- College Premier Division
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College Premier Division 
Sport Rugby union Instituted March 2011 Inaugural season 2011 Number of teams 29 Country 
United States (USA Rugby)Holders California (2011) Most titles California (1 title) Website http://www.usarugby.org/ Broadcast partner ESPNU College Premier Division (CPD) is the highest level of collegiate rugby within the United States of America. It is administered by USA Rugby and modeled after NCAA athletic competitions with the schools broken up into four conferences, the Rugby East, Mid-South, Western, and Pacific. The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs. Playoffs are then contested in a single-elimination format, with the winner of the CPD declared the National Champion.[1]
The competition's first season was played during 2011 and consisted of men's rugby teams from 31 colleges and universities from across the United States. The first ever match of the CPD was played on Friday March 4, the Arizona State Sun Devils hosted the Colorado Buffaloes at the Arizona State University Soccer Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.[2] The 2011 final was played at Rio Tinto Stadium, in Sandy, UT, on the 21 May 2011.
Contents
Formation
Collegiate Rugby History in the United States
A group of British Army officers organized a game of rugby against the students of McGill University (Montreal, Canada) in 1865; the Canadians were so enamored of the game that they decided to continue to play football by the Rugby code. In 1874 McGill organized two games of football against Harvard University, one was played under Harvard’s rules the other being a game of rugby. After this game, the Harvard students also decided to adopt rugby, making them the first American institution to do so. Columbia University, Princeton University and Yale University, were persuaded by Harvard to play football according to the Rugby School code in 1876, these four colleges thus formed the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA), an organization that eventually expanded to become the “Ivy League”. In fact, the governing body of all American intercollegiate varsity sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) traces its roots to the IFA and is thus a product of rugby rather than any of the sports it now governs.
By 1886 the Yale coach Walter Camp had modified rugby's rules in order to solve the problem of tackled players lying on the ball by introducing a series of four downs to gain ten yards; ironically in the same year the Rugby Football Union in England solved the same problem by requiring that tackled players release the ball. This is still one of the most fundamental differences between Rugby Union and American Football but one further modification, that of allowing one forward pass per down, was suggested by the University of Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne which, when accepted in 1905, gave rise to that distinctly American form of football.
1920 USA Olympic Rugby Team.
1924 USA Olympic Rugby Team.Around the turn of the century American football was being frowned upon for its violence. Publication of graphic photographs of a harsh game between Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania[3] caused a stir; President Theodore Roosevelt was forced to insist upon reform or abolishment of the game. During this period of uncertainty, rugby made a brief but important reappearance in many colleges, most notably at the University of California and at Stanford University. It was these two Universities that supplied most of the players to the two US Olympic rugby teams (1920 & 1924) who claimed fame by winning both Gold medals (as 1924 was the last time the Olympic Games staged a rugby competition, this will make the USA the defending Olympic Champions when rugby is re-introduced, after almost a century in 2016).
In 1934, there was only one official rugby body in the United States, the Eastern Rugby Union, with a total of 9 member teams. By 1950, there were 30 clubs in the US, existing only in small pockets on the East and West Coasts. It was not until the mid 1960's that rugby began to re¬appear with regular fixtures and competitions; the game suited the mildly anarchistic temperament of American College students of the period; it required minimal costs for the individual, the style of the game provided constant action, there was an emphasis on enjoyment rather than winning because rugby was not part of the now rigidly institutionalized athletic system that American Universities had developed. The formation of the United States of America Rugby Football Union (USARFU, now USA Rugby) in 1976 was a major organizational milestone for the sport in the USA, and by 1980 there were over 1000 clubs nationwide.
