Five Division II college conferences have collectively aligned with the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) and their Division I counterparts. The leagues are all spring-based in that their 15s seasons culminate with regional playoffs and championship in the spring.
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“From the start of their discussions, the women’s D2 spring conferences were resolute in their desire to stay together as a group, and in finding an organization to help support and achieve that goal,” USA Rugby Scholastic Manager Johnathan Atkeison explained. “We’re entering a new phase of development in the college game and partnerships like this are going to drive future success.”
The DII group developed the following points of resolution:
1. The Women’s Collegiate D2 Conferences who participate in a spring 15s championship season will move forward together as a group to create the Women’s Collegiate D2 Division – Spring.
2. The conferences and teams of the Women’s Collegiate D2 Division – Spring will remain members of USA Rugby.
3. The Women’s Collegiate D2 Division – Spring will seek to strategically partner with CRAA for additional services that will benefit the division.
4. The Women’s Collegiate D2 Division – Spring will partner with Women’s Collegiate D1 Division for the development and growth of the women’s game.
Earlier this month, the majority of women’s DI conferences aligned with CRAA, with the lone hold-out being the Midwest, which went to National Collegiate Rugby (NCR). The CRAA now accounts for more than 100 women’s college teams.
“CRAA looks forward to working with D2 Women in their efforts to improve the student athlete experience through sharing our best practices, standards, and creating better synergies within our divisions,” CRAA President Paul Keeler enthused. “The growth of the women’s game is vital to the development of our sporting culture.”
“I think it was a good decision for the Division II Spring Conferences to join CRAA as a group,” Capital conference commissioner Bill Lucas added. “By joining Division I in partnering with CRAA, we should be able to provide better services at a reduced cost. I’m looking forward to working within the CRAA management structure to develop a strong organization that will benefit all the teams and players in the member conferences.”
There are some notable omissions, namely the West Coast and Mid-America conferences, which combine for more than 20 teams, but being spring-based leagues, they have time to make their competition decisions. There was more pressure for the fall-based teams to align with an organization, and they chose NCR’s Open Division or ACRA. Both of these entities prioritize fall 15s and spring 7s, while CRAA will offer both fall and spring 15s seasons.
“This decision has also allowed us to remain members of USA Rugby, which gives additional opportunities for collaboration,” Pacific Desert RC Competitions Director Emily Ogata closed. “We have had preliminary conversations with ACRA about continued synergies between D1 women’s fall championships and ACRA D2 fall championships, and I am excited for the additional possibilities this relationship could bring to the D2 spring division.”
CRAA SPRING DII CONFERENCES
CAPITAL (12)
American University
George Washington University
George Mason University
Georgetown University
University of Mary Washington
University of Maryland
Northern Virginia Community College
Old Dominion University
Towson University
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Virginia Commonwealth University
College of William & Mary
CAROLINAS (6)
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolinas University
College of Charleston
UNC Charlotte
UNC Wilmington
Western Carolina University FLORIDA (4)
Florida International University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Gulf Coast University
University of Miami
SIRC (up to 9)
(Teams to be announced)
PACIFIC DESERT (7)Claremont Colleges
Long Beach State University
MiraCosta College
Occidental College
San Diego State University
UC Irvine
UC Riverside