Mason-Dixon sent its champ, UVA, to the 2016 DI spring championship.
The 2017-18 collegiate season is approximately a month and a half away, and the process of mapping out changes to various competitions has begun. The Mason-Dixon conference, for example, has seen slight moves in the past few years, but the upcoming season will see a bigger jolt to the DI league.
In the past, the DI Mason-Dixon had been divided into north and south pools that included teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina. Teams could contest matrix matches across the fall and spring, and crossovers preceded the spring conference championship. That format has altered for the 2017-18 season.
Former members Kent State (Ohio) and Temple (Pa.) have left, with the former aligning with the new DI/DII hybrid Allegheny league (more to come). Meanwhile, Clemson University (S.C.) and University of South Carolina have been promoted to DI. The former has competed in the DII South Independent Rugby Conference, while USC has won the DII Carolinas conference the last couple of years.
“Yes, we cover a large territory, Pittsburgh down to Clemson, but it’s about getting teams that want to play D1 rugby together with teams of similar ambitions and abilities,” Mason-Dixon conference commissioner Nancy Kechner explained.
“After a rebuilding year last year the team grew in membership 300%,” explained Clemson coach Nick Whitrow. “We had a strong run in D2 and beat UNC this spring in Chapel Hill. The program is looking to combine competitive fixtures with some travel in order to better the student experience.”
The nine teams will play each other once during the matrix season, thereby making the crossover matches unnecessary, before heading into conference playoffs in the spring. Members from north to south include:
Pittsburgh (Pa.)
James Madison (Va.)
UVA (Va.)
Virginia Tech (Va.)
UNC (N.C.)
NC State (N.C.)
East Carolina (N.C.)
Clemson (S.C.)
South Carolina (S.C.)
With approximately nine hours between the northernmost and southernmost teams, some creativity and resources will be needed in building schedules, and that’s when the split season and long weekends will come in handy. But there are some unique opportunities, too. Clemson, for example, has an outdoor lab that includes affordable cabins for team-building and mini-tours.
For updates, visit the conference Facebook page.