In 2011, there were 2433 clubs in the United States with more than 88,000 registered players, approximately 40% of which are college players (about three-quarters being male and one quarter female).[4]
Previous Collegiate National Titles
The earliest claims to a national title go back to the mid-1960s when Sports Illustrated Magazine started demonstrating an interest in Collegiate rugby. During the 1965-1966 season, the University of Notre Dame won several cups and tournaments and, in the absence of a bona-fine national Championship, Sports Illustrated named them unofficial Collegiate Rugby Champions.[5] The next year, under the authotrity of USARFU, Notre Dame played a match on April 8, 1967 against California at Memorial Stadium for the unofficial national championship, again as a result of both teams being highly rated by Sports Illustrated; Cal won 37-3.[6]
The first official National Collegiate Championship series began in 1980. Rugby in the United States is divided into territorial unions (the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, the South, Southern California and the West),[a] each of these unions organise collegiate rugby into "Division One" and "Division Two" league competitions, generally with promotion and relegation between the divisions. Between 1980 and 2010 each Territory qualified Division One and Two teams for the Sweet 16 of a D1 and D2 National championship.
California was dominant in Division One for the 31 years that the competition was run in this format, winning 26 titles. The Air Force Academy took three titles while San Diego State University and Brigham Young University have won one Division One National Championship each.[7]
YEAR LOCATION CHAMPION SCORE RUNNER-UP 3rd PLACE 4th PLACE 1980 Davenport, IA California 15-9 Air Force Academy Illinois Navy 1981 Dayton, OH California 6-3 OT Harvard University Miami (OH) Kansas St. 1982 Greeley, CO California 15-14 Life College Michigan New Mexico St. 1983 Athens, GA California 13-3 Air Force Navy Illinois 1984 Pebble Beach, CA California 12-4 Colorado Long Beach St. Miami (OH) 1985 Pebble Beach, CA California 31-6 Maryland Colorado Illinois 1986 Pebble Beach, CA California 6-4 Dartmouth Air Force Bowling Green 1987 Pebble Beach, CA San Diego State 10-9 Air Force Bowling Green Dartmouth 1988 Pebble Beach, CA California 9-3 Dartmouth Air Force Bowling Green 1989 Colorado Springs, CO Air Force 25-7 Long Beach St. Army Penn State 1990 Pebble Beach, CA Air Force 18-12 Army Ohio State Long Beach St. 1991 Houston, TX California 20-14 Army Ohio State Wyoming 1992 Colorado Springs, CO California 27-17 Army Air Force Penn State 1993 Houston, TX California 36-6 Air Force Harvard Wisconsin 1994 Washington, DC California 27-13 Navy Air Force Penn State 1995 Berkeley, CA California 48-16 Air Force Penn State Army 1996 Colorado Springs, CO California 47-6 Penn State Stanford Navy 1997 Berkeley, CA California 41-15 Penn State UC Davis Stanford 1998 San Francisco, CA California 34-15 Stanford Navy Indiana Univ. 1999 San Francisco, CA California 36-5 Penn State Navy Army 2000 Tampa Bay, FL California 62-16 Wyoming Army Indiana Univ. 2001 Virginia Beach, VA California 86-11 Penn State Navy Army 2002 Virginia Beach, VA California 43-22 Utah Army Wyoming 2003 Stanford, CA Air Force 45-37 Harvard California Army 2004 Stanford, CA California 46-24 Cal Poly, SLO Navy / Air Force 2005 Stanford, CA California 44-7 Utah BYU / Navy 2006 Stanford, CA California 29-26 BYU Utah / Penn State 2007 Stanford, CA California 37-7 BYU Navy / Penn State 2008 Stanford, CA California 59-7 BYU St. Mary's / Colorado 2009 Stanford, CA BYU 25-22 California Army / San Diego State 2010 Stanford, CA California 19-7 BYU Arkansas State / Army Formation of the College Premier Division
There was always some difficulty in determining how many teams each Territory would send to the Sweet 16 tournament as the relative strengths of the rugby being played in each territory fluctuated over time and, despite the great disparity in the levels of rugby it was politically difficult to deny a union any bids although the team that came third or fourth in a more powerful territory might easily be a better side. Further problems occurred because of the disparity in the competitive season across the continent; in the East the league season is played in the fall while in the South and West spring is the primary season, so this structure was frequently open to criticism. Because of this and, in order to raise the level of rugby in the consciousness of the American public, USA Rugby restructured Collegiate rugby in the US to incorporate the College Premier Division.
