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Current season, competition or edition:![]() | |
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Sport | Rugby union |
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First season | 2014 |
Ceased | 2016 |
Organising body | URugby |
Official website | bowlseries.com |
The Bowl Series Rugby, formerly American Collegiate Rugby Championship (ACRC) Bowl Series, was 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 tournament was managed by URugby, [1] a division of Sevens Sports LLC, [2] a sports event management and marketing company specializing in the sport of rugby.
The 2014 ACRC Bowl Series included nine collegiate bowl games with 18 teams (including nine conference champions) over two days. Participating conference champions were Clemson, American International College, Stony Brook, Bowling Green, Life University, West Virginia, Army, South Carolina, and North Texas. The AIC-Bowling Green game was named the 2014 College Game of the Year by Goff Rugby Report. [3]
The 2015 ACRC Bowl Series were memorable, marked by close contests and dramatic finishes, including the down-to-the-wire Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference Championship and an Indiana-Kutztown game Alex Goff called an "instant classic". [4] With two tournament locations, The University of Delaware visited Iona College's campus for one of ten bowl matches in 2015 while mine other matches were held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In 2016, the tournament changed its name to the Bowl Series Rugby. This created a more inclusive conference, which allowed high school 7s matches played during halftime of the collegiate 15s matches. Hosted at Iona College, the 2016 Bowl Series produced more classic matches on its opening day than previous years as the hosts Iona College facing off with ECRC champions American International College (AIC) with "an aggressive, hard-charging defense". [5]
The 2016 Bowl Series returned to Iona College, New Rochelle, New York on November 19 and 20, for a 2-day 24-team collegiate championship event.
The 2016 Bowl Series hosted six collegiate 15s matches and six high school 7s matches. Featuring six returning teams from the 2014 Bowl Series and the 2015 Bowl Series, the tournament guaranteed the electric passion of previous years. Returning teams included: American International College, Iona College, Stony Brook University, Rutgers University, University of Delaware and University of Massachusetts.
The 2015 ACRC Bowl Series took place Nov 20-21. The line-up of teams included the then-#1 and #2 ranked college rugby teams in the U.S., American International College and Indiana University, and five of the then-current Top 10. [6]
Nine of the 10 matches took place at the Rugby Athletic Center in Charlotte. The tenth, dubbed the Quinn For the Win Ice Bucket Challenge, took place at Iona College in New York. The game between Iona College and the University of Delaware raised money for former rugby player and Ice Bucket Challenge co-founder Pat Quinn's Quinn For the Win foundation, which raises money for ALS research.
The 2015 Bowl Series was the site of the SCRC championship game between Tennessee and South Carolina. Tennessee won the game with a dramatic last-minute try to secure the 23-22 victory. [7]
The inaugural American Collegiate Rugby Championships Bowl Series came to Charlotte, N.C on November 21–23, 2014. This high-level collegiate rugby competition hosted a series of matches in traditional bowl format, bringing the very best college rugby teams from around the country to Charlotte’s Rugby Athletic Center. The 2014 ACRC Bowl Series featured eight championship bowl games over three days. Many of the participating teams were selected based on their finish in their respective collegiate conferences.
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states, from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universities, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond. The CAA was historically a Southern conference until the addition of four schools in the Northeastern United States after the turn of the 21st century, which added geographic balance to the conference.
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In January 2021, Danny White was introduced as the Volunteers' Director of Athletics.
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 students attend the university. Historically, the women's teams and athletes were referred to as the "Lady Kats", but all athletic squads adopted the "Wildcats" nickname in 1995. Collectively, the fans of the Kentucky Wildcats are often referred to as the Big Blue Nation. Their main and most intense rival is the University of Louisville. The Wildcats are composed of 25 varsity teams that compete nationally—23 in NCAA-recognized sports, plus the cheerleading squad and dance team.
The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 24 sports and became a member of the Big Ten Conference on December 1, 1899. The school's official colors are cream and crimson.
The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I.
The Clemson Tigers are the American football team at Clemson University. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In recent years, the Tigers have been ranked among the most elite college football programs in the United States.
The Stony Brook Seawolves are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Stony Brook University (SBU) in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves play as members of the Coastal Athletic Association, which competes at the NCAA Division I level. Stony Brook had previously been a part of the America East Conference from 2001 to 2022, though has competed in CAA Football since 2013. The university's mascot is Wolfie the Seawolf, and the official colors of the Seawolves are red, grey, and blue.
The Furman Paladins are the varsity athletic teams representing Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate athletics.
The Louisiana State University Rugby Football Club, often referred to as LSU Rugby, represents Louisiana State University in college rugby and rugby sevens. The team is part of the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) and they play their home matches at the UREC Field Complex on LSU's campus.
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.
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.
The Stony Brook Seawolves football program represents Stony Brook University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, competing in CAA Football. The Seawolves play at the 12,300-seat Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, New York.
The 2009 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Dabo Swinney, who was in his first full season as head coach. The Tigers played their home games in Memorial Stadium. The Tigers won the ACC Atlantic Division, but after securing the title lost to in–state rival South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl 34–17, before losing for the second time in the season to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson closed the season with a win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.
The Stony Brook Seawolves baseball team represents Stony Brook University in NCAA Division I men's college baseball. Stony Brook currently competes in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and plays its home games on Joe Nathan Field. Matt Senk has coached the team since the beginning of the 1991 season. The team has won the America East tournament six times in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2019. In 2011, the Seawolves claimed their first America East regular season championship. Stony Brook has participated in the NCAA tournament on six separate occasions, winning its first game in 2010.
The Northeastern University Rugby Football Club is a college rugby union team representing Northeastern University. The club competes in the Liberty Conference of Division 1-A Rugby and is governed by USA Rugby.
The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) is an annual college rugby competition played every spring among 10 universities from the Southeastern Conference.
Madison John Hughes is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fullback. Born in England, he represents United States at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.
Chris Frazier is an American professional rugby union player currently with the New England Free Jacks. He plays both fifteens and sevens and has represented the United States with the USA Falcons 7s side. He is a former Collegiate All-American and previously played club level rugby for Mystic River.
The 2022 Collegiate Rugby Championship was a college rugby sevens tournament played from May 28–30, 2022 at Gold Mine on Airline in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tournament is also known as May Madness. It was the 12th annual Collegiate Rugby Championship, and the second consecutive year that the tournament was held in New Orleans. The men's Premier Cup competition consisted of 32 teams, while the women's premier cup competition featured 16 teams. The tournament as a whole featured 110 teams competing across six men’s and women’s divisions, making it the largest ever collegiate rugby tournament. All teams competed in a single elimination bracket. Lindenwood entered the tournament as three-time defending champions. Kutztown won their first CRC title defeating Dartmouth 17–12 in the final. Lindenwood won their fourth women's title defeating Life 19–7 in the final. The CBS Sports Network broadcast five matches per day with the remaining matches available on The Rugby Network. Teams which were knocked out of the Premier Cup Bracket, competed in the Champion Plate, Challenge Bowl, and the Survivor Shield. Notre Dame College won the Champion Plate, Fordham won the Challenge Bowl, and Air Force won the Survivor Shield.
College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States. 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.