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Both the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) and National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) have held their final rounds of 15s playoffs ahead of the final stage. The NCAA varsity league will hold its DI and DII/DIII title matches on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.). NCR will hold its DI, DI-AA, DII and DIII 15s championships on Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 5-6 at Sabercats Stadium (Houston). See the full weekend’s scores. [Photo: David Hughes @davidhughesphoto]
NIRA will be the first organization to crown champions this 2025-26 season. Division I is down to Lindenwood University and host Harvard University. The Lions played the first semifinal on Friday night, hosting #3 seed Army in St. Charles, Mo. Lindenwood beat the visiting Black Knights 29-22 to book its first final’s berth in its first NIRA season.
Two-time reigning champion Harvard will have the benefit of home-field advantage after its 45-10 semifinal win against Dartmouth College on Saturday. The DI final kicks off at 2:35 p.m. ET.
In Division II/III, defending champion American International College (AIC) secured its repeat berth to the trophy match after a 107-0 semifinal win against the visiting Frostburg State. Meanwhile, West Chester University traveled to DIII Bowdoin College in Maine and banked a 19-5 semifinal win. AIC and West Chester will contest the DII final at 12:05 p.m. on Nov. 23.
NIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, Nov. 23
@ Harvard Univ., Cambridge, Mass.
12:05 p.m. ET DII/DIII Final
AIC v West Chester
2:35 p.m. ET DI Final
Harvard v Lindenwood
NCR will name four national 15s champions, and both Division I and Division I-AA know their finalists.
DI is a rematch of the 2024 final. Reigning champion Wheeling University hosted Penn State for Saturday’s semifinals and won 55-10. Meanwhile, Southern Nazarene battled BYU, which was making its first appearance in an NCR competition, to a 34-28 semifinal win. The Cardinals and Crimson Storm will contest the 2025 title on Saturday, Dec. X at 7 p.m. CT.
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DI-AA held quarterfinals on Friday and semifinals on Sunday In Obetz, Ohio, Virginia topped Purdue 40-19, while Northeastern University knocked off #1 seed Notre Dame 41-7. On Sunday, the Maddogs did one better and beat #2 seeded Virginia 38-24 to earn their first berth to the NCR 15s finals.
Colorado University is also making its first appearance in an NCR 15s final, going 2-0 in Springfield, Mo. In quarterfinals, the High Peaks champ beat Lander University 38-31, while Univ. Northern Iowa bested Texas 38-17. For Sunday’s semifinal, Colorado had the goods for a 34-14 win against the Panthers, earning that trip to Houston. The DI-AA final will be Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2:30 p.m. CT.
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Both Division II and Division III held Round of 16 matches on Saturday and quarterfinals on Sunday, meaning that both competitions are sending four teams apiece to Houston for semifinals and finals.
Defending national champion Vassar College went 2-0 in Georgetown, Del., beating Towson 57-5 and then Coastal Carolina 66-0 for the repeat berth. The South Atlantic champion beat William & Mary 29-22 on Friday to go 1-1 on the weekend. Towson also went 1-1 after beating William & Mary 25-5 in Sunday’s consolations.
Univ. Wisconsin Eau Claire is also heading back to Houston after a successful weekend in Springfield, Mo. The Blugolds beat Norwich 62-19 on Saturday and then eliminated Winona State in the quarterfinals with a 41-19 victory. The Black Katts had beaten Univ. Texas San Antonio 41-19 in the Round of 16, and then Norwich beat the Lone Star squad 34-19 in Sunday’s consolations.
Vassar’s Jude Robinson
In Canton, Mass., Coast Guard played two tough matches against Tri-State opponents to book that semifinal spot in Houston. The Bears beat Marist 44-31 in the Round of 16 and then Fairfield 33-24 in the quarterfinals. The Tri-State teams picked up a win apiece against Roger Williams. Fairfield beat the Rhode Island squad on Saturday 29-22, and the Marist won 53-5 in the consolation quarterfinals.
The newcomer is SUNY Binghamton. The Upstate New York team beat Northwestern 60-17 in the Round of 16 and then booked a spot in Houston with a 55-34 win against Bowling Green. Cincinnati, which lost its opener 19-13 to Bowling Green, picked up a win in the consolation round, 14-0 against Northwestern.
Just like DII, three of the four Division III semifinalists are returning from the 2024 finals. Reigning champion Endicott College got a bye through the Round of 16 and then beat Colby 52-17 in Sunday’s quarterfinals in Canton, Mass.
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2024 runner-up Colorado School of Mines went 2-0 in Springfield, Mo. The High Peaks squad beat North Dakota 59-5 and then bested Univ. Wisconsin Stevens Point 38-7 in the quarterfinals to advance. Stevens Point had beaten Wayne State College 39-26 on Saturday to advance to the Round of 8, and North Dakota picked up a 31-19 win against the Wildcats in the consolation round.
East Stroudsburg University made its nationals debut last year and is back for 2025. The Pennsylvania side shut out Hofstra 140-0 in the Round of 16 and then beat SUNY Cortland 48-12 in the quarterfinals. After dropping its Round of 16 53-39 to Cortland, Christopher Newport University logged a 106-5 win against Hofstra in Sunday’s consolations.
The newcomer is Siena College. The Tri-State team beat Univ. Wisconsin Platteville 29-17 and then eliminated Northern Michigan 67-36 in the quarterfinals. Platteville picked up a 85-17 win against Geneseo (which lost 79-15 to Northern Michigan on Saturday) in the consolation round.
NCR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sat-Sun, Dec 6-7
Sabercats Stadium, Houston (CT)
SATURDAY
10 a.m. DIII Semifinal
Endicott v East Stroudsburg
12 p.m. DII Semifinal
Coast Guard v Vassar
2 p.m. DIII Semifinal
Siena v CO School of Mines
4 p.m. DII Semifinal
UW Eau Claire v SUNY Binghamton
6 p.m. DI Final
Wheeling v Southern Nazarene
SUNDAY
10 a.m. DIII 3rd Place
10:30 a.m. DIII Final
12 p.m. DII 3rd Place
12:30 p.m. DII Final
2:30 p.m. DI-AA Final
Northeastern v Colorado