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Division 1-A Rugby
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 Division 1-A Rugby Championship
FormerlyCollege Premier Division
SportRugby union
Founded1980 (as National Collegiate Championship)
2010 (as Division 1-A)
First season2011
DirectorPaul Santinelli[1]
CommissionerScott Zavrel[1]
Organising bodyUSA Rugby
No. of teams40
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)		Saint Mary's (4th title)
(2024)
Most titlesCalifornia (26 titles)
TV partner(s)CBSSN, ESPN+, The Rugby Network
Official websitecraa.rugby/d1a

Division 1-A Rugby (formerly known as the College Premier Division) 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 40 D1-A rugby schools divided into seven conferences: East, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, California, Big Ten, Lonestar River, and Independent.[2]

The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs. Playoffs are a single-elimination format, occurring each year in April and May, with the winner of D1-A declared the National Champion.[3] Regular seasons for most conferences are played in the spring, although some cold-weather conferences, such as the Big Ten Universities, play their regular season in the fall.

The competition's first season was played during 2011 and consisted of teams from 31 schools from across the United States. The first ever match of the competition was played on Friday March 4, the Arizona State Sun Devils hosted the Colorado Buffaloes at the Arizona State University Soccer Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.[4] The 2011 final was played at Rio Tinto Stadium, in Sandy, Utah, on the 21 May 2011.

D1-A Rugby secured sponsorships in 2012 with World Rugby Shop and Veloce.

Several players who have excelled in the top level competitions in college rugby have also represented their country as part of the United States national under-20 rugby union team or the All Americans rugby union team.

Formation

[edit]

History of college rugby in the U.S.

[edit]
See also: History of rugby union in the United States and college rugby
One of the Harvard v McGill games played in 1874

A group of British Army officers organized a game of rugby against the students of McGill University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) in 1865; the Canadians were so enamored of the game that they decided to continue to play football by the Rugby code. In 1874 McGill organized two games of football against Harvard, one was played under Harvard's rules, the other under "McGill" rugby rules.[5][6][7] In late 1874, the Harvard team traveled to Montreal to play McGill in rugby, and won by three tries in front of 2,000 spectators.[8][9][10] In 1875 Harvard athlete Nathaniel Curtis challenged Yale's captain, William Arnold to a rugby-style game.[11][12] Columbia, Princeton and Yale were persuaded by Harvard to play football according to the Rugby School code in 1876. These four colleges formed the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA), an organization that eventually expanded to become the "Ivy League." In fact, the governing body of all American intercollegiate varsity sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) traces its roots to the IFA and is thus a product of rugby rather than any of the sports it now governs.

By 1886 the Yale coach Walter Camp had modified rugby's rules in order to solve the problem of tackled players lying on the ball by introducing a series of four downs to gain ten yards; ironically in the same year the Rugby Football Union in England solved the same problem by requiring that tackled players release the ball. This is still one of the most fundamental differences between Rugby Union and American Football but one further modification, that of allowing one forward pass per down, was suggested by the Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne which, when accepted in 1905, gave rise to that distinctly American form of football.

1924 USA Olympic team that won the gold medal

Around the turn of the century American football was being frowned upon for its violence. Publication of graphic photographs of a harsh game between Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania[13] caused a stir; President Theodore Roosevelt was forced to insist upon reform or abolition of the game. During this period of uncertainty, rugby made a brief but important reappearance in many colleges, most notably at the University of California and at Stanford. It was Stanford that supplied most of the players to the two US Olympic rugby teams (1920 and 1924), along with Santa Clara University and the University of California, who claimed fame by winning both gold medals. As 1924 was the last time the Olympic Games staged a rugby competition, this made the USA the defending Olympic champions when rugby was re-introduced after almost a century at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

In 1934, there was only one official rugby body in the United States, the Eastern Rugby Union, with a total of 9 member teams. By 1950, there were 30 clubs in the US, existing only in small pockets on the East and West Coasts.

Duke Blue Devils (hoops jersey) match in 1968

It was not until the mid-1960s that rugby began to re-appear with regular fixtures and competitions; the game suited the mildly anarchistic temperament of American College students of the period;[citation needed] it required minimal costs for the individual, the style of the game provided constant action, there was an emphasis on enjoyment rather than winning because rugby was not part of the now rigidly institutionalized athletic system that American Universities had developed. The formation of the United States of America Rugby Football Union (USARFU, now USA Rugby) in 1976 was a major organizational milestone for the sport in the US, and by 1980 there were over 1,000 clubs nationwide.

