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College rugby in the United States

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College rugby in the United States
California Golden Bears v Saint Mary's Gaels match in March 2010
Governing body
First played1874
Registered players65,000 [1]
Clubs900
Club competitions

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.

College rugby is the fastest growing college sport in the US and one of the fastest growing sports in the nation as the number of athletes increased by roughly 350% from 18,500 in 2006 to 65,000 in 2010.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Women's rugby is an NCAA Emerging Sport.[1] Over 900 college teams—male and female—are registered with USA Rugby and hundreds more with National Collegiate Rugby.[9] Over 32,000 college players are registered with USA Rugby, making college rugby the largest section of its membership.[10]

The highest profile college rugby sevens competition is the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC). College club rugby has included several championship competitions since 1980.

Rugby has been played in universities since as early as the 1800s, but in the 1960s rugby found a foothold in colleges, led by Catholic colleges such as Notre Dame and particularly Jesuit universities such as Boston College and St. Joseph's in Philadelphia.[11] Several schools have upgraded their investments in rugby by creating programs with varsity or quasi-varsity status and funding for scholarships.[12]

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 join teams at age 18.[13][14][15][16]

Governance

Pacific Tigers kicking off in a 1961 game

The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) oversees the top-level men's and women's divisions.[17][18]

27 schools govern their women's teams under applicable NCAA bylaws for recruiting and eligibility, under the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Women program. The NCAA has no authority over men's 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 promoted rugby to varsity status, committing resources for scholarships and paid coaches, or given rugby an elevated status short of full varsity status.

History

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.[19]

The Ivy Rugby Conference formed in 2009.[20] This move signaled a shift away from the LAUs and GUs as the governing bodies for regional college rugby. By 2011 USA Rugby was urging college rugby programs to adopt new conference structures like the conferences used by their other athletic programs. 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.[17][18]

Play and participation

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.[21]

Outstanding college rugby players are recognized as All-Americans.[22] 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:

  • The highest is Division I-A for men and Division I Elite for women
  • Division I-AA for men and Division I for women
  • Division II
  • Small College
  • The separate National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) consists of women's NCAA DI, II and III rugby programs that adhere to NCAA organizational rules under a sanctioning agreement with USA Rugby.[23]

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.[24] 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.[24] 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.[24]

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.[23] 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[23]) 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.[23]

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.[23][25]

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.[25][26]

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.[23]

In 2011 USA Rugby created a new Division 1-A with approximately 30 schools forming a new premier division.[27]

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.[23]

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.[23]

In 2021, there are five men's DIA conferences plus independents under USA Rugby/CRAA.[23]

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)
College Athletic

Affiliation

Metro area Varsity

since

National achievements
California (Berkeley)[29] D1: Pac-12 Berkeley, CA 1882 26 national championships since 1980, 5 CRC 7s championships
Paul Smiths College (USCAA) Paul Smiths, NY 2000 2013 and 2017 ~ NSCRO Ranked Top 40
Cal Maritime (NAIA) Vallejo, CA 2001 NSCRO rank #1 (2009, 2010); runner up (2012)[30]
Franciscan University D3: 3RRC Steubenville, OH 2001 NSCRO Ranked #1 (2012); 3rd at Nationals
Norwich D3: GNAC Northfield, VT 2008 D2 national playoffs (2013)
American International College[31] D2: NE-10 Springfield, MA 2009
Life University[32] (NAIA) Marietta, GA 2010 D1-A champion (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019); D1-A runner-up (2014, 2015, 2017)
Lindenwood D1: Ohio Saint Louis, MO 2011 D1 7s champion (2015, 2017, 2018), CRC 7s champion (2018); D1-AA runner-up (2013)
Notre Dame College[33] D2: Great Lakes Cleveland, OH 2012 2017 D1-AA National Champion, 2016 D1-AA National Runner-Up
Wheeling Jesuit[34] D2: Mtn. East Wheeling, WV 2012
Army[35] D1: Patriot West Point, NY 2014
Central Washington University[36] D2: Great NW Ellensburg, WA 2014
Bethel College[37] (NAIA) Mishawaka, IN 2015
New England College[38] D3: NECC Henniker, NH 2015 NSCRO 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, MD 2022
Principia College[43] D3 Elsah, IL ??? USA Rugby Division 2 7s title champion (2013). NCR D2 National Champs 15s (2022)[44]
SUNY Maritime College D3: Skyline Bronx, NY ???
Men's College Quasi-Varsity Programs
College Athletic