Participants
The states from which the clubs that participated in the 2011 CPD came, colored by conference
Pacific gold
West green
Mid-South blue
East redRugby East
Rugby East Conference School/University Coach City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined CPD Army Richard Pohlidal West Point, NY 
Anderson Rugby Complex, Warrior Field 1,000 1961 2011 Dartmouth Alexander Magleby [8] Hanover, NH 
Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse ??? 1951 [9] 2011 Delaware Bjorn Haglid [10] Newark, DE 
Frazier Field [11] ??? 1972 [12] 2011 Kutztown Dr. Gregg Jones [13] Kutztown, PA 
Luckenbill Avenue Rugby Pitch [14] ??? 1984 [15] 2011 Navy Mike Flanagan[disambiguation needed 
]Annapolis, MD 
Ernie Blake II, Brigade Sports Complex ??? 1943 2011 Ohio State Tom Rooney[disambiguation needed ] [16]Columbus, OH 
Fred Beekman Park [17] ??? 1966 [18] 2011 Penn State Don Ferrell [19] State College, PA PSU West Campus Pitch ??? 1962[20] 2011 Rutgers Piscataway, NJ 
Scarlet Knight Sport Club Field ??? 1965 2011 Mid-South
Mid South Conference School/University Coach City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined CPD Arkansas State Matt Huckaby Jonesboro, AR 
??? ??? 1991 2011 Life James Isaacson Marietta, GA 
??? ??? ??? 2011 Notre Dame Sean O'Leary Notre Dame, IN 
West Quad Fields ??? 1961 2011 LSU Scott McLean Baton Rouge, LA 
??? ??? 1967 2011 Oklahoma Kenneth Forehand Norman, OK 
Tarzan Pitch ??? 1974 2011 Tennessee Butch Robertson Knoxville, TN 
Tennessee Rugby Park ??? 1970 2011 Texas A&M Brett Mills College Station, TX 
Aggie Rugby Pitch & Penberthy Complex ??? 1968 2011 Western
Western Conference School/University Coach City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined CPD Air Force Joe Muehlbauer [21] Colorado Springs, CO 
??? 1968 [22] 2011 University of Arizona Dave Sitton Tucson, AZ 
Rincon Vista Sports Complex, Murphy Field at Mulcahy Stadium, Clements Field 1,000 1969 2011 Arizona State Gary Lane Tempe, AZ Arizona State ICA Soccer Stadium 1,051 1975 2011 Brigham Young David Smyth [23] Provo, UT 
South Field 2,140 1962 2011 Colorado Sean Edris[24] Boulder, CO Kittredge Field 2011 Colorado State Blake Stevens[25] Fort Collins, CO 2011 Utah Blake Burdette[26] Salt Lake City, UT 2011 Wyoming Laramie, WY 
2011 Pacific
Pacific Conference School/University Coach City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined CPD California Jack Clark Berkeley, CA 
2011 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA 2011 Central Washington Ellensburg, WA 
2011 Claremont CMS Claremont, CA 2011 Saint Mary's Moraga, CA 2011 San Diego State San Diego, CA 2011 UC Davis Davis, CA 2011 UCLA Los Angeles, CA 2011 Former Teams[27]
Former Teams School/University Conference Joined CPD Final CPD Season Claremont Pacific 2011 2011[28] Dartmouth East 2011 2011[29] LSU Mid-South 2011 2011[30] San Diego State Pacific 2011 2011[31] Tennessee Mid-South 2011 2011[32] 2011 season
