History of college rugby in the U.S.

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 being a game of rugby. After this game, the Harvard students also decided to adopt rugby, making them the first American institution to do so. Columbia, Princeton and Yale were persuaded by Harvard to play football according to the Rugby School code in 1876, these four colleges thus 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^[5] 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; 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).^[6]

Formation of Division 1-A

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.^[7] 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.^[7] USA Rugby also believed that a higher level college competition would develop players to potentially play for the U.S. national team.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[9]

Collegiate Championship results prior to D1-A Formation

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

National Invitational Championship

• 1972 – Palmer College of Chiropractic 28–17 Navy
• 1973 – Palmer College of Chiropractic 13–4 Illinois
• 1974 – Texas A&M def. LSU^[12]
• 1975
• 1976 – (moved from spring to fall) LSU 21–3 Palmer College of Chiropractic^[13]
• 1977 – (moved from fall to following spring)
• 1978 – Palmer College of Chiropractic 19–4 LSU
• 1979 – Palmer College of Chiropractic

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 28 titles, (26 in Division 1 and two in the Varsity Cup Championship). Air Force won three titles; Harvard, San Diego State, and Brigham Young University each won one D1 national championship. BYU won two championships in the Varsity Cup, but subsequently had their 2015 title stripped for fielding and ineligible player.^[14]

East

Mid-West

California

Rocky Mountain

Big Ten

Red River Conference

PAC

Independent

2011 season

2012 season

2013 season

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

2014 season

2015 season

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.

2016 season

2017

2018

Standings

Big Ten Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Indiana 7–0 +150 7 35 2 Wisconsin 5–3 +159 5 25 3 Michigan State 5–2 +81 5 25 4 Illinois 5–2 +13 5 25 5 Ohio State 3–4 +111 10 22 6 Purdue 3–4 –16 5 17 7 Michigan 2–5 –139 1 9 8 Minnesota 1–6 –99 4 8 9 Iowa 0–5 –260 0 0

California Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Saint Mary's 5–0 +303 5 25 2 Cal Poly 3–2 +81 4 16 3 San Diego State 3–2 +44 4 16 4 UC Davis 3–2 +8 3 15 5 Santa Clara 1–4 –213 1 5 6 UC Santa Barbara 0–5 –223 0 0

East Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Penn State 7–0 +207 7 35 2 Army 4–3 +152 9 25 3 Kutztown 3–2 +90 5 17 4 Notre Dame College 3–2 +54 5 17 5 Wheeling Jesuit 2–4 –61 5 13 6 St. Bonaventure 2–4 –126 3 11 7 Buffalo 0–6 –316 0 0

Liberty (New York) – Empire Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Binghamton 7–1 +248 7 35 2 Cortland 6–2 +46 6 30 3 Syracuse 4–3 +31 4 20 4 Albany 4–4 +94 2 18 5 Colgate 1–5 –160 1 5 6 Brockport 0–5 –142 0 0

Liberty (New York, Jersey) – I-95 Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Iona 6–0 +281 6 30 2 Fordham 5–2 +3 4 24 3 Delaware 2–3 –53 3 11 4 Stony Brook 1–7 –139 4 8 5 Rutgers 1–7 –118 2 5

Liberty – New England Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Northeastern 6–0 +182 6 30 2 Uconn 4–2 +38 6 22 3 Rhode Island 4–4 +59 5 21 4 Umass 3–4 +3 5 17 5 Tufts 3–3 –56 4 16 6 Fairfield 1–6 –129 4 8

Mid-South Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Life 8–0 +421 7 39 2 Lindenwood 6–2 +199 6 31 3 Arkansas State 4–4 –120 3 19 4 Davenport 2–6 –180 4 11 5 Clemson 0–8 –320 1 1

Pac Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 California 5–0 +378 5 25 2 Arizona 4–1 +163 4 20 3 UCLA 2–2–1 +22 3 13 4 Utah 2–2–1 –59 3 13 5 Arizona State 1–4 –197 0 4 6 USC 0–5 –307 1 1

Red River Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Texas A&M 8–1 +232 8 40 2 Baylor 7–2 +182 8 36 3 LSU 7–1 +277 6 34 4 Oklahoma 5–4 –57 5 25 5 Texas 4–4 +29 4 20 6 Texas Tech 3–6 –68 7 19 7 Arkansas 2–5 –86 4 12 8 TCU 1–5 –149 1 4 9 Houston 0–9 –360 0 0

Rocky Mountain Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Colorado State 5–0 +260 5 25 2 Air Force 3–2 +108 5 17 3 Colorado 3–2 +38 4 16 4 Utah State 3–2 +17 4 16 5 Wyoming 1–4 –171 1 5 6 New Mexico 0–5 –252 1 1

Independent Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 BYU 5–2

Source:

2019

2022

Standings

Big Ten Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Ohio State 5–1 +208 7 27 2 Indiana 5–1 +142 4 24 3 Michigan State 4–2 +43 4 20 4 Illinois 3–3 -23 4 16 5 Michigan 3–3 -30 2 14 6 Purdue 1–5 –108 2 6 7 Wisconsin 0–6 –232 1 1

California Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Saint Mary's 4–0 +243 4 20 2 Cal Poly 4–1 +166 4 20 3 Grand Canyon University 3–0 +80 3 15 4 Santa Clara 2–3 -111 3 11 5 UC Santa Barbara 1–4 -139 2 6 6 UC Davis 1–3 –80 1 5 7 San Diego State 0–4 –159 2 2

Mid-South Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Lindenwood 6–0 +142 4 28 2 Life 4–2 +17 1 17 3 Arkansas State 2–4 –59 2 10 4 Davenport 0–6 –100 3 3

Red River Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Texas A&M 6–0 +190 5 29 2 Oklahoma 5–2 +69 3 23 3 Baylor 3–4 +20 6 18 4 Texas 3–4 –50 4 16 5 North Texas 0–7 -229 1 1

Rocky Mountain West Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 BYU 4–0 +142 4 20 2 Utah Valley 2–2 -58 2 10 3 Utah State 0–4 -205 0 0

2023

Standings

Independent[44] Team Record PD Central Washington 8–1 +174

Mid-South[45] Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Lindenwood 5–1 +181 3 23 2 Life 4–2 +61 3 19 3 Davenport 3–3 –41 0 12 4 Arkansas State 0–6 –101 1 1

Pac Rugby Conference[46] Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 California 3–0 +169 3 15 2 Arizona 2–1 +76 2 10 3 UCLA 1–2 –5 3 7 4 Utah 0–3 –240 0 0

Rugby East (North)[47] Pos. Team Record BP Pts 1 Navy 5–0 3 23 2 Army 4–1 5 20 3 St. Bonaventure 3–2 2 14 4 Notre Dame College 2–3 2 10 5 Kutztown 1–4 3 7 6 Penn State 0–5 1 1

Big Ten Pos. Team Record 1 Indiana (W) 5 — 0 2 Ohio State (E) 4 — 1 3 Notre Dame 4 — 1 4 Illinois 3 — 2 5 Wisconsin 3 — 2 6 Michigan State 2 — 3 7 Michigan 1 — 4 8 Purdue 0 — 5