Affiliation

Metro area Status
Penn State D1: Big Ten University Park, PA "Team sports" status; member of Athletic Department.[45]
BYU D1: West Coast Provo, UT Rugby is one of four extramural sports teams sponsored by the school.[46]
Spring Hill College D2: SIAC Mobile, AL Receives support from the athletics department, including a full-time head coach.[47]
Davenport D2: Great Lakes Grand Rapids, MI Officially listed as non-varsity, but is fully supported as a varsity program.[48]
Kutztown D2: PSAC Kutztown, PA Kutztown rugby has been designated as elite club status.[49]
Arizona D1: Pac-12 Tucson, AZ Rugby 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.[50][51]
Dartmouth D1: Ivy League Hanover, NH Men'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

The NCAA marked women's rugby as an NCAA Emerging Sports for Women in 2002. Thereafter schools began adding women's rugby as an NCAA sport. An "Emerging Sport" must gain championship status (minimum 40 varsity programs, except 28 for Division III) within 10 years, or show progress toward that goal to remain on the list.[52] Until then, it is under the auspices of the NCAA and its respective institutions. Emerging Sport status allows competition to include club teams to satisfy the NCAA's minimum number of competitions rule.

Growth was initially slow, with only 5 of nearly 350 collegiate teams qualifying.[53] 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 recession,[54] women's rugby programs grew in number.

As of the fall of 2022, the NCAA had sanctioned rugby for 27 schools across 3 Divisions, adding Princeton University for the 2022–23 season.[55][56] Current NCAA women's rugby programs include the following:[57]

Penn State vs West Chester University of Pennsylvania (2008).Nichole Lopes '07 '09 with the ball for Penn State
Women's varsity programs
School NCAA

since

NCAA

Division

Bowdoin College 2004 III
West Chester University 2004 II
Norwich University 2005 III
Quinnipiac University 2010 I
Harvard University 2013 I
Army 2014 I
Brown University[58] 2014 I
American International College[59] 2015 II
Dartmouth College[60] 2015 I
Notre Dame College 2015 II
Sacred Heart University[61] 2015 I
Castleton University[62] 2016 III
Molloy College[63] 2016 II
University of New England[64][65] 2016 III
Colby Sawyer 2017 III
Long Island University Post[66] 2017 I
Mount St. Mary's University[67] 2017 I
Queens University of Charlotte[41] 2 2018 II
Guilford College[68] 2019 II
New England College[69] 2 2019 III
Alderson Broaddus[70] 2020 II
Lander University[71] 2021 II
Princeton University 2022 I
Navy[42] 2022 I

Division 1 National Championships (15s)

Men's National Championship

See also: Division 1-A Rugby

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

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
1972 Palmer College of Chiropractic 28 - 17 Navy
1973 Palmer College of Chiropractic 13 - 4 Illinois
1974 Texas A&M LSU[74]
1975
1976 (moved from spring to fall) LSU 21 - 3 Palmer College of Chiropractic[75]
1977 (moved from fall to following spring)
1978 Palmer College of Chiropractic 19 - 4 LSU
1979 Palmer College of Chiropractic

