National U.S. Collegiate Hurling Champions

U.S. NCGAA Hurling Champions 2013 - University of California, Berkeley

The National Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association is a non-profit organization that oversees Hurling and Gaelic Football sports for universities in North America. Since beginning in 2011, the NCGAA has grown to over 27 active clubs across the United States and Canada.

The first ever U.S. NCGAA hurling championship took place in 2011. In 2014, a second lower division of the championship known as the Shield was introduced. The NCGAA expanded to include Gaelic Football in 2022.

The NCGAA champions has been held on various times throughout the year but has settled into the weekend of Saint Patrick's day.

Team Successes

Hurling

In 2011, Indiana University won the first hurling championship, beating UC Berkeley 3-4 (13) to 1-6 (9). ^[1] The University of Montana became the first team to win the championship back-to-back, doing so in both 2014 & 2015 and in 2017 & 2018. The University of Pittsburgh became the first team to win the NCGAA championship 4 times in a row from 2019 to 2023 (the 2021 championships was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Two players from the University of Pittsburgh, Luca Donini and Stephen Wagner played in all four championships.

A complete list of winners of the U.S. NCGAA hurling championship is below.

Year	Winner	Location
2011	Indiana University [2] [3]	Gaelic Park, Chicago, IL
2012	Purdue University [4] [5]	Stanford University, California
2013	University of California, Berkeley [6]	Purdue, Indiana
2014	University of Montana, Missoula [7]	Gaelic Park, New York
2015	University of Montana, Missoula [8]	Missoula, Montana
2016	University of Connecticut	Boulder, Colorado
2017	University of Montana, Missoula	Chicago, Illinois
2018	University of Montana, Missoula	Boulder, Colorado
2019	University of Pittsburgh	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2020	University of Pittsburgh	Orlando, Florida
2022	University of Pittsburgh	Orlando, Florida
2023	University of Pittsburgh	Louisville, Kentucky
2024	Purdue University	Salt Lake City, Utah

Growing the Game

Besides overseeing the competitive aspect of collegiate Hurling, the NCGAA tries to raise awareness and increase participation of Hurling in America.

2024 National Championship

In 2024, the NCGAA finals was televised on ESPN3. This was the first nationally televised match in the United States since the All-Ireland Final in 1973. ^[9] Purdue University overcame Colorado University at Zion Bank Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah to win the hurling final. The final score reported on ESPN's live stream was 5-12 (27) to 1-11 (14). The correct score on review was 6-12 (30) to 1-11 (14)

Details

17 March 2024

13:30 MST

Purdue University	6–12 – 1–11	University of Colorado Boulder
Evan Grealish 1–10 (0–6f, 0-3 65') Danny Rubin 3–0 Michael Brennan 1–1 Travis Gregory 1–0 Liam Clarke 0–1		Conall McCabe 0–9 (0–1f, 0-1 65') Paco 1–0 Patrick Burns 0–1 Michael Jordan 0–1 (0–1f)

Zions Bank Stadium, Salt Lake City

GK 0 Clay Williams FB 59 Ian Cockerall (c) FB 30 Michael Wise WB 25 Ryan McLoughlin HB 69 Sean Harkin WB 97 Blake Kessler MF 83 Dylan Clarke MF 15 Michael Brennan WF 24 Liam Clarke HF 11 Evan Grealish WF 17 Daylen Conn FF 5 Grayson Fish FF 6 Danny Rubin (c) Substitutes: F 12 Joseph Corbett F 67 Reece Kerschner B 3 Jonah Peterson F 44 Ben Cabot B 37 Mikey Davis F 43 Travis Gregory F 25 Jeremiah Budd B 45 Reily Bresnahan B 57 Izzy Surinak F 4 Katie Essex F 1 Van Hibbeln F 16 Adam Bartley F 20 Liam Rogers

GK 1 Seamus O'Shea FB 2 Amy Holland FB 33 Larry Enderson WB 3 Leo Buck HB 33 Mark Sheehan WB 9 Kieran Maguire MF 28 Conall McCabe MF 23 Michael Jordan WF 69 Patrick Burns HF 34 Maximiliano Silva WF 7 Will Poey FF 18 Logan Wallace FF 6 Ava Russell

College GameDay

The 2024 College Football Season started out in Ireland with Georgia Tech defeating Florida State 24-21. It marked the first time that the pre-game sports show "College GameDay originated outside of the United States. ^[10] As part of the show, the NCGAA's own Naoise Waldron taught Desmond Howard, Jess Simms and Stanford Steve the basics of hurling.

Heinz History Center

To honor the University of Pittsburgh's 4-in-a-row NCGAA championships, the Heinz History Center included an exhibit on the University's hurling team in the entryway for the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. The University of Pittsburgh's jersey is alongside exhibits for Pittsburgh sports legends like Andrew McCutchen and Jordan Staal.

References

1. "Indiana University Wins Hurling National Championship - HoganStand".
2. "Indiana win first NCGAA championship". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
3. "Indiana University win first ever National Collegiate Hurling Championship in the U.S." Retrieved 19 June 2013.
4. "Hurling making a comeback". Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
5. "Purdue University win 2012 U.S. National Collegiate Hurling Championship". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
6. "National Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association" . Retrieved 19 June 2013.
7. "KPAX Sports". Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
8. "Griz Hurlers Win Back-To-Back National Titles" . Retrieved 26 May 2015.
9. Browne, Jonathan (2024-03-18). "History Made As ESPN Broadcasts GAA For First Time To US Audience". Balls.ie. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
10. McKay, Julie (2023-12-09). "ESPN's College GameDay Built by The Home Depot to Kick Off 2024 Season in Dublin at Aer Lingus College Football Classic Featuring ACC Rivals Florida State and Georgia Tech". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2025-01-03.