The fall conference schedules for the MAC, Big 10, Empire, East Coast, Keystone, ACRL, and Rugby East (which includes Davenport for the Fall) have been posted by Rugby Mag. The common feature of all of these schedules? Each conference completes play by November 9th.
The leadership of these seven college rugby conferences participated in a conference call Thursday night (August 22nd) to finalize the workings of a Fall XVs tournament culminating in an East Coast Collegiate Division 1 Championship. This championship will run for three weekends in November and December.
XVs Championships
On November 16th, this association of eastern-based D1 college rugby conferences (which has not released an official name, yet) will hold a quarterfinals featuring the top team from each conference except Rugby East, which will send its top two teams. The second place teams from each conference except Rugby East will gather that same weekend for a Bowl Championship.
The winners of the quarterfinals weekend will meet on November 23rd for semifinal matches determining which two teams will meet in at Furman University's rugby facility in Greenville, SC for a Championship Final on December 7th.
Spring 7s
For the Spring 2014, there will be a 7s tournament almost every weekend in these seven conferences. Clubs from participating conferences will be required to participate in a minimum of three away tournaments to qualify (based on accumulated points from tournaments) for a 64 team, single-elimination Championship 7s Tournament on May 3-4 in Virginia Beach, VA.
Rugby East
The Rugby East will still send teams to the USA Rugby College Sevens National Championships (CSNC). This tournament is rumored to be in College Station, TX for the third year in a row (instead of Greensboro, NC), because the eastern-based college rugby clubs (D1 & D2) have decided on Fall XVs and most of the teams attending the USAR CSNC will be from west of the Mississippi River
Rugby East teams will also still participate in the D1A Rugby Championships in the spring.
The leadership of these seven college rugby conferences participated in a conference call Thursday night (August 22nd) to finalize the workings of a Fall XVs tournament culminating in an East Coast Collegiate Division 1 Championship. This championship will run for three weekends in November and December.
XVs Championships
On November 16th, this association of eastern-based D1 college rugby conferences (which has not released an official name, yet) will hold a quarterfinals featuring the top team from each conference except Rugby East, which will send its top two teams. The second place teams from each conference except Rugby East will gather that same weekend for a Bowl Championship.
The winners of the quarterfinals weekend will meet on November 23rd for semifinal matches determining which two teams will meet in at Furman University's rugby facility in Greenville, SC for a Championship Final on December 7th.
Spring 7s
For the Spring 2014, there will be a 7s tournament almost every weekend in these seven conferences. Clubs from participating conferences will be required to participate in a minimum of three away tournaments to qualify (based on accumulated points from tournaments) for a 64 team, single-elimination Championship 7s Tournament on May 3-4 in Virginia Beach, VA.
Rugby East
The Rugby East will still send teams to the USA Rugby College Sevens National Championships (CSNC). This tournament is rumored to be in College Station, TX for the third year in a row (instead of Greensboro, NC), because the eastern-based college rugby clubs (D1 & D2) have decided on Fall XVs and most of the teams attending the USAR CSNC will be from west of the Mississippi River
Rugby East teams will also still participate in the D1A Rugby Championships in the spring.
Elite Cup like isn't it. Not knocking it as I think its a great move.
ReplyDeleteSo has college rugby finally split into two countries?
ReplyDeleteFor the good of the country as a whole the best option is 15s in the Fall and 7s in the Spring for college and high school rugby.
ReplyDeleteRobert, many do not share that view. Most South and West teams like following the Summer 7s season with Fall 7s because many of their student-athletes have been playing 7s through that summer season. In the future, the fall 7s qualifiers will not be competing for screen time with gridiron due to the shorter match times. The Spring XVs season will not compete with gridiron at all.
DeleteNow do not get me wrong, I understand your concern. However, the weather-related issues are completely regional and this amalgamation of conferences has solved the matter to their satisfaction. This is a courageous and necessary move and I applaud them for it. Moreover, I hope it works with wild success. If it does, expect other regionals to follow suit, but do not expect them to arrange their seasons the same.
However, the big money is looking to the first example. Universities will welcome a competition that will not threaten the sacred cow of gridiron. In Texas (and most of the South), HS rugby in the Fall is a complete no-go.
XVs in the spring makes sense on the national level as teams & players are peaking near the end of Spring/beginning of Summer - exactly when players need to be at their peak to play representative rugby.