In 2011, there were 2,433 clubs in the United States with more than 88,000 registered players, approximately 40% of which are college players (about three-quarters being male and one quarter female).[14]

Formation of Division 1-A

[edit]
The 2011 CPD participants, colored by conference
Pacific gold -- West green -- Mid-South blue -- East red

Prior to the formation of Division 1-A, there had been some difficulty in determining how many teams each territory would send to the Sweet 16 tournament, as the relative strengths of the rugby teams in each territory fluctuated over time, and despite the disparity in the levels of rugby, it was politically difficult to deny a union any playoff bids, even though the team that came third or fourth in a more powerful territory might be a better side. Further problems occurred because of the different competitive seasons across the continent; in the East the league season is played in the fall while in the South and West spring is the primary season, so this structure was frequently open to criticism.

Because of these issues, and to raise the level of rugby in the consciousness of the American public, USA Rugby restructured Division 1 college rugby. In 2010, several of the top college teams agreed to form the College Premier League to begin play in spring 2011.[15] USA Rugby and the top colleges believed that an elite level college rugby competition would make it easier to get college rugby onto TV and attract sponsors.[15] USA Rugby also believed that a higher level college competition would develop players to potentially play for the U.S. national team.[16]

The governance of collegiate rugby was split and diverged in 2021. National Collegiate Rugby (NCR), formerly NSCRO, emerged as a rival by expanding beyond small colleges to include the higher divisions. The umbrella of the USA Rugby Collegiate Council includes College Rugby Association of America (CRAA), among several other organizations.[17] In 2021, there were five men's DIA conferences plus independents under USA Rugby/CRAA. Two men's conferences that played DIA in 2019 joined NCR in 2021.[17]

D1-A Championships results

[edit]
Main article: National Collegiate Rugby Championship results
Ed. Year Champion Score Runners-up Venue City Att. TV Coverage Semi-finalists
1 2011 California 21–14 BYU Rio Tinto Stadium Sandy 11,000[18] ESPN3 / ESPNU Arkansas St. / Utah
2 2012 BYU 49–42 Arkansas St. Rio Tinto Stadium Sandy 8,733[19] ESPN3 Life University / St. Mary's
3 2013 Life University 16–14 St. Mary's UNCG Soccer Stadium Greensboro 4,000 ESPN3 / ESPNU Arkansas St. / Cal Poly
4 2014 Saint Mary's 21–6 Life University Steuber Rugby Stadium Palo Alto 4,000 USA Rugby TV Arkansas St. / Lindenwood
5 2015 Saint Mary's 30–24 Life University Fifth Third Bank Atlanta 3,100 ESPN3 Lindenwood / Davenport
6 2016 Life University 24–20 St. Mary's St. Mary's Stadium Moraga 2,000 Rugby Channel Lindenwood / Utah
7 2017 Saint Mary's 30–24 Life University St. Mary's Stadium Moraga 2,000 CBSSN BYU / Arizona
8 2018 Life University 60–5 California Stevens Stadium Santa Clara 4,000 CBSSN Penn State / Lindenwood
9 2019 Life University 29–26 California Stevens Stadium Santa Clara 4,000 CBSSN St. Mary's / Lindenwood
10 2022 Army 20–8 St. Mary's Aveva Stadium Houston – Rugby Network Lindenwood / California
11 2023 Navy 28–22 California Aveva Stadium Houston – Rugby Network Lindenwood / BYU
12 2024 Saint Mary's 26–22 Navy Aveva Stadium Houston – Rugby Network BYU / Life University

Collegiate Championship results prior to D1-A Formation

[edit]

The earliest claims to a national title go back to the mid-1960s when Sports Illustrated Magazine started demonstrating an interest in Collegiate rugby. During the 1965-1966 season, the University of Notre Dame won several cups and tournaments and, in the absence of a bona fide national championship, Sports Illustrated named them unofficial Collegiate Rugby Champions.[20] The next year, under the authority of USARFU, Notre Dame played a match on April 8, 1967 against California at Memorial Stadium for the unofficial national championship, again as a result of both teams being highly rated by Sports Illustrated; Cal won 37-3.[21]