1980–2012

Main article: National Collegiate Rugby Championship results

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 Match Score Runner-up
1980 California 15 - 9 Air Force
1981 California 6 - 3 (a.e.t.) Harvard
1982 California 15 - 14 Life College
1983 California 13 - 3 Air Force
1984 Harvard 12 - 4 Colorado
1985 California 31 - 6 Maryland
1986 California 6 - 4 Dartmouth
1987 San Diego State 10 - 9 Air Force
1988 California 9 - 3 Dartmouth
1989 Air Force 25 - 7 Penn State
1990 Air Force 18 - 12 Army
1991 California 20 - 14 Army
1992 California 27 - 17 Army
1993 California 36 - 6 Air Force
1994 California 27 - 13 Navy
1995 California 48 - 16 Air Force
1996 California 47 - 6 Penn State
1997 California 41 - 15 Penn State
1998 California 34 - 15 Stanford
1999 California 36 - 5 Penn State
2000 California 62 - 16 Wyoming
2001 California 86 - 11 Penn State
2002 California 43 - 22 Utah
2003 Air Force 45 - 37 Harvard
2004 California 46 - 24 Cal Poly
2005 California 44 - 7 Utah
2006 California 29 - 26 BYU
2007 California 37 - 7 BYU
2008 California 59 - 7 BYU
2009 BYU 25 - 22 California
2010 California 19 - 7 BYU
2011 California 21 - 14 BYU [77]
2012 BYU 49 - 42 Arkansas State

2013–2017

See also: Varsity Cup Championship

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.

USA Rugby championship
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2013 (#3) Life University 16 - 14 St. Mary's (CA) (#5)
2014 (#1) St. Mary's (CA) 21 - 6 Life University (#3)
2015 (#3) St. Mary's (CA) 30 - 24 Life University (#4)
2016 (#3) Life University 24 - 20 St. Mary's (CA) (#5)
2017 (#1) St. Mary's (CA) 30 - 24 Life University (#2)
Varsity Cup Championship
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2013 (#1) BYU 27 - 24 California (#2)
2014 (#2) BYU 43 - 33 California (#4)
2015 (#1) BYU [a] 30- 27 California (#2)
2016 (#1) Cal 40 - 29 BYU (#2)
2017 (#3) Cal 43 - 13 Arkansas St. (#5)
  1. ^ In 2016, BYU was stripped of the 2015 title for using an ineligible player.[83]

2018–present

2018-
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
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
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2021 St. Bonaventure 19 - 18 Penn State
2022 Brown 21 - 5 Queens
2023 Notre Dame College 33 - 10 St. Bonaventure

Men's Division 1-AA

2011 -
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2011 Davenport 38 - 19 UC Santa Barbara[84]
2012 Davenport 39 - 0 San Diego State[85] (Davenport promoted to D-1A for the following season)
2013 Central Florida 27 - 25 Lindenwood[86] (Lindenwood promoted to D-1A for the following season)
2014 Central Florida 64 - 13 Arizona[87]
2015 UC Davis 18 - 15 Central Florida[88]
2016 UC Davis 17 - 13 Notre Dame College[89]
2017 Notre Dame College 40 - 20 UC Davis[90]
2018 Mary Washington 38 - 30 Dartmouth[91]
2018 fall Bowling Green 19 - 7 Saint Joseph's
2019 spring Dartmouth 46 - 5 Chico State
2019 fall Iowa Central Community College 36 - 21 Western Michigan[92]
2020 spring cancelled (pandemic)
2020 fall cancelled (pandemic)
2021 spring cancelled (pandemic)
2021 fall Tennessee 36 - 31 Bowling Green (CRAA)[93]
2022 spring Fresno State 22 - 17 Kansas (ACR)[94][95]
2023 spring Sacramento State 28 - 24 Florida State (CRAA)[96][97]
2023 spring University of San Diego 41 - 19 Iowa State (ACR)[98][99]

National Collegiate Rugby (Men)

Division I-AA
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2021 Virginia Tech 34 - 22 West Chester
2022 Virginia Tech 24 - 22 Louisville
2023 Kentucky 43 - 28 Louisville

Women's National Championship

The following are the results from the Division 1 women's national championship, from 1991 to the present.[100] USA Rugby established a new division called "Division 1 Elite" that began championship competition in 2016, following which the remainder of Division 1 was called "Division 1 Club".

