1980 National Collegiate Rugby Championship

Last updated

1980 National Collegiate Rugby Championship
Tournament details
Tournament format(s) Knockout
DateMay 17 – 18, 1980
Tournament statistics
Teams4
Matches played4
Final
VenueCredit Island, Davenport, IA
ChampionsCalifornia (1st title)
Runners-upAir Force
  1979 (Previous)
(Next) 1981  

The 1980 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the first edition of an official national championship for intercollegiate rugby organized by the U.S. Rugby Football Union. The tournament was hosted by Palmer College of Chiropractic at Credit Island in Davenport, Iowa. [1] The Cal Bears were victorious in large part to Mick Luckhurst who was tournament MVP.

Contents

Participants

Illinois

Qualified for the National Championship by winning the college division of the Mid-America Cup at the Midwest Rugby Championship at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. [2]

Navy

Qualified for the National Championship by winning the Eastern Collegiate Cup on April 5–6 at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. [3]

Air Force Falcons

Qualified for the National Championship by winning the West Regional on 2–4 May in Lawrence, KS

California

Qualified from Far West Regional on March 22–23 at Pebble Beach, CA.

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
March 23 - Pebble Beach, CA
 
 
California9
 
May 17 – Davenport, IA
 
Santa Monica7
 
California (Pacific)15
 
April 6 - Blacksburg, VA
 
Navy (East)0
 
Navy15
 
May 18 – Davenport, IA
 
Army6
 
California15
 
May 4 - Lawrence, KS
 
Air Force9
 
Air Force
 
May 17 – Davenport, IA
 
Northern Colorado
 
Air Force (West)15
 
April - Dayton, OH
 
Illinois (Midwest)4 Third place
 
Illinois7
 
May 18 – Davenport, IA
 
Minnesota 6
 
Illinois10
 
 
Navy0
 

Semifinals

17 May 1980
1:00 PM
California150Navy
Try: Tim O'Brien 25' c
Mark Deaton 70' c
Con: Mick Luckhurst (2/2)
Pen: Mick Luckhurst 10'
[4]
Credit Island
17 May 1980
3:00 PM
Air Force154Illinois
Try: Mark Roling 30'
Steve Miller 38'
Art Smith
Pen: Tom Jones 52'
Try: Pete McHugh 89'
Credit Island

Third place

18 May 1980
10:00 AM
Illinois100Navy
Try: Bruce Anderson
Drop: Brian Mullery
McSweeney
[5]
Credit Island

Final

18 May 1980
1:15 PM
California159Air Force
Try: Mark Deaton
Con: Mick Luckhurst
Pen: Mick Luckhurst 72', 75'
Drop: Mick Luckhurst 77'
[6] Try: Bruce Stark
Con: Tom Jones
Pen: Joe Motz
Credit Island
Attendance: 200

Related Research Articles

The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics and to administer national championships. During its existence, the AIAW and its predecessor, the Division for Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS), recognized via these championships the teams and individuals who excelled at the highest level of women's collegiate competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State University Maritime Academy</span> Public university in Vallejo, California

The California State University Maritime Academy is a public university in Vallejo, California. It is part of the California State University system and the only maritime academy on the United States West Coast. The university offers six bachelor's degree programs and one master's degree program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Fighting Illini</span> Athletics teams of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Illinois Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Golden Bears</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of California, Berkeley

The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal, the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 113 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries. Notable facilities used by the Bears include California Memorial Stadium (football) and Haas Pavilion. Cal finished the 2010–11 athletic season with 1,219.50 points, earning third place in the Director's Cup standings, the Golden Bears' highest finish ever. Cal did not receive any points for its national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA. Cal finished 12th in the 2014-15 standings.