National Invitational Championship

[edit]
Year Champion Match Score Runner-up Ref.
1972 Palmer College of Chiropractic 28–17 Navy [22][23][24]
1973 Palmer College of Chiropractic 13–4 Illinois [22][25]
1974 Texas A&M 12–0 LSU [22][26]
1975 not held [27]
1976 LSU 21–3 Palmer College of Chiropractic [28]
1977 moved from fall to following spring
1978 Palmer College of Chiropractic 19–4 LSU [29][30]
1979 Palmer College of Chiropractic 24–6 Navy [31][32]

National Collegiate Rugby Championship

[edit]

The first official National Collegiate Championship series began in 1980. Rugby in the United States is divided into territorial unions (the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, the South, Southern California, and the West). Each of these unions organized collegiate rugby into "Division One" and "Division Two" league competitions, generally with promotion and relegation between the divisions. Between 1980 and 2010 each Territory qualified Division One and Two teams for the Sweet 16 of a D1 and D2 National championship.

California was dominant in Division One for the 31 years that the competition was run in this format, winning 25 titles. Air Force won three titles; Harvard, San Diego State, and Brigham Young University each won one D1 national championship.

Year Location Champion Score Runner-up 3rd Place 4th Place
1980 Davenport, IA California 15–9 Air Force Illinois Navy
1981 Dayton, OH California 6–3 OT Harvard Miami (OH) Kansas St.
1982 Greeley, CO California 15–14 Life College Michigan New Mexico St.
1983 Athens, GA California 13–3 Air Force Navy Illinois
1984 Pebble Beach, CA Harvard 12–4 Colorado Long Beach St. Miami (OH)
1985 Pebble Beach, CA California 31–6 Maryland Colorado Illinois
1986 Pebble Beach, CA California 6–4 Dartmouth Air Force Bowling Green
1987 Pebble Beach, CA San Diego State 10–9 Air Force Bowling Green Dartmouth
1988 Pebble Beach, CA California 9–3 Dartmouth Air Force Bowling Green
1989 Colorado Springs, CO Air Force 25–7 Penn State Army Long Beach St.
1990 Pebble Beach, CA Air Force 18–12 Army Ohio State Long Beach St.
1991 Houston, TX California 20–14 Army Ohio State Wyoming
1992 Colorado Springs, CO California 27–17 Army Air Force Penn State
1993 Houston, TX California 36–6 Air Force Harvard Wisconsin
1994 Washington, DC California 27–13 Navy Air Force Penn State
1995 Berkeley, CA California 48–16 Air Force Penn State Army
1996 Colorado Springs, CO California 47–6 Penn State Stanford Navy
1997 Berkeley, CA California 41–15 Penn State UC Davis Stanford
1998 San Francisco, CA California 34–15 Stanford Navy Indiana Univ.
1999 San Francisco, CA California 36–5 Penn State Navy Army
2000 Tampa Bay, FL California 62–16 Wyoming Army Indiana Univ. of PA (IUP)
2001 Virginia Beach, VA California 86–11 Penn State Navy Army
2002 Virginia Beach, VA California 43–22 Utah Army Wyoming
2003 Stanford, CA Air Force 45–37 Harvard California Army
2004 Stanford, CA California 46–24 Cal Poly, SLO Navy / Air Force
2005 Stanford, CA California 44–7 Utah BYU / Navy
2006 Stanford, CA California 29–26 BYU Utah / Penn State
2007 Stanford, CA California 37–7 BYU Navy / Penn State
2008 Stanford, CA California 59–7 BYU St. Mary's / Colorado
2009 Stanford, CA BYU 25–22 California Army / San Diego State
2010 Stanford, CA California 19–7 BYU Arkansas State / Army

Participants

[edit]
Map of Conferences in D1-A Rugby for the 2019 season

Below is the list of Division 1A conference participants for the 2024–2025 season.[2]

