College rugby

Last updated
College rugby
Cal v Gaels 2010 04.jpg
California Golden Bears v Saint Mary's Gaels match in March 2010
Governing body
First played 1874
Registered players65,000 [1]
Clubs900
Club competitions

College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States of America. Seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side variants of rugby union are most commonly played. Most collegiate rugby programs do not fall under the auspices of the NCAA and are instead governed by National Collegiate Rugby and USA Rugby, two nationwide governing bodies. 27 women's programs participate in the NCAA.

Contents

College rugby is the fastest growing college sport in the US and one of the fastest growing sports in the nation. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Women's rugby has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport since 2002. Between 2004 and 2010, rugby was the fastest growing sport in the United States when its popularity increased by roughly 350% (when the estimated active participants increased from 18,500 in 2006 to 65,000 in 2010). [1] There are over 900 college teams—male and female—registered with USA Rugby and hundreds more with National Collegiate Rugby. [9] There are over 32,000 college players registered with USA Rugby, making college rugby the largest section of USA Rugby's membership. [10] In 2011 USA Rugby created a new Division 1-A with approximately 30 schools forming a new premier division. [11]

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. College club rugby has included several championship competitions since 1980.

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. [12] 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. [13]

Alumni from collegiate programs make up much of the United States men's and women's national teams. Major League Rugby implemented its first collegiate MLR Draft in 2020. Players are eligible for the draft after 3 years in college at 21 years old. Free agents can try to join teams at 18 years old. [14] [15] [16] [17]

Governance

Pacific Tigers kicking off in a 1961 game Pacific tigers rugby kickoff.jpg
Pacific Tigers kicking off in a 1961 game

In the United States, college rugby was traditionally governed by (in descending order of authority): USA Rugby, geographical unions (GUs) and local area unions (LAUs) (e.g., NERFU) and administered by a College Management Committee. [18] By 2011 USA Rugby was urging college rugby programs to adopt new conference structures like the conferences used by their other athletic programs. The highest profile example was the formation of the Ivy Rugby Conference in 2009. [19] This move signaled a shift away from the LAUs and GUs as the governing bodies for regional college rugby.

College rugby is often called a club sport because teams are usually administered by a student club sports department rather than the intercollegiate athletics department. Some schools have promoted rugby to varsity status, committing resources for scholarships and paid coaches, or given rugby an elevated status short of full varsity status. The NCAA has no authority over men's college rugby, but 27 schools have opted to govern their women's teams under all applicable NCAA bylaws for recruiting and eligibility, under the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Women program.

In 2019, in the wake of USA Rugby's bankruptcy declaration, the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) formed to oversee the top-level men's and women's divisions. [20] [21]

Play and participation

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

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 (e.g., Big Ten, 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.[ citation needed ] 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. [22]

Outstanding college rugby players are recognized as All-Americans. [23] Qualified All-Americans can represent the United States in international tournaments by playing on the United States national under-20 rugby union team or the All Americans rugby union team.

Divisions

College rugby competition in the USA is divided into several tiers:

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.

Significant movement across men's divisions occurred in 2011 when USA Rugby separated Division I into Division I-A and I-AA. [25] 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. [25] 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. [25]

The governance of collegiate rugby was split and diverged in 2021. The umbrella of the USA Rugby Collegiate Council includes College Rugby Association of America (CRAA), American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA), American College Rugby (ACR), and independent conferences. [24] National Collegiate Rugby (NCR), formerly NSCRO, challenged the existing structure and expanded beyond small colleges to include the higher divisions. Men's and women's conferences each chose as individual conferences (in some cases, schools within conferences also chose [24] ) to align with USA Rugby or NCR.

Women
Twelve women's conferences that played historically in DII left the oversight of USA Rugby to join NCR. Beginning in 2021, women's college rugby within NCR is split between Small College and an Open Division. The Open Division, which NCR now refers to as its DI, is made up of teams from these 12 conferences. [24]

According to Goff Rugby Report, the DI Elite women's teams are part of College Rugby Association of America, and so are most women's DI conferences (eight conferences) and the independents. There are also a couple of DII or hybrid conferences within CRAA. [24] [26]

The American Collegiate Rugby Association is a group of four DII-level women's conferences remaining under the aegis of USA Rugby, which included 62 teams as of June 2020. [26] [27]

The collegiate women's programs in the NIRA operate their own regular season competition and championship.