Notable events of the 2011 season
- First Season of the College Premier Division
- Funding for Cal Rugby, which previously was announced would be dropped,[33] is restored after additional funding is raised by donors, alumni and fans.[34]
- Life University participated in its first playoff game in school history [35]
- BYU hosted its first rugby playoff game in club history.[36]
- BYU and California will play for the Collegiate Title for the 6th consecutive year (2006-10 in USA Rugby Collegiate Tournament, 2011 USA Rugby College Premier Division)
Regular season
Records and final standings for 2011.[37]
Pacific Conference Rank University/College Conf. Record +/- 1 x-California 7-0 +344 2 y-St. Mary's 6-1 +143 3 Central Washington 5-2 +55 4 San Diego State 4-3 -8 5 Cal Poly 3-4 -66 6 UCLA 2-5 -107 7 UC-Davis 2-5 -169 8 Claremont 0-7 -192 x-Conference champion
y-Qualified for playoffs
Western Conference Rank University/College Conf. Record +/- 1 x-Brigham Young 7-0 +376 2 y-Utah 6-1 +176 3 Arizona State 5-2 +49 4 Arizona 4-3 34 5 Air Force 3-4 -9 6 Colorado 2-4 -48 7 Colorado State 1-7 -251 8 Wyoming 0-7 -307 Mid-South Conference Rank University/College Conf. Record +/- 1 x-Arkansas State 6-0 +227 2 y-Life 5-1 +243 3 LSU 3-3 -56 4 Texas A&M 2-4 -48 5 Tennessee 2-3 -115 6 Notre Dame 2-3 -85 7 Oklahoma 0-6 -166 East Conference Rank University/College Conf. Record +/- 1 x-Army 7-0 +158 2 y-Navy 6-1 +103 3 Penn State 5-2 -20 4 Kutztown 3-4 +60 5 Dartmouth 3-4 -9 6 Deleware 2-5 -21 7 Rutgers 2-5 -133 8 Ohio State 1-6 -138 Playoffs and final
Quarterfinals (May 7–8)
@Higher SeedSemi-Finals (May 14)
Infinity Park, Glendale, COChamioship (May 21)
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UTW1 Brigham Young 64 E2 Navy 12 W1 Brigham Young 36 MS1 Arkansas State 15 MS1 Arkansas State 30 PC2 St. Mary's (CA) 17 W1 Brigham Young 14 PC1 California 21 PC1 California 43 MS2 Life University 10 PC1 California 62 W2 Utah 14 E1 Army 26 W2 Utah 32 Final rankings
Final 2011 RUGBYMag.com College Premier Rankings Rank University/College CPD Record Season Record 1 California 10-0 20-0 2 BYU 9-1 14-1 3 Arkansas State 8-1 8-1 4 Life University 5-2 10-2 5 St. Mary's 6-2 12-3 6 Utah 7-2 10-2 7 Central Washington 5-2 7-3 8 Army 7-1 7-1 9 Navy 6-2 6-3 10 Arizona State 5-2 6-3 11 Penn State 5-2 7-4 12 Arizona 4-3 10-4 13 Air Force 3-4 3-7 14 Kutztown 4-4 4-4 15 San Diego State 5-5 5-5 16 Dartmouth 3-4 10-4 17 Delaware 2-5 10-8 18 Cal Poly 3-4 6-5 19 Notre Dame 2-3 7-5 20 LSU 3-3 5-3 21 Texas A&M 2-4 2-4 22 Tennessee 2-3 8-5 23 Ohio State 1-6 2-7 24 Rutgers 2-5 2-6 25 UCLA 2-5 6-6 26 Colorado 2-4 3-5 27 UC Davis 2-5 4-10 28 Colorado State 1-7 1-9 29 Claremont Colleges 0-7 0-12 30 Oklahoma 0-6 1-6 31 Wyoming 0-7 2-9 Notes
References
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Categories:- College rugby union in the United States
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