East

[edit]
East Conference
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
Life (NAIA - SSAC) Marietta, Georgia Colton Cariaga Lupo Family Field 1980 2011
Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers MAAC Emmitsburg, Maryland Jay Miles 1973 2023
Army Patriot League West Point, NY Matt Sherman Anderson Complex, Warrior Field 1961 2011
Penn State Big Ten State College, PA Zac Mizell[33] PSU West Campus Pitch 1962[34] 2011
Southern Virginia USA South Buena Vista, Virginia Aidyn Ferris
Marshall Ferris 		2019 2023
Navy Patriot League and AAC Annapolis, Maryland Gavin Hickie Prusmack Rugby Complex 1963 2011
Mary Washington (Mothers Rugby) C2C Fredericksburg, Virginia Charbel Medlej Doc Warner Field 1977 2019
Belmont Abbey College Rugby East Conference Belmont, North Carolina Genaro Fessia Alumni Field 2019 2024[35]

Mid-West

[edit]
Mid-South Conference
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
Arkansas State Sun Belt Conference Jonesboro, Arkansas Dominic Shaw Curt Huckaby Field 2011
Lindenwood Ohio Valley Conference St. Charles, Missouri Josh Macy Harlen C. Hunter Stadium 2011 2013
Davenport GLIAC Caledonia, Michigan Dustin Steedman DU Turf Field 2009 2012
Adrian College MIAA Adrian, Michigan 2023
McKendree University GLVC Lebanon, Illinois Cameron Wyper[36] 2023

California

[edit]
California Conference
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
Cal Poly BWC San Luis Obispo, CA Chris O'Brien Cal Poly Lower Sports Complex 1965[37] 2011
Saint Mary's WCC Moraga, CA Tim O'Brien St. Mary's Stadium 1888 2011
San Diego State MW San Diego, CA Jason Merrill ENS 700 Field 1958 2012
UC Santa Barbara BWC Santa Barbara, CA Neil Foote 2012
Santa Clara WCC Santa Clara, CA Paul Keeler Bellomy Field 1961 2012
Santa Cruz C2C Santa Cruz, CA 1967[38] 2023
UC Davis BWC Davis, CA Andy Malpass Russell Field 2016
Long Beach BWC Long Beach, California Jason Reynolds Peter Sio 1974 2023
Sacramento BSC Sacramento, California 1964[39] 2023

Rocky Mountain

[edit]
Rocky Mountain Conference
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
BYU Big 12 Provo, Utah Steve St. Pierre South Field 1962[40] 2011
Air Force MW Colorado Springs, CO Denny Merideth 1968 2011
Colorado Big 12 Boulder, Colorado Chris Hanson Kittredge Field 1967 2011
Colorado State MW Fort Collins, Colorado Jone Naqica 1970 2011
Wyoming MW Laramie, Wyoming David Finnoff 1972 2011
Utah Big 12 Salt Lake City, UT Adam Griffee Zions Bank Stadium 1972[41] 2011
Utah State MW Logan, Utah Morgan Smith USU Legacy Field 1967 2016
Utah Valley University WAC Orem, Utah 2023

Big Ten

[edit]
Main article: Big Ten Universities
Big Ten Conference
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
Illinois Big Ten Champaign, Illinois Martin Russell 1963[42] 2013
Michigan State Big Ten East Lansing, Michigan Jim Rogers Service Road Fields 1964 2013
Ohio State Big Ten Columbus, Ohio Tom Rooney 1966[43] 2011

Lonestar Conference

[edit]
Lonestar Conference
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
Texas SEC Austin, TX Brian Hannon 1985 2013

Independent

[edit]
Independent Teams
School NCAA Conference City Coach Stadium Founded Joined D1-A
Arizona Big 12 Tucson, AZ Sean Duffy William David Sitton Field 1969 2011
Central Washington GNAC Ellensburg, Washington Todd Thornley Tomlinson Stadium 2011
Grand Canyon University WAC Phoenix, Arizona Sean O'Leary GCU Track/Practice Soccer Field
UCLA Big Ten Westwood, CA Harry Bennett Wallis Annenberg Stadium 1934[44] 2011
California ACC Berkeley, CA Jack Clark Witter Field 1882[45] 2011
University of Texas at El Paso CUSA El Paso, Texas 2024
Texas A&M University SEC College Station, Texas 2024

Former Conferences

[edit]

Rankings

[edit]

Notes:

  • 2012: Cal was not included in the D1A rankings because it withdrew from D1A mid-season.
  • 2013: Utah was not ranked because its rugby program was suspended by the school. Central Florida, and Bowling Green were new to the rankings; they had been ranked #17 and #19 respectively in D1-AA during the previous 2012 season.
  • 2014: Army was ranked low, due in large part to the team's suspension during the season.
  • 2023: No final D1A rankings were released so rankings listed above of week 1 from the 2023–24 season
Key
  Green shading indicates the highest-ranked team to debut in the rankings that year.
  Silver shading indicates the team that increased the largest number of places in the rankings that year.