Division 1 Elite
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2016 Penn State 15 - 5 Brigham Young
2017 Penn State 28 - 25 Lindenwood
2018 Lindenwood 36 - 9 Life University
2019 Lindenwood 36 - 19 Life University
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 Lindenwood 54 - 12 Life University
2022 Lindenwood 21 - 0 Life University
2022 (fall) Lindenwood 17 - 15 Life University (CRAA, moved from spring 2023 to fall 2022)
Division 1
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
1991 Air Force Boston College
1992 Boston College Connecticut
1993 Connecticut Air Force
1994 Air Force Boston College
1995 Princeton Penn State
1996 Princeton Penn State
1997 Penn State Radcliffe
1998 Radcliffe Penn State
1999 Stanford Princeton
2000 Penn State Princeton
2001 Chico State Penn State
2002 Air Force Penn State
2003 Air Force Illinois
2004 Penn State Princeton
2005 Stanford 53 - 6 Penn State
2006 Stanford 15 - 12 Penn State
2007 Penn State 22 - 21 Stanford
2008 Stanford 15 - 10 Penn State
2009 Penn State 46 - 7 Stanford
2010 Penn State 24 - 7 Stanford
2011 Army 33 - 29 Penn State[101]
2012 Penn State 32 - 12 Stanford [102]
2013 Penn State 65 - 10 Norwich [103]
2014 Penn State 38 - 0 Stanford
2015 Penn State 61 - 7 Central Washington
Division 1 Club
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2015–16 (fall) Connecticut 19 - 12 Air Force [104]
(spring) UC Davis 30 - 25 Virginia[105]
2016–17 (fall) Air Force 19 - 8 Connecticut[106]
(spring) UC Davis 27 - 19 Notre Dame College[107]
2017–18 (fall) Davenport 89 - 24 Notre Dame College [108]
(spring) Chico State 54 - 26 UCF [91]
2018–19 (fall) Air Force 40 - 27 Davenport [109]
(spring) BYU 48 - 0 Virginia Tech [110]
2019–20 (fall) Air Force 26 - 10 Navy [111]
(spring) cancelled (pandemic)
2020–21 (fall) cancelled (pandemic)
(spring) cancelled (pandemic)
2021–22 (fall) Navy 20 - 12 Davenport (CRAA)[112]
(spring) BYU 80 - 7 Virginia Tech (CRAA)
2022–23 (fall) Navy 61 - 28 Utah State (CRAA)
(spring) BYU forfeit Virginia (CRAA)
2023–24 (fall) Northeastern 42 - 7 Colorado Mesa (CRAA)

National Collegiate Rugby (Women)

Division 1
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2021 (fall) Life University 87 - 3 Northern Iowa (For NCR in 2021, Life University fielded a largely freshman and sophomore team.[25])
2022 (fall) Michigan 41 - 14 Notre Dame College
2023 (fall) Michigan 33 - 17 Notre Dame College

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.[113] Cal rugby announced in December 2011 that beginning in 2013 it would use the fall term for sevens.[114]

Collegiate Rugby Championship

Main article: 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.[115] The result was high ratings, with the CRC ratings beating the NCAA lacrosse championship.[116]

The success of the inaugural 2010 tournament led to a second tournament in 2011 at PPL Park in Philadelphia, again televised live by NBC.[117] NBC recognized that rugby is growing in popularity, participation, and interest.[118] 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.[119] The success of the tournament in 2016 showed how popular this collegiate level event had become.[120]

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

Division I
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2010 Utah 31 - 26 California[121]
2011 Dartmouth 32 - 10 Army
2012 Dartmouth 24 - 5 Arizona
2013 California 19 - 14 Life
2014 California 24 - 21 Kutztown
2015 California 17 - 12 (a.e.t.) Kutztown
2016 California 31 - 7 UCLA
2017 California 19 - 0 Life
2018 Lindenwood 24 - 7 UCLA
2019 Lindenwood 21 - 12 Life
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 Lindenwood 24 - 14 Life
2022 Kutztown 17 - 12 Dartmouth (Premier)
2023 Mount St. Mary's 19 - 5 Indiana (Premier)
Division I Club
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2022 Sam Houston State 17 - 15 Salisbury
2023 University of San Diego 15 - 7 Clemson