Tom Billups is an American former rugby union rugby player, who played for the USA Eagles as an international and Blackheath Rugby Club, Harlequin F.C., and Pontypridd RFC as a professional. After retiring as a player in 1999, he joined the staff of the United States national team and was the head coach from 2001 to 2006. In addition to coaching the Eagles, Billups managed the U.S. national sevens team program and coached the 2005 U.S. sevens team. In 2015 Billups was inducted into U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, and was the first person to be inducted as both a player and coach. In 2018 Billups became the 14th recipient of the Craig Sweeney Award which was first award in 1979 in memory of former United States national team member and captain, Craig Sweeney. The Sweeney Award is presented to a former national team player who has contributed significantly to the game while displaying exemplary character on and off the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Golden Bears football</span> University of California, Berkeley football team

The California Golden Bears football program represents the University of California, Berkeley in college football as a member of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium and is coached by Justin Wilcox. Since beginning of play in 1886, the team has won five NCAA recognized national titles - 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1937 and 14 conference championships, the last one in 2006. It has also produced what are considered to be two of the oddest and most memorable plays in college football: Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels' fumble recovery at the 1929 Rose Bowl and The Play kickoff return in the 1982 Big Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army Rugby Football Club</span> Rugby team

The Army Rugby Football Club was founded in 1961 and for over 50 years the Army Black Knights have been a leader in USA Collegiate Rugby. The Army Ruggers are West Point's most winning team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Fighting Illini men's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

The Illinois Fighting Illini men's ice hockey team is a college ice hockey program that represents the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The Illini play on campus at historic 1,500-seat University of Illinois Ice Arena. They are a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) at the ACHA Division I level. The team is a former member of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) within the ACHA. The team operates as a registered student organization (RSO) at the University of Illinois. The University does not currently have an NCAA varsity team, and thus the club team is the highest level of hockey offered by the University. A feasibility study published in March 2018, and commissioned by the NHL, NHLPA, and College Hockey, Inc., found a high probability of success for the hockey program to transition to NCAA Division I. Illinois however reversed course in May 2022, announcing that they were no longer exploring adding a varsity hockey program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Mary's Gaels</span> Collegiate sports club in the United States

The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference.

Jack Clark is an American former rugby union player, former head coach of the U.S. national rugby team, and the current head rugby coach at the University of California, where he became the sixth head coach in team history in 1984.

<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 Atlantic Coast Rugby League was an annual college rugby competition played every spring among eight universities—seven from the Atlantic Coast Conference, plus Navy. The league was disestablished in 2016.

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.

The 1981 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the second edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby organized by the U.S. Rugby Football Union. The tournament was hosted by the Dayton-Miami Rugby Football Club at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The Cal Bears repeated as champions as did Mick Luckhurst as MVP. Brian Vincent, also of California, won Most Valuable Back.

The 1982 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the third edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby organized by the U.S. Rugby Football Union. The tournament took place at Northern Colorado University in Greeley, Colorado.

The 1983 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby organized by the U.S. Rugby Football Union. The tournament was hosted by the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The Cal Bears won their fourth straight title.

The 1985 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the sixth edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby. The tournament took place concurrently with the Monterey National Invitational Rugby Tournament on the Polo Fields at Pebble Beach, California. Harvard won their first title with a victory over Colorado.

The 1986 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the seventh edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby. The tournament took place concurrently with the Monterey National Invitational Rugby Tournament on Collins Polo Field at Pebble Beach, California. The Cal Bears won their sixth title with a victory over Dartmouth. Kevin Lake of California was the MVP with Juta Vanda of Dartmouth runner-up. Air Force took second in the Lookin' Good Award.

The 1987 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the eighth edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby. The tournament took place concurrently with the Monterey National Invitational Rugby Tournament on Collins Polo Field at Pebble Beach, California. The San Diego State won their sixth title with a victory over Dartmouth. Tom Sharpy of Air Force was the MVP.

References

  1. White, Don (May 18, 1980). "Ruggers battle in rain, muck". Quad-City Times, p.1B
  2. Cirillo, Chip (April 29, 1980). "Rutgers prove quality win mid America cup". The Daily Illini, p.1B
  3. "Navy Tops Army; Tech Makes Semis". (April 8, 1980). The Collegiate Times, p.9 col.4-5
  4. "Cal Gains National Rugby Final". (May 18, 1980). S.F. Sunday Examiner & Chronicle, p.C7 col.1
  5. Cirillo, Chip (June 5, 1980). "Rugby Club Places Third At National Championship". The Daily Illini, p.23
  6. Bates, Dearrel (May 19, 1980). "California Captures Rugby Title". Quad-City Times, p.15