Men
In 2021, most DII men's rugby conferences aligned with NCR. [24]

Two men's conferences that played DIA in 2019 joined NCR in 2021, as have three DIAA conferences. Under NCR, they competed in fall 2021 as DI and DIAA, with separate postseasons. [24]

Men's DIAA was dramatically split in 2021, with both NCR and CRAA-run postseasons in the fall. There was also a CRAA-run postseason in spring 2022. According to Goff Rugby Report, there was no way to have a sole men's DIAA national champion in 2021–2022. [24]

In 2021, there are five men's DIA conferences plus independents under USA Rugby/CRAA. [24]

Varsity programs

Men's varsity

Majority of colleges classify their rugby programs as club sports rather than varsity sports. A small but growing number of universities, however, have begun labeling rugby as a varsity sport, realizing that rugby can be profitable, as a successful rugby program can result in national championships and increased marketability. [28]

Men's College Varsity Programs (arranged by date)
CollegeAthletic
Affiliation		Metro areaVarsity
since		National achievements
California (Berkeley) [29] D1: Pac-12 Berkeley, CA188226 national championships since 1980, 5 CRC 7s championships
Paul Smiths College (USCAA)Paul Smiths, NY20002013 and 2017 ~ NSCRO Ranked Top 40
Cal Maritime (NAIA)Vallejo, CA2001NSCRO rank #1 (2009, 2010); runner up (2012) [30]
Franciscan University D3: 3RRCSteubenville, OH2001NSCRO Ranked #1 (2012); 3rd at Nationals
Norwich D3: GNACNorthfield, VT2008D2 national playoffs (2013)
American International College [31] D2: NE-10 Springfield, MA2009
Life University [32] (NAIA) Marietta, GA 2010D1-A champion (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019); D1-A runner-up (2014, 2015, 2017)
Lindenwood D1: Ohio Saint Louis, MO 2011D1 7s champion (2015, 2017, 2018), CRC 7s champion (2018); D1-AA runner-up (2013)
Notre Dame College [33] D2: Great Lakes Cleveland, OH 20122017 D1-AA National Champion, 2016 D1-AA National Runner-Up
Wheeling Jesuit [34] D2: Mtn. East Wheeling, WV2012
Army [35] D1: Patriot West Point, NY2014
Central Washington University [36] D2: Great NW Ellensburg, WA2014
Bethel College [37] (NAIA) Mishawaka, IN 2015
New England College [38] D3: NECC Henniker, NH2015NSCRO National Champions VII's – (2014), NSCRO National Champion XV's – (2015), National runner up XV's – (2014) [39]
Marywood University [40] D3 Scranton, PA 2018
Queens University of Charlotte [41] D2: SAC Charlotte, NC 2018
Navy [42] D1: Patriot Annapolis, MD2022
Principia College [43] D3Elsah, IL???
SUNY Maritime College D3: SkylineBronx, NY???
Men's College Quasi-Varsity Programs
CollegeAthletic
Affiliation		Metro areaStatus
Penn State D1: Big Ten University Park, PA"Team sports" status; member of Athletic Department. [44]
BYU D1: West Coast Provo, UTRugby is one of four extramural sports teams sponsored by the school. [45]
Spring Hill College D2: SIAC Mobile, ALReceives support from the athletics department, including a full-time head coach. [46]
Davenport D2: Great LakesGrand Rapids, MIOfficially listed as non-varsity, but is fully supported as a varsity program. [47]
Kutztown D2: PSAC Kutztown, PAKutztown rugby has been designated as elite club status. [48]
Arizona D1: Pac-12 Tucson, AZRugby is in the "Cactus Tier", an elevated level of intercollegiate competition.
Mount St. Mary's D1: Northeast Emmitsburg, MD Elevated to "Premier Team Sport" status. [49] [50]
DartmouthD1: Ivy LeagueHanover, NHMen's rugby uses varsity facilities, has full time coaching staff

Women's Rugby: An NCAA Emerging Sport

Logo of NCAA Rugby with the "Emerging Sport" at bottom NCAA ESW Rugby Logo.png
Logo of NCAA Rugby with the "Emerging Sport" at bottom

Since 2002, a growing number of schools have begun adding women's rugby as an NCAA sport. These women's rugby programs have received sanctioning by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA has identified women's rugby as an NCAA Emerging Sports for Women. 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. [51] 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. [52] Growth was initially slow, with only 5 women's NCAA programs forming within the first few years. The push for NCAA 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 schools dropped 72 women's varsity sports teams during 2008–2012 due to the economic recession, [53] women's rugby programs grew in number during that time frame.