Women's

Division I
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2011 Army 14 - 5 Penn State[122]
2012 not held
2013 Penn State 31 - 5 Ohio State[123]
2014 Penn State 29 - 12 James Madison
2015 Penn State 24 - 7 Lindenwood
2016 Life 19 - 10 Lindenwood
2017 Life 17 - 12 Lindenwood
2018 Lindenwood 21 - 12 Penn State
2019 Lindenwood 34 - 12 Army
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 Lindenwood 10 - 7 Life
2022 Lindenwood 19 - 7 Life (Premier)
2023 Brown 21 - 19 Army (Premier)
Division I Club
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2022 Roger Williams 12 - 7 Wisconsin–Eau Claire
2023 Clemson 29 - 17 Massachusetts

USA Rugby National Championship

Main article: USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships

USA Rugby announced in September 2011 the creation of a new sevens tournament, the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.[124] 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.[125] 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.[126] In the first three years, strong teams that won bids have declined to participate.[127][128][129]

Men's Division I

Division I
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2011 Life University 22 - 17 Central Washington
2012 Arkansas State 21 -7 Life University
2013 Arkansas State 32 - 12 Saint Mary's (CA)
2014 (moved from fall 2014 to spring 2015)
2015 Lindenwood 28 - 10 Davenport
2016 Saint Mary's 7 - 5 AIC[130]
2017 Lindenwood 26 - 5 Saint Mary's[131]
2018 Lindenwood 26 - 12 California
2019 Lindenwood 36 - 0 AIC[132]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 Life University 24 - 19 (a.e.t.) Lindenwood[133][134]
2023 Life University 28 - 17 Lindenwood

Men's Division I-AA

Division I-AA
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2019 Lindenwood-Belleville 19 - 5 Western Michigan[132]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 San Diego 28 - 14 Harvard[134]
2023 Iowa State 20 - 10 Nebraska (ACR)

Women's

Division I Elite
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2018 Lindenwood 20–0 Penn State
2019 Lindenwood 24–7 Dartmouth[132]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 Lindenwood 32 - 0 Dartmouth[133][135]
2023 Life 17 - 12 Lindenwood
Division I
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2011 Norwich University 34–5 Boston College[136]
2012 Norwich University 17–5 Navy[136]
2013 Norwich University 17–10 James Madison[136]
2014 (moved from fall to spring)
2015 Penn State 47–26 Central Washington
2016 Life 10–0 Lindenwood[137]
2017 (Open, all divisions) Lindenwood 31–12 Life[138]
2018 (Open to DII) Air Force 20–17 Chico State
2019 Air Force 21–5 Virginia Tech[139]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 Davenport 24 - 17 Navy[135]
2023 Northeastern 19 – 5 Air Force

Conference membership

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

Division I-A

Main article: Division 1-A Rugby

The conference champion is invited to the D1A playoffs along with several at large bids for independents or other highly ranked teams.[141]

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]

Former Conferences:

  • The Mid-Eastern conference disbanded in summer 2012, as most members went to the D1-A Big Ten Universities or to the D1-AA Mid-America conference.
  • The Midwest conference disbanded in summer 2012, as most members went to the D1-A Big Ten Universities or to Division 2.

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.[20] 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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

Main article: PAC Rugby 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 XVs

Until 2021, Division II was solely governed by USA Rugby.

