Navy Leaving the ACRL, Remains Associate Member

by Ted Hardy

The Fall vs Spring rugby debate continues to rage on across the country and it has now hit the Mid-Atlantic. After one season, Navy has left the Atlantic Coast Rugby League citing the ACRL's recent shift from Spring to Fall competitive 15s season.

Navy continues to focus their efforts on 15s in the Spring and they will use the Fall as a developmental 15s and competitive 7s season. Since Navy is committed to the Varsity Cup, they do not need to play in a conference for qualifying purposes.

"The switch didn’t come on the table and wasn’t even on anyone’s radar until after we had brought Navy into the fold and I know they feel a bit hard done by this, which I understand," said ACRL Commissioner Pat Kane.

Navy remains as an associate member of the ACRL and plans are in place for Navy to continue to play regular fixtures against some of the top teams in the ACRL such as Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina State, and Virginia Tech. Navy will also play a rotating series of games against the remainder of the ACRL teams which will likely see each of those squads take on Navy every few years.

"It is not ideal, but we’re doing as best we can to keep them involved because we consider them to be a very important piece to our conference," added Kane.

Any concerns that Navy is leaving the conference due to competitive disparity are unfounded. While the squad certainly had their share of lopsided games, Navy was nearly defeated in their final two games of the conference season and given a battle from Virginia Tech. Both Clemson and Maryland had Navy within their grasps as the Midshipmen narrowly defeated the two teams by a combined five points.

In the end, the decision came down to the playing season. Late in the Spring, the ACRL decided to shift to a Fall 15's format which ultimately led to losing Navy as a full member of the conference.

"We were one of two teams that voted not to play in the Fall," said Navy Head Coach Mike Flanagan. "I don't see the merit in competing with football and as partners in the Varsity Cup it's better to develop an independent schedule leading up to that competition."

Navy, the Spring 2013 ACRL Champion, participates in the Varsity Cup, a breakaway collegiate knock-out competition, that includes rugby powerhouses Cal and BYU among others. In the inaugural tournament, Navy defeated Dartmouth in the quarterfinals before losing to Cal in the semifinals.

The loss will certainly be felt throughout the ACRL as the addition of Navy was a coup, of sorts, for the conference. As a program of national prominence, Navy was a valuable asset to the conference on multiple levels. Most importantly as the ACRL aspires to raise their competitive bar on the field. The effects of just one season in the conference were noticeable.