Representative 7s is held at the end of Summer and collegiates that still want to make the Eagles 7s need to be peaking in the Fall when the IRB 7s WS begins.
So, you see that there are a mix of concerns for the CMC & Cortez/Battle to deal with on this front.
In the end, we may have two different kinds of rugby in the colleges: the social game that stays in club sports and the competitive game that resides under the athletic departments. Once the universities begin that march (and they should take their first step in that direction soon), competitive collegiate rugby will no longer be affiliated with the NGB or LUs. It will either be shuffled into the NCAA/NAIA ranks or a national collegiate rugby association of some sort will be formed between the respective universities to manage the competition.
We formerly used the Title IX argument to nay-say this occurrence. But unis have discovered to circumvent Title IX issues by bringing both genders of rugby into an Athletic Dept at the same time.
The issue of money has been raised and clubs are addressing that by putting money into growing endowments with a goal of using the endowments to fund AD Entry (between $4-8M minimum depending on who you talk to). This is the issue today. However, interviewed university officials have admitted that, if faced with the prospect of training future Olympians and professional athletes, they would find a way to make it happen.
I cannot say for certain how fast it will change or what the end result will look like, but the changes are being planned now, today. More of these changes will occur. They will not please everyone. But, that is not the intention, is it?
Grant,
DeleteThere is a reason that NBC wants their CRC 7's event at the end of the spring and not in the fall... 7's is a more exciting and faster brand of rugby, it has more commercial opportunities than 15's and its a full contact sport that wont compete against football.
Plus with regards to teams going varsity. In my opinion, It would be a much easier time for teams to turn 7's programs into varsity programs over 15's. If I were an AD I would much rather spend my money on 15 to 20 kids and a coaching staff playing 7's which is an Olympic sport, over 45 to 65 players and a coaching staff for kids to eventually end up in our men's club system... You could essentially turn both a men's and women's 7's team into varsity teams before you could afford to turn one 15's team varsity.
I believe 7's is the way forward for "rugby" in the U.S. and I say this as an overweight 15's guy who couldn't play a full day of 7's to save his life, but I know what I see. And I see interest from all levels on 7's, I see TV contracts for 7s', I see high school AD's watching 7's, I see wives and girlfriends watching 7's and not getting bored with collapsed scrum after collapsed scrum, I see high school football coaches wanting their kids playing spring & summer sevens as a way to get their kids in shape for football.
So what do we do? Do we play the most obviously fan friendly version of the sport during a time when no one is watching anything but football, or do we play it during the spring when we have all of the advantages that you mentioned.
Playing during a time of the year so that a national team can have you coming in at pace is not a reason to have your season during a specific time. We should be pushing the most profitable, watchable and potentially varsity friendly version of the sport during that open window. I just think we might disagree on which code that is.
It will be interesting to see where this all ends up.
Matt,
DeleteI honestly do not care which version gets played when as long as rugby is getting played.
I play devil's advocate too much. In doing so objectively, I must listen to and consider the merits of every argument. Because the difference of opinion turns out to be regional, I think that a regional schism will occur before the money shows up and decides who plays what version when. I also think that regional schism will continue with the clubs long after varsity teams begin to play in the university athletics driven competition I predicted.
I do not disagree with anything you say. I just have some different information about what is happening. That information is not set in stone, yet. But the fiscal leanings are strong for the reasons I listed.
As you say, It will be interesting.
"We formerly used the Title IX argument to nay-say this occurrence. But unis have discovered to circumvent Title IX issues by bringing both genders of rugby into an Athletic Dept at the same time.
DeleteThe issue of money has been raised and clubs are addressing that by putting money into growing endowments with a goal of using the endowments to fund AD Entry (between $4-8M minimum depending on who you talk to). This is the issue today. However, interviewed university officials have admitted that, if faced with the prospect of training future Olympians and professional athletes, they would find a way to make it happen."
Not happening at major universities.
I see both sides of the argument. How ever one of the versions of rugby has to compete with gridiron. It is possible for the entire country to play 7s in spring and 15s in fall but not the other way round.
ReplyDeleteclub rugby is a different story. In that situation club 7s and 15s will both be played spring to fall.
I'm in a region that's fall rugby, and XVs rugby in the fall makes sense. But if the goal is to aim to commercialize or get college XVs rugby on television, fall XVs rugby never will be taken up due to football suffocating all the airtime.
ReplyDelete