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 21 NCAA women's programs. Women's Rugby has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport since 2002.
Life University is a private university in Marietta, Georgia focused on training chiropractors. It was established in 1974 by chiropractor Sid E. Williams. In addition to undergraduate and graduate programs in health and wellness-oriented fields, Life University is best known for its Doctor of Chiropractic degree program. It is the largest single campus chiropractic college in the world and espouses the 19th century philosophy of vitalism as its guiding doctrine. Life University centers their mission, including clinical training, around the vertebral subluxation complex.
The Dartmouth College Big Green are the varsity and club athletic teams representing Dartmouth College, an American university located in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth's teams compete in the Ivy League conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, as well as in the ECAC Hockey conference. The College offers 34 varsity teams, 17 club sports, and 24 intramural teams. Sports teams are heavily ingrained in the culture of the College and serve as a social outlet, with 75% of the student body participating in some form of athletics.
The Collegiate Water Polo Association is a conference of colleges and universities in the Eastern United States that sponsor 19 men's teams and 17 women's teams that compete in varsity water polo. The winners of the conference tournaments earn one of the four spots in the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship and one of the eight spots in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. The CWPA sponsors club team competition in 17 men's divisions and 13 women's divisions across the United States.
The Arkansas State Red Wolves are the athletic teams of Arkansas State University. They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except women's bowling, a sport not sponsored by that league, competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. The bowling team competes in the single-sport Southland Bowling League.
The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri. The school is primarily a member of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference, although women's ice hockey and gymnastics and men's volleyball compete in NCAA Division I. The Lions joined the NCAA and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) in the summer of 2013, after completing the transition process from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). On October 4, 2018, Lindenwood announced it would be leaving the MIAA for the Great Lakes Valley Conference effective July 1, 2019.
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.
The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams of Davenport University located in Caledonia Township, Michigan. DU is a member of the NCAA and compete at the Division II level in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most sports. Men's lacrosse and wrestling currently compete as an NCAA independent; although both sports will join the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in 2020–21. In addition the university's competitive cheer and Stunt teams compete National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) while the DU competitive dance team competes in the National Dance Association (NDA). Davenport added varsity Esports as a member of National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) in 2018.
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 67 D1-A rugby schools divided into eight conferences: East, Mid-South, Rocky Mountain, California, Big Ten, Liberty, Red River, and PAC.
The 2011 Collegiate Rugby Championship was a rugby union sevens tournament. The competition was held from 4–5 June at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. The men's tournament featured sixteen teams, whereas the women's tournament featured eight teams.
The 2012 Men's Division III Rugby Tournament is a tournament which involves approximately 140 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NSCRO Division III college rugby as a culmination of the 2011–12 college rugby season. It began in the fall 2011 season in the northeast, midwest and mid-atlantic, and picks up again in the spring 2012 season for the southern teams, and concludes with the final four-style semifinals and championship games on April 29-30, 2012 in Glendale, CO.
The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), is a college rugby sevens tournament held every June at Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia. The CRC is the highest profile college rugby sevens competition in the United States, with the tournament broadcast live on NBC every year. The CRC has capitalized on the surge in popularity of rugby following the 2009 announcement of the addition of rugby to the Summer Olympics.
The 2012 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship was a rugby union sevens tournament. The tournament was held on June 2–3 at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was the third annual Collegiate Rugby Championship, and the second year in a row that the tournament was held at PPL Park. Sixteen teams from colleges in the United States competed. Dartmouth College defeated Arizona in the final to secure their second CRC Championship in a row.
The USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational,, was a rugby union sevens tournament. The competition was held from 4–6 June at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The CCI was a groundbreaking event in college rugby for several reasons—it was the first ever rugby sevens championship contested among college rugby programs, and it was the first time college rugby was broadcast live on network TV. This was the only year that the tournament was called the "Collegiate Championship Invitational." The following year, the tournament changed its name to the "Collegiate Rugby Championship."
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. This tournament is a major contributor to the selection process for USA Rugby Olympic athletes.
The Heart of America Rugby Football Union is a college rugby conference playing in Division 1-AA, with members composed mostly of Big 12 and SEC schools. HOA organizes a league competition with the winner qualifying for the national playoffs, and every fall hosts a rugby sevens tournament with the winner qualifying for the national sevens championships.
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.
The Bowl Series Rugby, formerly American Collegiate Rugby Championship (ACRC) Bowl Series, is an annual college rugby competition featuring top national teams playing fifteen-a-side rugby. The inaugural event was held in Charlotte, N.C. in November 2014; this 20-team bowl competition occurred at Charlotte’s Rugby Athletic Center, a sports and events venue located three miles from downtown.
The 2017 Collegiate Rugby Championship was a college rugby sevens tournament played June 3–4 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. It was the eighth annual Collegiate Rugby Championship, and the seventh consecutive year that the tournament was at Talen Energy Stadium. The event was broadcast on NBC and NBCSN. California won the championship.