Seasons

[edit]

2011 season

[edit]
Notable events
  • First Season of the College Premier Division
  • Funding for Cal Rugby, which previously was announced would be dropped,[57] was restored after additional funding was raised by donors, alumni and fans.[58]
  • Life University participated in its first playoff game in school history
  • BYU hosted its first rugby playoff game in club history.
  • BYU and California played for the national championship for the 6th consecutive year (2006-10 in USA Rugby Collegiate Tournament, 2011 USA Rugby College Premier Division)
Regular season

Records and final standings for 2011.

Playoffs and final
Quarterfinals (May 7–8)
@Higher Seed 		Semi-Finals (May 14)
Infinity Park, Glendale, CO
ESPN3 		Championship (May 21)
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT
ESPN3/ESPNU
         
W1 Brigham Young 64
E2 Navy 12
W1 Brigham Young 36
MS1 Arkansas State 15
MS1 Arkansas State 30
PC2 St. Mary's (CA) 17
W1 Brigham Young 14
PC1 California 21
PC1 California 43
MS2 Life University 10
PC1 California 62
W2 Utah 14
E1 Army 26
W2 Utah 32
After the season

2012 season

[edit]
Regular season

Records and final standings for 2012.

x-Conference champion
y-Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs and final
Quarterfinals (May 5)
@Higher Seed 		Semi-Finals (May 12)
Location determined by Quarterfinal results 		Championship (May 19)
Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, UT
ESPN3
         
W1 Brigham Young 103
PC2 UCLA 24
W1 Brigham Young 26
MS1 Life University 20
MS1 Life University 75
E2 Penn State 3
W1 Brigham Young 49
MS2 Arkansas State 42
E1 Army 20
MS2 Arkansas State 36
MS2 Arkansas State 31
PC1 Saint Mary's 17
PC1 Saint Mary's 24
W2 Utah 15
After the season
  • Nine schools from the Big-10 joined Ohio State in D1-A and formed the Big Ten Universities conference.
  • Texas A&M and Oklahoma were joined by several other Texas schools to form the Allied Rugby Conference, composed mostly of Big-12 South schools.
  • The Pacific Coast Conference was renamed the California Conference, several former D1-AA California schools were promoted to this conference, and Central Washington became an independent D1-A school.
  • D1-AA champion Davenport was promoted to D1-A and joined the Mid-South Conference.
  • UCLA, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State moved from their respective past conferences to the newly formed D1-A PAC Rugby Conference.
  • BYU moved from Division 1A to the D1-AA Mountain States Conference; Navy moved from D1-A to the Atlantic Coast Rugby League; and Rutgers moved from D1-A to the Empire Rugby Conference.

2013 season

[edit]

x = conference champion and automatic quarterfinal berth
y = conference runner-up and eligible for playoffs
z = conference champion and eligible for playoffs

Playoffs and final
Quarterfinals (April 27)
@ Higher Seed 		Semi-Finals (May 4)
@ Higher Seed 		Final (May 18)
Greensboro, NC
ESPN3/ESPNU
         
Cal1 St. Mary's 65
W2 Colorado 25
Cal1 St. Mary's 58
Cal2 Cal Poly 24
W1 Colorado State 19
Cal2 Cal Poly 40
Cal1 St. Mary's 14
M/S2 Life University 16
M/S1 Arkansas State 31
East2 Kutztown 10
M/S1 Arkansas State 13
M/S2 Life University 18
East1 Army 29
M/S2 Life University 55
After the season

2014 season

[edit]
Regular season
Playoffs and final
Quarterfinals (April 26)
@ Higher Seed 		Semifinals (May 3)
@ Higher Seed 		Final (May 10)
Stanford, CA
USA Rugby TV
         
St. Mary's 103
Santa Clara 10
St. Mary's 72
Lindenwood 7
Lindenwood 64
Davenport 32
St. Mary's 21
Life University 6
Arkansas State 43
Cal Poly SLO 12
Arkansas State 27
Life University 34
Life University 57
Colorado 3
After the season

2015 season

[edit]

For the 2014–2015 school year, a number of conferences — particularly those in the colder northeast and upper midwest — played their regular seasons in the fall.