USA Rugby

Men

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
1994 Lock Haven University[159]
1995 Lock Haven University Salisbury[94]
1996 Salisbury[160] Coast Guard[94]
1997 Salisbury[160] Bates[94]
1998 UC San Diego Oregon[161]
1999 UC San Diego 21 - 18 Chico State[161]
2000 Sacramento State 49 - 3 Claremont
2001 Baylor 29 - 16 Arkansas State
2002 Stanford 26 - 15 Northern Iowa
2003 Radford 32 - 22 Northern Colorado
2004 Salisbury 43 - 24 Arkansas State
2005 Northern Colorado 24 - 22 Humboldt State
2006 Coast Guard 17 - 12 Northern Colorado
2007 Middlebury 38 - 22 Arkansas State
2008 Radford 25 - 14 Utah Valley State
2009 Middlebury 27 - 11 Wisconsin
2010 Claremont Colleges 25 - 19 Temple (Claremont promoted to Div. 1)
2011 UW-Whitewater 7 - 3 Middlebury[162]
2012 Lindenwood 50 - 12 Salisbury[163] (Lindenwood promoted to Div. 1-AA)
2013 (Spring) Salisbury 34 - 17 Minnesota-Duluth[164]
2013 (Fall) Minnesota-Duluth 31 - 7 Salisbury[165]
2014 Minnesota-Duluth 24 - 14 UW-Whitewater
2015 Minnesota-Duluth 25 - 19 UW-Whitewater
2016 UW-Whitewater 29 - 13 Furman [166]
2017 UW-Whitewater 34 - 27 VMI[167]
2018 North Carolina State University 57 - 12 UW-Whitewater[168]
2019 Queens University (NC) 74 - 8 UW-Whitewater [92]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 Auburn 31 - 12 Montana State (CRAA)[169]
2022 none (NCR only)[170]
2023 none (NCR only)[171]

Women

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2000 Plymouth State East Stroudsburg
2001 Northern Iowa Nevada-Reno
2002 Northern Iowa Minnesota
2003 Dayton Northern Iowa
2004 Temple 17 - 7 Providence
2005 Providence 15 - 10 Temple
2006 UC Santa Cruz 22 - 10 Plymouth State
2007 Iowa State 26 - 19 UC Santa Cruz
2008 Shippensburg 47 - 0 Minnesota-Duluth
2009 Shippensburg 29 - 5 Stonehill
2010 Washington State 37 - 0 Temple
2011 Radcliffe 22 - 10 University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN)[172]
2012 Norwich 82 - 12 Winona State[173]
2013 Washington State 60 - 5 Winona State[174]
2014 Mary Washington 36 - 22 Cal State, Northridge[175]
2015 Notre Dame College 69 - 10 UC-Riverside
2016 Davenport 61 - 0 USC[a][176]
2017 Davenport 71 - 5 Kennesaw State [177]
2017–18 (fall) Winona State 38 - 36 Vassar [108]
(spring) Tulane 31 - 14 Claremont Colleges [91][178]
2018–19 (fall) Vassar 50 - 13 Winona State [179]
(spring) Fresno State 25 - 19 Salisbury [110]
2019–20 (fall) Winona State 19 - 10 Colorado School of Mines [111]
(spring) cancelled (pandemic)
2020–21 (fall) cancelled (pandemic)
(spring) cancelled (pandemic)
2021–22 (fall) Vassar 74 - 5 Temple (ACRA)[180]
(spring) Claremont 22 - 7 San Diego State (CRAA)
2022–23 (fall) Vassar 71 - 24 Coast Guard (CRAA/ACRA)
(spring) Claremont 47 - 5 Howard (CRAA)
  1. ^ USC substituted for Tulane, who qualified for the final but could not participate.

National Collegiate Rugby

Men

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2021 Thomas More 21 - 17 Adrian
2022 Principia 47 - 16 Indiana (PA)
2023 Indiana (PA) 27 - 19 Memphis

Women

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2022 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 78 - 0 Marquette
2023 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 32 - 29 Vassar

Division II Sevens

USA Rugby

Men

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2013 Principia 27-12 UW–Stout[181]
2014 (moved from fall 2014 to spring 2015)
2015 James Madison 40 - 22 Wisconsin–Whitewater[182]
2016 Minnesota–Duluth 17- 5 Saint Louis[130]
2017 Wisconsin–Whitewater 26 - 5 UNC Charlotte[183]
2018 UNC Charlotte 38 - 10 Wisconsin–Whitewater[184]
2019 North Carolina State University 28 - 12 Wisconsin–Whitewater[185]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 Southern California 29 - 7 Memphis[133][134]
2023 none[186]

Women

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2016 Davenport 24 - 14 Bloomsburg[187]
2017 eligible for open division
2018 eligible for open division
2019 Bryant 22 - 19 Fresno State[188]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 San Jose State 22 - 0 St. Mary's[133][135]
2023 Colorado Mesa 19 – 14 San Jose State