As of the fall of 2022, the NCAA has sanctioned rugby for 27 schools across 3 Divisions. [54] Current NCAA women's rugby programs include the following: [55] This league is known as the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA)

For the 2022–23 season, Princeton University will join as an NCAA D1 team. [56]

Penn State vs West Chester University of Pennsylvania (2008). Nichole Lopes '07 '09 with the ball for Penn State Nichole F. Lopes Penn State Women's Rugby college 2008.jpg
Penn State vs West Chester University of Pennsylvania (2008).
Nichole Lopes '07 '09 with the ball for Penn State
Women’s varsity programs
SchoolNCAA
since		NCAA
Division
Bowdoin College 2004III
West Chester University 2004II
Norwich University 2005III
Quinnipiac University 2010I
Harvard University 2013I
Army 2014I
Brown University [57] 2014I
American International College [58] 2015II
Dartmouth College [59] 2015I
Notre Dame College 2015II
Sacred Heart University [60] 2015I
Castleton University [61] 2016III
Molloy College [62] 2016II
University of New England [63] [64] 2016III
Colby Sawyer 2017III
Long Island University Post [65] 2017I
Mount St. Mary's University [66] 2017I
Queens University of Charlotte [41] 22018II
Guilford College [67] 2019II
New England College [68] 22019III
Alderson Broaddus [69] 2020II
Lander University [70] 2021II
Princeton University 2022I
Navy [71] 2022I

Division 1 National Championships (15s)

Men's National Championship

Sports Illustrated named Notre Dame national champion in 1966. [72] In 1967, Sports Illustrated named California national champions after their 37–3 defeat of Notre Dame. [73]

National Invitational Championship

1980–2012

Except for interruption by the COVID-19 pandemic, USA Rugby has crowned an official national men's champion each year since 1980. [76] 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 State 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 [77]
  • 2012 – BYU 49, Arkansas State 42

2013–2017

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 viewed 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. [78] [79] [80] 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. [81] The Varsity Cup folded in November 2017 when the organizer, broadcast partner and a major sponsor, Penn Mutual, withdrew their support. [82]

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 regular season rankings, as ranked by RugbyMag/RugbyToday.com.

2018–present

  • 2018: Life University 60 – 5 California
  • 2019: Life University 29 – 26 California
  • 2020: cancelled (pandemic)
  • 2021: cancelled (pandemic)
  • 2022: Army 20 – 8 St. Mary's (CA)
  • 2023: Navy 28 – 22 California

National Collegiate Rugby (Men)

Division I

  • 2021: St. Bonaventure 19 – 18 Penn State
  • 2022: Brown 21 – 5 Queens

Men's Division 1-AA

YEAR; CHAMPION; RUNNER-UP

National Collegiate Rugby (Men)

Division I-AA

  • 2021: Virginia Tech 34 – 22 West Chester
  • 2022: Virginia Tech 24 – 22 Louisville

Women's College Club Division 1

The following are the results from the D1 women's club national championship, from 1991 to the present. [98] 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 [99]
  • 2012 – Penn State 32, Stanford 12 [100]
  • 2013 – Penn State 65, Norwich 10 [101]
  • 2014 – Penn State 38, Stanford 0
  • 2015 – Penn State 61, Central Washington 7
  • 2015–16 (fall) Connecticut 19, Air Force 12 [102]
(spring) UC Davis 30, Virginia 25 [103]
  • 2016–17 (fall) Air Force 19, Connecticut 8 [104]
(spring) UC Davis 27, Notre Dame College 19 [105]
  • 2017–18 (fall) Davenport 89, Notre Dame College 24 [106]
(spring) Chico State 54, UCF 26 [91]
  • 2018–19 (fall) Air Force 40, Davenport 27 [92]
(spring) BYU 48, Virginia Tech 0 [93]
  • 2019–20 (fall) Air Force 26, Navy 10 [107]
(spring) cancelled (pandemic)
  • 2020–21 (fall) cancelled (pandemic)
(spring) cancelled (pandemic)
  • 2021–22 (fall) Navy 20, Davenport 12 (CRAA) [108]
(spring) BYU 80, Virginia Tech 7 (CRAA)
  • 2022–23 (fall) Navy 61, Utah State 28 (CRAA)
(spring) BYU def. Virginia, by forfeit (CRAA)

