Varsity Cup Championship
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2012 |
| Inaugural season | 2013 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Country | United States |
| Holders | BYU (2014) |
| Most titles | BYU (2 titles) |
| Website | http://varsitycup.us// |
| Broadcast partner | NBC Sports |
The Varsity Cup Championship is a college rugby competition established in 2012 to serve as an invitational championship following the breakaway of several schools from Division 1-A Rugby.[1]
The Varsity Cup is organized by United World Sport, the same organization that runs the USA Sevens tournament and the Collegiate Rugby Championship.[2] The 2014 Varsity Cup final was televised by NBC Sports on NBCSN.[3] The Varsity Cup's ability to get onto television was seen as a boost to the Varsity Cup and to the rugby programs of the member schools.[4]
The development of the Varsity Cup post-season tournament has created some controversy. The Varsity Cup Championship doesn't replace Division 1-A Rugby, and it is endorsed by USA Rugby.[5] The schools participating in the Varsity Cup often refer to it as a national championship, but with the rival Division 1-A Rugby post-season tournament running concurrently, USA Rugby does not consider the Varsity Cup to be the national championship.[6]
The founding schools formed the Varsity Cup with a number of goals in mind. One was the ability to manage and control their playoff games. Another was to develop a tournament with commercial appeal, that would generate revenue from attendance and concessions, and that would generate marketing exposure through TV coverage.[7]
Teams
The teams invited to compete in the Varsity Cup are from schools where rugby enjoys varsity status or at least advanced club status.[8]
| Team | School's Endowment |
School's NCAA Affiliation |
Joined V-Cup |
Head Coach | Rugby Since |
Best VC Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | $28 m | Mountain West | 2013 | Joe Muehlbauer | 1968 | QF (2013) |
| Arizona State | $553 m | Pac-12 | 2015 | Gary Lane | 1975 | N/A |
| Arkansas State | $43 m | Sun Belt Conf. | 2015 | Mani Delaibatiki | 1991 | N/A |
| BYU | $957 m | West Coast | 2013 | David Smyth | 1965 | 1st (2013, 2014) |
| Cal | $3.0 bn | Pac-12 | 2013 | Jack Clark | 1882 | 2nd (2013, 2014) |
| Central Washington | $13 m | Great Northwest | 2013 | Tony Pacheco | 1972 | SF (2013, 2014) |
| Clemson | $483 m | ACC | 2014 | Justin Hickey | 1967 | R16 (2014) |
| Dartmouth | $3.7 bn | Ivy League | 2013 | Alex Magleby | 1951 | QF (2013, 2014) |
| Navy | ??? | Patriot League | 2013 | Mike Flanagan | 1963 | SF (2013, 2014) |
| Notre Dame | $8.3 bn | ACC | 2013 | Sean O'Leary | 1961 | QF (2013) |
| Oklahoma | $1.2 bn | Big 12 | 2014 | Jason Horowitz | 1974 | R16 (2014) |
| Texas | $6.0 bn | Big 12 | 2014 | Chris Hopps | 1985 | QF (2014) |
| UCLA | $2.6 bn | Pac-12 | 2013 | Scott Stewart | 1934 | QF (2013, 2014) |
| Utah | $670 m | Pac-12 | 2014 | Blake Burdette | ??? | QF (2014) |
Utah was supposed to be one of the eight teams participating in the 2013 inaugural Varsity Cup, but the Utah rugby team was suspended by the school,[9] with Central Washington replacing Utah in the 2013 Varsity Cup.[10] Arkansas State committed in 2014 to join the Varsity Cup beginning in 2015, in significant part due to the ability of the tournament to improve the name recognition of the school's rugby program.[11]
Results
| Date | Champion | Final Score | Runner Up | Broadcast | Attendance | Location | Stadium | Other Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2013[12] | BYU | 27 – 24 | Cal | YouTube | 3,000 | Provo, UT | BYU's South Field | Cent. Washington, Navy |
| May 3, 2014[13] | BYU | 43 – 33 | Cal | NBCSN | 10,172 | Salt Lake City, UT | Rio Tinto Stadium | Cent. Washington, Navy |
| May 2, 2015 | NBCSN | Salt Lake City, UT | Rio Tinto Stadium |
See also
References
- ^ "USA Rugby: What BYU won was a mythical championship", Deseret News.
- ^ http://unitedworldsports.com/our-properties/
- ^ "Varsity Cup creates promotional broadcast partnership with NBC, UWS", Varsity Cup.
- ^ "Varsity Cup, USA 7s parent, NBC in landmark pact", Gainline, June 21, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "BYU Rugby joins Varsity Cup Championship", Provo Daily Herald, July 17, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a mythical championship'", Deseret News. May 17, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ "New college 15s championship points to business goals", Gainline, July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "New college 15s championship points to business goals", Gainline, July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "University of Utah suspends its club rugby program ", Salt Lake Tribune, April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Central Washington Replaces Utah in Varsity Cup", This is American Rugby, April 5, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Arkansas State Joins Expanding Varsity Cup", Rugby Today, July 2, 2014.
- ^ Linehan's dramatic dropkick gives BYU men's rugby Varsity Cup national title with win over Cal, Provo Daily Herald, May 5, 2013.
- ^ BYU rugby: Cougars defeat California in 2014 Varsity Cup Final, capture third straight national championship, Deseret News, May 3, 2014.