National Collegiate Rugby

Men

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2022 Indiana University of Pennsylvania 17 - 7 Lander
2023 Indiana University of Pennsylvania 12 - 7 North Carolina State

Women

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2023 Roger Williams 10 - 5 Colorado Mines

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

Main article: NSCRO Champions Cup
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2002 Western Carolina University Stonehill College
2003 Furman University Stonehill College
2004 Furman University Central Connecticut State
2005 Furman University Duke University
2006 Bentley University The Citadel
2007 Bentley University 11 - 10 Furman University
2008 Plymouth State Univ 22 - 15 Furman University
2009 Coastal Carolina 36 - 15 SUNY Oswego
2010 Penn State Berks 11 - 6 Keene State[189]
2011 Longwood University 36 - 27 Occidental College[190]
2012 Salve Regina 22 - 15 Cal Maritime[191]
2013 St. John's (Minn.) Duke
2014 St. John's (Minn.) New England College
2015 New England College 32 - 15 Mt. Saint Mary's (MD)
2016 Mt. Saint Mary's (MD) 26 - 19 Claremont Colleges[192]
2017 Claremont Colleges 65 - 10 Tufts[193]
2018 Iowa Central Community College 64 - 11 Claremont Colleges
2019 Claremont Colleges 57 - 17 Christendom College[194]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 Christendom College 34 - 29 New Mexico Tech
2022 Cal Poly Humboldt 20 - 15 Wayne State
2023 Babson 27 - 23 Wayne State

Women

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2002–03 College of New Jersey University of Maine
2003–04 Fordham University Susquehanna University
2004–05 Castleton State Susquehanna University
2005–06 Babson University Ursinus College
2006–07 (Spring) Stonehill College Penn
2007 (Fall) Stonehill College Marist College
2008 Bryant University Gettysburg College
2009 MIT East Stroudsburg University
2010 Bentley University Drexel University[195]
2011 Carleton Lock Haven
2012 Wayne State (Nebraska) Roger Williams
2013 Wayne State (Nebraska) Smith
2014 Roger Williams 45 - 10 Sacred Heart
2015 MSU-Moorhead 44 - 24 Colgate[196]
2016 Wayne State (Nebraska) 11 - 0 Colgate[197]
2017 Wayne State (Nebraska) 46 - 26 Bentley
2018 Wayne State (Nebraska) 67 - 12 Catholic University[198]
2019 Wayne State (Nebraska) 90 - 14 Endicott College[111]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 Wayne State (Nebraska) 72 - 10 SUNY–Cortland[199]
2022 Endicott 24 - 12 Lee University
2023 St. Bonaventure 22 - 17 Wisconsin-Platteville

Men's 7s

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2013 Occidental[200]
2014 New England College[201]
2015 New Mexico Highlands 22 - 19 New England College
2016 New Mexico Highlands 31 - 7 St. Mary's College (MD)[202]
2017 Christendom College 24 - 19 (OT) St. Mary's College (MD)
2018 Claremont Colleges 17 - 0 Salve Regina
2019 vacated, ineligible players[203] New Mexico Highlands 17 - 12 Claremont Colleges
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 New Mexico Tech 26 - 10 Christendom College
2023 Babson 17 - 0 Springfield

Women's 7s

Year Champion Match Score Runner-up
2014 Wayne State College (Nebraska)[204]
2015 Wayne State College 22 - 17 Mt. Saint Mary's
2016 Wayne State College 20 - 0 Colorado College [205]
2017 Colgate 15 - 12 Wayne State College [206]
2018 Wayne State College 24 - 5 Lee
2019 Wayne State College 31 - 7 Rochester [207]
2020 cancelled (pandemic)
2021 cancelled (pandemic)
2022 Chicago 10 - 5 South Dakota [208]
2023 Endicott 15 - 10 Lee [209]

Division IV

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

Year Champion Runner-up
2006 University of Rhode Island Ursinus College
2007 Roger Williams University Gettysburg College
2008 College of the Holy Cross Albright College
2009 Drexel University Wentworth Institute of Technology
2010 Lock Haven University Mount Holyoke College
2011 Johnson State College Albright College[210]

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.[211]

See also

References

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