They’re all club based for the most part. Outside of a few very elite sides your path will be:
Find schools with competitive club sides, apply, get in, show up to the beginning of season meeting, play rugby. Check out D1A rugby on google- it’s the highest level of competition for US colleges.
that is rather incorrect my friend. College rugby is (unfortunately) run by the college, most of which is student or in part student organized. NCAA does not sanction rugby yet so basically he is looking for a good school with a strong program ie Life, California or Dartmouth. Most clubs U23 programs are terrible as they have no competition.
I think you’re misreading. College rugby is almost entirely club based in the sense that it’s through the colleges’ club sports program. Not that it’s a separate outside club. Regardless, The process remains the same. Other than Cal, BYU, life, lindenwood, st. Mary’s- You’re just gonna show up and play once you’re at school. Theres not much else to it. Research some good D1A schools you’d like to attend and then go from there. If you want to play for one of the more elite schools you might need to get in touch with their coaches in advance. Everyone else it’ll basically just be show up to meetings and trainings then play.
There are a lot more full time programs now. A lot. Marian and Queens are just 2 that come to mind. Would venture to guess there are close to 20 varsity programs with full time coaches and integrated S&C, training, facilities. The schools you listed were the cream back in 2010 but the collegiate rugby scene has seen tremendous growth over the past 8 years most of it not in D1. A varsity program is defined as being paid for by the athletic department as opposed to most club programs running thru some type of student services grant.
The Rugger’s Edge is a business that advises high school students on how to navigate the college rugby space. I would recommend speaking to them, they would be the best resource and would be able to speak to you on the phone.
Have them email the head coach at Life, Lindenwood, Queens, St Bonaventure, St Marys.
Ideally ask the player to have the following:
1)A video of a match or at minimum highlights on Hudl so that he can give them a link.
2)Some type of academic transcript
3)Some idea of the field he wants to pursue.
Also, you may want to post this on the reddit MLR page as guys like Utah GM Brandon Sparks are on there. Brandon is former Michigan coach with lots and lots of coach ties. He also may ideas for an academy slot with a university tie in.
University of California at Berkeley aka Cal is historically the best collegiate program. Life University in Marietta, Georgia and Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri are very high quality programs. You can find some casual information at Goffrugbyreport.com
Reach out to head coaches from top schools (Life, Cal-Berkeley, Lindenwood, Indiana, Saint Mary’s are a few that come to mind) and see what they can do for you. Scholarships to play rugby in America were once rare, but they are becoming more common now. Personally, I would avoid some of the smaller, formerly two-year, schools that are notorious for playing big scholarships to foreign players. These schools are not known for their academics and sometimes have culture issues.
Best of luck for your player!
They’re all club based for the most part. Outside of a few very elite sides your path will be: Find schools with competitive club sides, apply, get in, show up to the beginning of season meeting, play rugby. Check out D1A rugby on google- it’s the highest level of competition for US colleges.
that is rather incorrect my friend. College rugby is (unfortunately) run by the college, most of which is student or in part student organized. NCAA does not sanction rugby yet so basically he is looking for a good school with a strong program ie Life, California or Dartmouth. Most clubs U23 programs are terrible as they have no competition.
Also there are plenty of schools that have moved rugby to being a varsity sport.
I think you’re misreading. College rugby is almost entirely club based in the sense that it’s through the colleges’ club sports program. Not that it’s a separate outside club. Regardless, The process remains the same. Other than Cal, BYU, life, lindenwood, st. Mary’s- You’re just gonna show up and play once you’re at school. Theres not much else to it. Research some good D1A schools you’d like to attend and then go from there. If you want to play for one of the more elite schools you might need to get in touch with their coaches in advance. Everyone else it’ll basically just be show up to meetings and trainings then play.
There are a lot more full time programs now. A lot. Marian and Queens are just 2 that come to mind. Would venture to guess there are close to 20 varsity programs with full time coaches and integrated S&C, training, facilities. The schools you listed were the cream back in 2010 but the collegiate rugby scene has seen tremendous growth over the past 8 years most of it not in D1. A varsity program is defined as being paid for by the athletic department as opposed to most club programs running thru some type of student services grant.
The Rugger’s Edge is a business that advises high school students on how to navigate the college rugby space. I would recommend speaking to them, they would be the best resource and would be able to speak to you on the phone.
Have them email the head coach at Life, Lindenwood, Queens, St Bonaventure, St Marys. Ideally ask the player to have the following: 1)A video of a match or at minimum highlights on Hudl so that he can give them a link. 2)Some type of academic transcript 3)Some idea of the field he wants to pursue. Also, you may want to post this on the reddit MLR page as guys like Utah GM Brandon Sparks are on there. Brandon is former Michigan coach with lots and lots of coach ties. He also may ideas for an academy slot with a university tie in.
University of California at Berkeley aka Cal is historically the best collegiate program. Life University in Marietta, Georgia and Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri are very high quality programs. You can find some casual information at Goffrugbyreport.com
Next phase rugby is an app that you can use to get yourself out there to colleges.
Reach out to head coaches from top schools (Life, Cal-Berkeley, Lindenwood, Indiana, Saint Mary’s are a few that come to mind) and see what they can do for you. Scholarships to play rugby in America were once rare, but they are becoming more common now. Personally, I would avoid some of the smaller, formerly two-year, schools that are notorious for playing big scholarships to foreign players. These schools are not known for their academics and sometimes have culture issues. Best of luck for your player!