National Collegiate Rugby (Women)

Division I

  • 2021 (fall) – Life University 87, Northern Iowa 3 (For NCR in 2021, Life University fielded a largely freshman and sophomore team. [26] )
  • 2022 (fall) – Michigan 41, Notre Dame College 14

College Rugby Sevens

Since the 2009 announcement that rugby sevens will be included in the 2016 Olympics, college rugby sevens has grown more popular. The addition of Rugby 7s to the 2016 Summer Olympics has led to increasing interest from TV and other media coverage, 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. [109] Cal rugby announced in December 2011 that beginning in 2013 it would use the fall term for sevens. [110]

Collegiate Rugby Championship

The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is the highest profile college sevens rugby championship in the United States. The inaugural CRC, held in Columbus, Ohio in June 2010 was televised live by NBC and NBC Universal. [111] The result was high ratings, with the CRC ratings beating the NCAA lacrosse championship. [112]

The success of the inaugural 2010 tournament led to a second tournament in 2011 at PPL Park in Philadelphia, again televised live by NBC. [113] NBC recognized that rugby is growing in popularity, participation, and interest. [114] In 2014, the Penn Mutual Life Insurance company become the title sponsor of the championship. The tournament grew each year and was 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 several more years. [115] The success of the tournament in 2016 showed how popular this collegiate level event had become. [116] The National Collegiate Rugby Organization obtained the rights to the CRC in 2020 and in 2021 and 2022 staged its championship 7s matches at the tournament in New Orleans. In 2023, it moved to the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC.

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. [120] The tournament was held annually at the end of the fall season for its first three years and featured 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. [121] 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. [122] In the first three years, strong teams that won bids have declined to participate. [123] [124] [125]

Men's Division I

Men's Division IAA

  • 2019: Lindenwood-Belleville 19–5 Western Michigan [128]
  • 2020: cancelled (pandemic)
  • 2021: cancelled (pandemic)
  • 2022: San Diego 28–14 Harvard [130]

Women's

  • Division 1 Elite:
    • 2018: Lindenwood 20–0 Penn State
    • 2019: Lindenwood 24–7 Dartmouth [128]
    • 2020: cancelled (pandemic)
    • 2021: cancelled (pandemic)
    • 2022: Lindenwood 32–0 Dartmouth [129] [131]
    • 2023: Life 17–12 Lindenwood
  • Division 1
    • 2011: Norwich University 34–5 Boston College [132]
    • 2012: Norwich University 17–5 Navy [132]
    • 2013: Norwich University 17–10 James Madison [132]
    • 2014: (moved from fall to spring)
    • 2015: Penn State 47–26 Central Washington
    • 2016: Life 10–0 Lindenwood [133]
    • 2017 (Open, all divisions): Lindenwood 31–12 Life [134]
    • 2018 (Open to DII): Air Force 20–17 Chico State
    • 2019: Air Force 21–5 Virginia Tech [135]
    • 2020: cancelled (pandemic)
    • 2021: cancelled (pandemic)
    • 2022: Davenport 24–17 Navy [131]

American Collegiate Rugby Championship Sevens

The American Collegiate Rugby Championship Sevens (ACRC7s) is an annual college sevens tournament played in between April and 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. [136] 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

  • 2014: American International College 38–17 Kutztown University [137]
  • 2015: Kutztown University 36–27 American International College [138]
  • 2016: Naval Academy 17–14 Kutztown University [139]

Conference membership

Team rankings are in parenthesis, based on Goff Rugby Report rankings, current as of January 2017. [140]

Division I-A

Division I-AA

Italics indicate second teams of clubs competing in D I-A. These teams are ineligible for Division I-AA playoffs. [142] [143]

[144]

[145]

Former Conferences:

Organization and conferences

American college rugby is governed by USA Rugby. In the past, college rugby competitions have been governed by local unions.

The structure of the college game has evolved significantly in recent years. To increase the marketability of the game, many traditional rivals have been consolidated into conferences resembling major NCAA conferences such as the Pac-12 and Big Ten. [146] [147] [148]

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. [19] 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

The Ivy Rugby Conference was formed and had its first full season in 2009. [149] The IRC was formed to foster better competition among rugby teams from the Ivy League schools and to raise the quality of play. [150] The IRC has had consistent success in attracting commercial interests. [146] The IRC formed committees to manage the league, independently of the LAUs and TUs. [150] Prior to formation of the IRC, clubs from the eight Ivy League schools had competed in the Ivy Rugby Championship Tournament since 1969.

