| College rugby in the United States | |
|---|---|
 California Golden Bears v Saint Mary's Gaels match in March 2010 | |
| Governing body | |
| First played | 1874 |
| Registered players | 65,000 [1] |
| Clubs | 900 |
Club competitions | |
College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States. Seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side variants of rugby union are most commonly played. Most collegiate rugby programs do not fall under the auspices of the NCAA and are instead governed by National Collegiate Rugby and USA Rugby, two nationwide governing bodies. 27 women's programs participate in the NCAA.
College rugby is the fastest growing college sport in the US and one of the fastest growing sports in the nation as the number of athletes increased by roughly 350% from 18,500 in 2006 to 65,000 in 2010.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Women's rugby is an NCAA Emerging Sport.[1] Over 900 college teams—male and female—are registered with USA Rugby and hundreds more with National Collegiate Rugby.[9] Over 32,000 college players are registered with USA Rugby, making college rugby the largest section of its membership.[10]
The highest profile college rugby sevens competition is the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC). College club rugby has included several championship competitions since 1980.
Rugby has been played in universities since as early as the 1800s, but in the 1960s rugby found a foothold in colleges, led by Catholic colleges such as Notre Dame and particularly Jesuit universities such as Boston College and St. Joseph's in Philadelphia.[11] Several schools have upgraded their investments in rugby by creating programs with varsity or quasi-varsity status and funding for scholarships.[12]
Alumni from collegiate programs make up much of the United States men's and women's national teams.
Major League Rugby implemented its first collegiate MLR Draft in 2020. Players are eligible for the draft after 3 years in college at 21 years old. Free agents can join teams at age 18.[13][14][15][16]
- ^ a b See Chadwick, SS, Semens, A, Schwarz, E, Zhang, D. Economic impact report on global rugby part III: strategic and emerging markets. Researched and prepared by the Centre for the International Business of Sport Coventry University. 2010 http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/NewsMedia/MediaZone/02/04/22/88/2042288_PDF.pdf Archived 2011-06-26 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Where Is Rugby the Most Popular Among Students: Comparison of US and UK Student Leagues | Love Rugby League". Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ^ "Rugby Scholarships USA".
- ^ "Fuse Explores the Surge in Sports Participation: Why Teens Play and Why They Don't". www.businesswire.com. July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Rugby: Fastest growing sport in the U.S. also one of the oldest". Global Sport Matters. July 19, 2018.
- ^ "Rugby is now the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and BIG changes to high school rugby – Your Hub". March 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012.
- ^ "Sold-Out Chicago Match Marks Rugby's Rising Popularity" Archived January 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg, October 31, 2014.
- ^ "Economic Impact Report on College Rugby, Part III – Strategic and Emerging Markets" (PDF). www.irb.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2011.
- ^ Forbes, "Why Pro Rugby Could Win In The United States", February 25, 2011.
- ^ USA Rugby, "Membership Statistics, 2010–2011".
- ^ Delco Times, "Notre Dame and Boston College to Represent Catholic College Rugby in National Sevens Championship", June 2, 2011.
- ^ "WV Metro News – Sports". Archived from the original on September 19, 2012.
- ^ "Questions And Concerns About MLR Draft". Goff Rugby Report. April 16, 2020.
- ^ "2020 MLR Collegiate Draft Summary". June 14, 2020.
- ^ "MLR Draft Picks 2020". Major League Rugby.
- ^ "MLR Draft 2020: What you need to know". Utah Warriors Rugby.