Air Force is the defending DI fall champion. / Photo: Skip Shackelford
The DI college fall season begins this weekend, and there are some new teams vying for the fall title this year. Remember that if the competition set-up remains identical to the previous two years, then USA Rugby will name women’s DI college fall and spring champions; that is, no national championship will be contested. That said, USA Rugby has not released any details about the 2017-18 season or playoffs, and thus certain references are relying on last year’s set-up.
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There are six fall-based DI conferences: Big 10, Ivy League, Lonestar, Midwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountain. There are also a handful of independent teams or those in hybrid conferences that will apply for at-large berths to the DI fall post-season. The quarterfinal play-in round occurs Nov. 11 and is followed by the Round of 8/4 on Nov. 18-19. The DI fall championship will occur the weekend of Dec. 2-3.
The BIG 10 fields two pools of play divided by geography. The West includes Indiana, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Purdue. The East* includes Michigan, Penn State and Rutgers. Teams play their pool mates twice, and then the conference championships will pit East #1 vs. West #1, etc., for place. Penn State does not play in the DI fall championship (opting instead for the DI Elite portion of nationals in the spring), so the conference runner-up takes the lead seed to the DI fall quarterfinals.
* Updated to reflect the removal of Ohio State.
The IVY LEAGUE is divided into two tiers. Tier 1 includes Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton. Teams play each other once and then funnel into the Ivy Championship. All but Princeton are NIRA members, and so they won’t continue into the USA Rugby DI fall quarterfinals. Instead, they’ll participate in the varsity league’s post-season. Tier 2 includes Columbia, Cornell, Penn and Yale, and these teams play each other twice before naming a champion.
Commissioner Tony Wagner has reshaped the LONESTAR conference into three tiers of competition. In Tier 1 former DI Southwest conference teams Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UT Austin will now add Sam Houston State, Texas State and UT San Antonio to their league schedules. They’ll play each other once before naming a champion and regional post-season rep. Tiers 2 and 3 provide 7s, 10s, 12s games and tournaments to keep those developing programs playing and building momentum.
The MIDWEST is seven teams strong once again. Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, UW Madison and UW Milwaukee will play each other once, and standings will name representatives to the DI fall quarterfinals. This weekend’s season-openers see Northern Illinois vs. Northern Iowa, and Iowa vs. Iowa State.
The NORTHEAST also returns a six-team league. UConn is the reigning power and will play Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, Rhode Island and UMass, before moving into Nov. 4 conference playoffs.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN has expanded. Returners include Air Force, Colorado and Colorado State, and New Mexico is officially a DI member this year. Montana State and Utah State have been promoted from DII to round out a six-team league. All of the teams will play each other once before naming a champion to DI fall quarterfinals.
There are many reasons why INDEPENDENT teams exist – from outgrowing local competition, to the desire to play toward a different seasonal championship. There are three main teams we’re watching but that isn’t to say there aren’t more out there: Davenport University is the two-time reigning DII national champion and is officially a DI team this season; Navy continues to play an Independent schedule, as the local DI Mason Dixon builds toward the spring title and the Midshipmen prefer the fall; and Kent State joined Allegheny’s DI/II hybrid league and will apply for an at-large bid to fall championships.
Stay tuned for coverage.