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. [151]

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

Several members of the Pac-12 conference agreed in spring 2012 to form a conference beginning play in the 2012–13 season. [152]

Other conferences

Nine D1A rugby programs currently compete in the Big Ten Universities conference, which was founded in 2012. 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 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

College rugby includes rivalry trophies such as the World Cup between the University of California, Berkeley and the University of British Columbia (Canada), [153] the Wasatch Cup between BYU and Utah, [154] the University Cup between Texas and Texas A&M, [155] the Koranda Cup between Yale and Princeton, [156] and the Common Wealth Shield between Virginia and Virginia Tech. [157]

The ACRC Bowl Series championship 15s tournament took place annually for three years from 2014 until 2016. College conference champions and select elite sides participated. The tournament provided an opportunity for teams to play outside of their conferences and was therefore relevant to establishing final fall 15s college rankings. [158]

Division II

Division II is governed by USA Rugby.

Division II Sevens

USA Rugby
Men
Women
National Collegiate Rugby
Men
Women

Small Colleges

Small College Rugby, formerly known as Division III, is governed by the National Collegiate Rugby Organization, formerly the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO). In 2020, NSCRO re-branded as National Collegiate Rugby. 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 Men's and Women's college teams, and during 2006–2011 it also conducted a Division IV Women's college tournament.

Men's 7s

YearChampion
2013Occidental [197]
2014New England College [198]
2015New Mexico Highlands 22, New England College 19
2016New Mexico Highlands 31, St. Mary's College (MD) 7 [199]
2017Christendom College 24, St. Mary's College (MD) 19 (OT)
2018Claremont Colleges 17, Salve Regina 0
2019vacated, ineligible players [200] (New Mexico Highlands 17, Claremont Colleges 12)
2020cancelled (pandemic)
2021cancelled (pandemic)
2022New Mexico Tech 26, Christendom College 10
2023Babson 17, Springfield 0

Women's 7s

YearChampion
2014Wayne State College (Nebraska) [201]
2015Wayne State College 22, Mt. Saint Mary's 17
2016Wayne State College 20, Colorado College 0 [202]
2017Colgate 15, Wayne State College 12 [203]
2018Wayne State College 24, Lee 5
2019Wayne State College 31, Rochester 7 [204]
2020cancelled (pandemic)
2021cancelled (pandemic)
2022Chicago 10, South Dakota 5 [205]
2023Endicott 15, Lee 10 [206]

Division IV

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

Injuries

In the US, college rugby has much higher injury rates than college football. Rugby union has similar injury types to American football but with more common injuries of arms. [208]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Nittany Lions</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Penn State University

The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Ruggers</span> Rugby team

The Lady Ruggers are Penn State University's (PSU) Women's Rugby Football Club sports team, established in 1991. They are a Division 1 Elite rugby team who play under USA Rugby, American rugby's governing body. Although they are an official PSU team the women's rugby program at PSU is not funded as a varsity sport and therefore cannot be officially called the "Nittany Lions". The team is part of the Penn State athletic department's "team sports" program and plays other school's varsity teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy Midshipmen</span> Sports teams of the United States Naval Academy

The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 36 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams. Both men's and women's teams are called Navy Midshipmen or "Mids". They participate in the NCAA's Division I, as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a football-only member of the American Athletic Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (men), Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (men), Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges, Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (men), Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (men) and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Navy is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College lacrosse</span> Lacrosse played by student athletes in North America

College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse in Canada is sponsored by the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) and Maritime University Field Lacrosse League (MUFLL), while in the United States, varsity men's and women's lacrosse is governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are also university lacrosse programs in the United Kingdom sponsored by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and programs in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutztown Golden Bears</span>

The Kutztown Golden Bears are the sports teams that represent Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Kutztown University is a member of NCAA Division II and competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The university sponsors eight men's and fourteen women's intercollegiate sports. In 2022, Kutztown University added women's acrobatics & tumbling as its 22nd varsity sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Washington Wildcats</span>

The Central Washington Wildcats are the 15 varsity athletic teams that represent Central Washington University, located in Ellensburg, Washington, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Wildcats compete as members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindenwood Lions</span> Athletic teams of Lindenwood University

The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the Ohio Valley Conference for most of its sports since the 2022–23 academic year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Collegiate Rugby</span>

National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) formerly the "National Small College Rugby Organization" is a rugby union governing body in the United States. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, NCR was created in 2007 by Chip Auscavitch and Steve Cohen to support and encourage the development and organization of small college rugby in the country.