Playoffs and final
Quarterfinals (April 25) Semifinals (May 2) Final (May 9)
         
M1 Life 64
E2 Penn State 3
M1 Life 43
M3 Lindenwood 14
W1 Air Force 12
M3 Lindenwood 59
M1 Life 24
C1 St. Mary's 30
E1 Army 24
M2 Davenport 50
M2 Davenport 32
C1 St. Mary's 48
C1 St. Mary's 72
Utah 26

2016 season

[edit]
Playoffs
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
1 St. Mary's (CA) 77
Air Force 17
St. Mary's (CA) 81
Utah 32
4 Utah 36
Arizona 14
St. Mary's (CA) 20
Life Univ 24
2 Life Univ 44
Davenport 0
Life Univ. 41
Lindenwood 7
3 Lindenwood 36
Indiana 28

2017 season

[edit]
Playoffs
Quarterfinals
April 22 		Semifinals
April 29 		Final
May 6
         
1 St. Mary's (CA) 72
9 San Diego State 5
1 St. Mary's (CA) 43
14 Arizona 7
14 Arizona 48
16 Baylor 5
1 St. Mary's (CA) 30
2 Life Univ 24
Lindenwood 20
2 Life Univ. 37
2 Life Univ. 36
3 BYU 26
3 BYU 44
7 Indiana 17
After the season

The Varsity Cup folded in November 2017 when the organizer, broadcast partner and a major sponsor, Penn Mutual, withdrew their support.[60]

2018 season

[edit]
Standings

Source:

Playoffs
Sweet 16
(April 14) 		Elite Eight
(April 21) 		Final Four
(April 28) 		National Championship Game
(May 5)
            
1 Saint Mary's 58
16 Cal Poly 22
1 Saint Mary's 22
9 Lindenwood 43
8 Texas A&M 12
9 Lindenwood 83
9 Lindenwood 22
3 California 43
6 Indiana 0
11 Navy 47
11 Navy 27
3 California 33
3 California 85
14 Grand Canyon 14
3 California 5
2 Life 60
2 Life 87
15 Central Washington 7
2 Life 44
10 Army 10
7 Colorado State 15
10 Army 52
2 Life 69
5 Penn State 14
5 Penn State 51
12 Arizona 34
5 Penn State 48
4 BYU 46
4 BYU 34
13 Arkansas State 23

2019 season

[edit]
Playoffs
Sweet 16
(April 13) 		Elite Eight
(April 20) 		Final Four
(April 27) 		National Championship Game
(May 4)
            
1 California 141
8 UC Davis 3
1 California 61
4 Arizona 16
4 Arizona 28
5 Central Washington 19
1 California 28
WEST
2 Saint Mary's 24
3 BYU 50
6 UCLA 12
3 BYU 12
2 Saint Mary's 71
2 Saint Mary's 74
7 Grand Canyon 12
1 California 26
1 Life 29
1 Life 34
8 Penn State 3
1 Life 40
5 Navy 25
4 Oklahoma 0
5 Navy 71
1 Life 27
EAST
6 Lindenwood 19
3 Wisconsin 0
6 Lindenwood 97
6 Lindenwood 22
7 Arkansas State 18
2 Army 24
7 Arkansas State 31

Source:

2022 season

[edit]
Standings
Playoffs
Round 1
(April 9) 		Elite Eight
(April 16) 		Final Four
(April 23) 		National Championship Game
(April 30)
1 California 43
4 Central Washington 62 4 Central Washington 26
5 Cal Poly 17 WEST1 California 26
2 Saint Mary's 35
2 Saint Mary's 24
3 BYU 59 3 BYU 22
6 Arizona 13 2 Saint Mary's 8
1 Army 20
1 Army 39
4 Life 26 4 Life 18
5 Navy 13 EAST1 Army 19
2 Lindenwood 14
2 Lindenwood 41
3 Texas A&M w/o 6 Arkansas State 10
6 Arkansas State w/o

