College rugby union in the United States. College rugby, more specifically rugby union, is played throughout universities in the United States of America. College rugby is governed by USA Rugby, and does not fall under the auspices of the NCAA with the exception of 1. NCAA womens programs. Womens Rugby has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport since 2. There are over 9. USA Rugby. 1 There are over 3. USA Rugby, making college rugby the largest section of USA Rugbys membership. Rugby has been played in universities since as early as the 1. Catholic colleges such as Notre Dame and particularly the Jesuit universities such as Boston College and St. Latest breaking news articles, photos, video, blogs, reviews, analysis, opinion and reader comment from New Zealand and around the World NZ Herald. Josephs in Philadelphia. Today, college rugby continues to grow in popularity, and rugby is one of the fastest growing club sports across college campuses. The 3. Over 1. 80 college rugby clubs started between 2. The National Small College Rugby Organization grew from 8. Several schools have increased their investments in mens and womens rugby programs, by creating rugby programs with varsity or quasi varsity status and funding for scholarships,8 and Notre Dame and Texas have upgraded their rugby programs from club status to Olympic status. There has been increased interest in college rugby particularly in rugby sevens from TV since the International Olympic Committees announcement in 2. Summer Olympics in 2. The highest profile college rugby sevens competition is the Collegiate Rugby Championship CRC, which began in 2. The CRC, which is played every June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, is televised live by NBC Sports and regularly draws attendances of 1. In 2. 01. 5, the CRC set a new attendance record with over 2. Several top schools started a competition in 2. Varsity Cup, with the 2. Varsity Cup final broadcast live on NBC Sports. College club rugby includes a national championship competition since 1. All-Blacks.jpg' alt='Rugby 08 On Mac' title='Rugby 08 On Mac' />California has won the majority of titles, with Air Force and BYU also winning multiple championships. In 2. 01. 1 a new Division 1 A was created with approximately 3. IEGRgAg7AhmwgTukVIxDMgAuK03fzWkjnoiUmHOdQvw=' alt='Rugby 08 On Mac' title='Rugby 08 On Mac' />GovernanceeditIn the United States, college rugby is governed by in descending order of authority USA Rugby, geographical unions GUs and local area unions LAUs e. NERFU. USA Rugby has established a College Management Committee and a collegiate director, Rich Cortez, to oversee college rugby. The NCAA has no authority over college rugby. Often called a club sport, each college team is administered by either the athletic department or the student club department. In 2. 01. 1, USA Rugby continued to urge college rugby programs to adopt new conference structures similar to the conferences used by their other athletic programs. The highest profile example was the formation of the Ivy Rugby Conference in 2. This move signals a shift away from the LAUs and TUs as the governing bodies for regional college rugby. Lynchburg College team photo after defeating Emory Henry College, 3. Fall 2. 01. 5Play and participationeditWinter and spring are the primary seasons for conferences in the pacific, northwest and south regions e. PAC, Southeastern the fall is the primary season for conferences in the northeast, mid atlantic and upper midwest regions e. Big 1. 0, Atlantic Coast. Conferences establish playing schedules in the primary season, while in the secondary season the teams often set up friendly matches or focus on playing rugby sevens. USA Rugby maintains player eligibility guidelines, administered by the local area unions. College players generally have five years of rugby eligibility from the time they graduate high school. On field disciplinary issues are generally handled by the local area unions, while off field disciplinary issues are governed by the academic institution and the local area union. USA Rugbys CIPP insurance program provides liability insurance to players, teams, administrators and pitch hosts in exchange for an annual dues payment. Roughly one quarter of college rugby programs offer financial aid to their players. Outstanding college rugby players are recognized as All Americans. Bundesliga Sd StuSta Mnchen S tuttgarter Rugby Club 5022 2410. Nach dem knappen Pokalerfolg ber die FT Adler Kiel 2620 nutzten die Stuttgarter am. Qualified All Americans can represent the United States in international tournaments by playing on the United States national under 2. Promotion and relegationeditCollege rugby competition is divided into several tiers. Install Endian Firewall On Ubuntu. The highest is Division I A formerly known as the College Premier Division. Other tiers include Division I AA, and Divisions 2 through 4. USA Rugby generally allows colleges to select the division in which the college thinks it would fit best. Most schools remain in the same division from year to year, but there are exceptions. Schools that have been successful in a particular division may move up but are not required to do so likewise, poorly performing schools may move down a division, but are not required to. Successful schools may have varied reasons for declining promotion. Large rugby forum where people from around the world discuss rugby union and rugby league. For example, a school may prefer to remain in its current conference against traditional rivals, or a school with a small budget might resist the additional travel expense that might come from switching divisions and conferences. The most recent significant movement across divisions occurred in 2. USA Rugby separated Division I into Division I A and I AA. This new arrangement caused Division I schools to choose one or the other, with 3. Division I A and the majority of Division I schools joining Division I AA. Additionally, the creation of Division I AA caused several successful Division II schools to move up to Division I A. The evolving division structures, caused significant shifts in schools between Divisions I A and I AA in the following years, with half of the original 3. D I A members leaving by the end of 2. Varsity programseditMens varsityeditMost colleges classify their rugby programs as club sports rather than varsity sports. A small but growing number of universities, however, have begun offering rugby as a varsity sport, realizing that varsity rugby can be profitable, as a successful varsity rugby program can result in national championships and increased marketability. Mens College Varsity Programs. College. Athletic. Affiliation. Metro area. Varsitysince. National achievements. California Berkeley1. D1 Pac 1. 2Berkeley, CA1. SUNY Maritime College. D3 Skyline. Bronx, NY Paul Smiths College. USCAAPaul Smiths, NY Principia College1. D3. Elsah, IL Cal Maritime. NAIAVallejo, CA2. NSCRO rank 1 2. Franciscan University. D3 3. RRCSteubenville, OH2. NSCRO Ranked 1 2. Nationals. Norwich. D3 GNACNorthfield, VT2. D2 national playoffs 2. American International College2. D2 NE 1. 0Springfield, MA2. Life University2. NAIAAtlanta, GA2. D1 A champion 2. D1 A semifinals 2. Lindenwood. 2. 1 D2 MIAASaint Louis, MO2. D1 7s champion 2. D1 AA runner up 2. Lindenwood Belleville. NAIASaint Louis, MO2. D2 1. 5s quarterfinalist 2. D2 7s semifinalist 2. D1 AA quarterfinalist 2. Wheeling Jesuit2. D2 Mtn. East. Wheeling, WV2. Notre Dame College2. D2 Great Lakes. Cleveland, OH2. D1 AA National Runner Up. Central Washington University2. D2 Great NWEllensburg, WA2. Army2. 61. 6 D1 Patriot. West Point, NY2. 01. Bethel College2. NAIAMishawaka, IN2. Marywood University2. D3. Scranton, PA2. Queens University of Charlotte2. D2 SACCharlotte, NC2.