("We're a young varsity model program that enjoys full time coaching, and all the other trimmings of varsity collegiate athletics.")
  21. ↑ "VARSITY RUGBY TEAM RUNS OVER SOUTH CAROLINA", Life University, February 4, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Bayer Named Head Coach of WJU Rugby Program", Wheeling Jesuit University, August 28, 2015. ("the first full-time head coach of the varsity program.")
  23. ↑ "NDC Rugby Announces Coach Terry Han Addition to Staff", Notre Dame Falcons, January 8, 2014. ("the NDC Falcon Varsity program is becoming known for and is excited to be part of National Championship caliber American rugby.")
  24. ↑ Rugby Mag, CWU Goes Varsity for Men and Women, Feb. 26, 2014, http://www.rugbymag.com/college-news/10583-cwu-goes-varsity-for-men-and-women.html
  25. 1 2 "Army Makes Varsity Move Official", Rugby Today, August 1, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Bethel Athletics Introduces Three New Programs", October 24, 2014.
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  92. 1 2 3 "Women's Historical Champions - College 7s". Retrieved 2016-05-29.
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  116. ↑ Rugby Mag, Pac-12 Rugby On the Horizon, May 27, 2012, http://rugbymag.com/college-news/4708.html
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  120. ↑ http://www.wearerugby.com/news/articles/cal-retains-world-cup
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  122. ↑ Texas And A&M Go All Rivalry On Us » Rugby In Texas
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  133. ↑ Norwich : Women's Rugby: Norwich claims USA Rugby DII title
  134. ↑ USA Rugby: Women's Division II
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  137. ↑ NSCRO DIII Title Report
  138. ↑ Salve Regina rugby team wins national championship | College Sports | providencejournal.com | The Providence Journal
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