Sources:[61][62]

2023 season

[edit]
Main article: 2023 Division 1-A Rugby Championship
Standings
Playoffs
Round 1
(April 8) 		Elite Eight
(April 15) 		Final Four
(April 22) 		National Championship Game
(May 6)
1 Central Washington 31
4 BYU 71 4 BYU 62
5 Arizona 33 WEST4 BYU 31
3 California 55
2 Saint Mary's 28
3 California 82 3 California 29
6 Cal Poly 15 3 California 22
1 Navy 28
1 Navy 30
4 Army 36 4 Army 6
5 Davenport 34 EAST1 Navy 12
2 Lindenwood 10
2 Lindenwood 29
3 Life 82 3 Life 8
6 Texas A&M 0

Sources:[67][68][69]

2024 season

[edit]
Main article: 2024 Division 1-A Rugby Championship
Standings
Playoffs
Sweet 16
(April 6) 		Elite Eight
(April 13) 		Final Four
(April 20) 		National Championship Game
(May 4)
            
1 Saint Mary's 78
8 Grand Canyon 7
1 Saint Mary's 34
4 California 16
4 California 70
5 Cal Poly 13
1 Saint Mary's 46
WEST
3 BYU 31
3 BYU 48
6 UCLA 15
3 BYU 40
2 Central Washington 26
2 Central Washington 23
7 Arizona 17
1 Saint Mary's 26
1 Navy 22
1 Navy 41
8 University of Mary Washington 7
1 Navy 57
4 Arkansas State 5
4 Arkansas State 23
5 Davenport 17
1 Navy 27
EAST
2 Life 17
3 Lindenwood 26
6 Mount St. Mary's 0
3 Lindenwood 10
2 Life 25
2 Life 24
7 Army 17

Sources:[77][78][79][80]

Rudy Scholz Award Winners

[edit]

The Rudy Scholz award goes to the best male Division 1-A rugby player in the country. Below is a list of all prior recipients:[81][82]

  • 2016: Dylan Audsley, Saint Mary's
  • 2017: Bryce Campbell, Indiana
  • 2018: Connor McNerney, Navy
  • 2019: Harley Wheeler, Life University
  • 2020: Payton Telea-Ilalio, Saint Mary's
  • 2021: Emmanuel Albert, Lindenwood
  • 2022: Larry Williams, West Point
  • 2023: Lewis Gray, Navy
  • 2024: Wyatt Parry, BYU

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "THE TEAM". CRAA. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "CONFERENCES". CRAA. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "College Rugby Association of America Releases First Slate of 2022 Championship Playoff Brackets". USA Rugby. April 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "College Premier Division Set to Launch | Royall Rugby". Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  5. ^ Rugby in USA, Rugby Football History. Accessed September 26, 2015.
  6. ^ "Foot Ball". Boston Post. May 16, 1874. p. 3. Retrieved March 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "THIS WEEK IN HISTORY (Oct. 23, 1874): First intercollegiate rugby-style football game in Canada was played at McGill". McGill Athletics. October 23, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  8. ^ MacDonald, D.A.L. (November 27, 1970). "Montreal's Cup Float recalls how McGill started grid mania". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  9. ^ "Early Football". San Jose Evening News. November 13, 1915. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  10. ^ MacDonald, D.A.L. (December 22, 1933). "McGill and Harvard Have Been Rivals for 59 Years". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  11. ^ "First Harvard versus Yale Football Game Program, 1875 - lot - Sotheby's". sothebys.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Year by Year 1875". theunbalancedline.com.
  13. ^ "When a President Threatened to Abolish Football in the United States". October 10, 2010.
  14. ^ "International Rugby Board - USA". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  15. ^ a b USA Rugby forms a College Premier League The Roar March 17, 2010
  16. ^ USA Rugby College D1 Premier Schedules texasrugbyunion.com August 23, 2010
  17. ^ a b Goff, Alex (July 14, 2021). "Who Plays Where and How? Our College Rugby Update". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "Cal Wins Title, 21-14, over BYU". Cal Bears. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  19. ^ "BYU 49 Arkansas State 42 (Ht: 29-15 BYU)". Gainline US. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
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