Rugby

INTRO

Until recently rugby was considered a club sport as opposed to varsity sport. However currently this fast growing, emerging sport is gaining popularity and is supported with increasing number of scholarships by larger and larger group of schools that are changing the status of this sport from club to varsity.

There are close to 900 college teams—male and female—registered with USA Rugby which is a governing body for Collegiate Rugby. There are over 32,000 college players registered with USA Rugby, although big portion of this group are club players that do not receive athletic scholarships. Currently around 70 schools (1/4 of rugby schools) offer some form of scholarship on the basis of rugby talent and often this scholarship can be stacked on top of other forms of financial aid. College players enjoy 5 years of eligibility after graduating from high school. All the eligibility regulations are governed by USA Rugby and through local unions.

Winter and spring are the primary seasons for conferences in the pacific, northwest and south regions (e.g., PAC, Southeastern); the fall is the primary season for conferences in the northeast, mid-atlantic and upper midwest regions (e.g., Big Ten, Atlantic Coast).

Eligibility for Rugby is a seven-year window that begins in the academic year immediately following a player's high school graduation date during which a player may not participate more than five seasons.

Top collegiate rugby players have opportunity to be drafted to professional Major League Rugby (MLR) league, that for the first time in 2020 holds draft event and will likely continue for the years to come.

RUGBY ELIGIBILITY

https://www.usa.rugby/college/eligibility/

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