The first tier of intercollegiate sports in the United States includes sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies. The major sanctioning organization is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Before mid-1981, women's top-tier intercollegiate sports were solely governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Smaller colleges are governed by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Two-year colleges are governed by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in most of the country, except for the unaffiliated California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) and Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davenport Panthers</span> Athletic teams that represent Davenport University

The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Oregon Wolves</span>

The Western Oregon Wolves are the athletic teams that represent Western Oregon University, located in Monmouth, Oregon, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) since the 2001–02 academic year. The Wolves previously competed in the D-II Pacific West Conference (PacWest) from 1998–99 to 2000–01; and in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1993–94 to 1997–98.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division 1-A Rugby</span>

Division 1-A Rugby is the highest level of college rugby within the United States and is administered by USA Rugby. Division 1-A rugby is modeled after NCAA athletic competitions, with the 46 D1-A rugby schools divided into eight conferences: East, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, California, Big Ten, Red River, PAC, and Independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate Rugby Championship</span>

The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is an annual college rugby sevens tournament. The CRC is the highest profile college rugby sevens competition in the United States, with the tournament broadcast live on NBC from 2010–2017, on ESPN News and ESPN3 from 2018–2019, The Rugby Network in 2021 and 2023, and on CBS Sports in 2022. The CRC capitalized on the surge in popularity of rugby following the 2009 announcement of the addition of rugby sevens to the Summer Olympics. Beginning in 2021, the tournament has been organized by National Collegiate Rugby under license for the name and logo.

The USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships is an annual competition among the top college rugby teams in the country to decide a national champion in rugby sevens. USA Rugby organized the championship to capitalize on the surge in popularity of rugby sevens following the 2009 announcement of the addition of rugby to the Summer Olympics. USA Rugby recognized that rugby sevens is growing in popularity, participation and interest. At the time of the foundation of the tournament, rugby was one of the fastest growing sports across college campuses. This tournament is a major contributor to the selection process for USA Rugby Olympic athletes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Edward's Hilltoppers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of St. Edwards University

The St. Edward's Hilltoppers are the athletic teams that represent St. Edward's University, located in Austin, Texas, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Hilltoppers compete as members of the Lone Star Conference for all 13 varsity sports. St. Edward's was a member of the Heartland Conference from 1999 to 2019.

This is a list of results and records for the USA Rugby National Collegiate Men's Rugby Championships, which began in 1980. The 1984–1988 and 1990 editions were played in conjunction with the Annual Pebble Beach Rugby Classic. In 2010, several of the top college teams agreed to form the College Premier League, now known as Division 1-A Rugby to begin play in spring 2011. This list does not include records from the breakaway invitational Varsity Cup Championship held between 2013 and 2017, nor from the rival National Collegiate Rugby Organization's D1 championship that began in 2021.

Big Ten Universities is a Division 1-A college rugby conference founded in summer 2012 by ten of the twelve schools that then made up the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten Universities was formed to improve rugby among the Big Ten schools by capitalizing on traditional Big Ten rivalries, increasing the number of fans, attracting talented high school rugby players, and playing other regional schools, which would create more competitive matchups with traditional rivals.

The Lindenwood Lions men's rugby team represents Lindenwood University in college rugby. Lindenwood plays in Division I-A in the Mid-South conference. The team is coached by Josh Macy. The Lindenwood men's rugby team won the 2012 USA Rugby Division II national championship in its inaugural season, and finished second in Division I-AA for the 2012-13 season. Following the 2012-13 season, Lindenwood moved up to Division I-A for the 2013-14 season. Lindenwood has also had success in Sevens. The Lions won the D1 7s National Championship in 2015 & the Red Bull University 7s Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varsity Cup Championship</span>

The Varsity Cup Championship was an American college rugby competition established in 2012 to serve as an invitational championship following the breakaway of several schools from Division 1-A Rugby.

The 2023 Division 1-A Rugby Championship is the eleventh season of the Division 1-A Rugby championship, the annual university rugby union competition run by USA Rugby for teams from the top twelve college teams in the United States. Navy won their first Championship with a 28–22 win over California, capping a perfect 18–0 season.

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