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USA Rugby has not yet released brackets for the DI college spring regional championships (April 19-21), but considering the DI-only post-season (DI Elite has been separated out this year) begins at the quarterfinal stage, it’s not too difficult to see its shape. Below is a status check on DI spring conferences and how they’ll determine their reps to regionals. The spring champion will named the first weekend in May in Matthews, N.C.
AT-LARGE … BYU will very likely take an at-large berth to the western portion of spring regionals. The Cougars left DI Elite after the spring 2018 season.
FLORIDA … integrated its DI and DII schools into a hybrid league this year but expect Central Florida to represent the state at regionals. UCF has league games scheduled until April 13, the weekend before regionals, so the 2018 spring runner-up will roll right into the post-season. Check out the fixtures thus far.
GOLD COAST … has league games until March 30, but standings leaders UC Santa Barbara and Grand Canyon have guaranteed their spots at the April 6-7 conference semifinals/championship. UCLA and CSU Northridge, which play each other this weekend, are strong contenders for the #3 and #4 spots, but again, those berths aren’t finalized yet.
UCSB will host the conference playoffs. On Saturday, April 6, it’s #1 vs. #4, and #2 vs. #3. Sunday is the conference championship, and the victor will advance to the spring regional championship two weekends later.
MASON-DIXON … is a little tricky in that the North and South teams are supposed to contest crossover quarterfinals to kick off playoffs, but all eight teams aren’t necessarily guaranteed to commit. Assuming all teams participate then playoffs would be:
March 30 – Quarterfinals
South #4 @ North #1 (Virginia Tech)
North #3 @ South #2
North #4 @ South #1 (Queens)
South #3 @ North #2 (UVA)
April 6-7 – Semifinals & Championship
Current Mason-Dixon Standings
Although it has not been publicly communicated, it’s likely Mason-Dixon will receive three berths to regionals and join Florida for the eastern portion of playoffs.
PACIFIC MOUNTAIN … supports competitions in the North and West, and will receive two seeds to the DI spring regional championship on April 19-21. The top North team will integrate into a semifinal/championship weekend with the top-three West teams. UC Davis, Chico State and Stanford currently top the West, and Washington State leads the North standings. BUT, disciplinary action from last year has eliminated the Cougars from the post-season and the second-place team will advance.
@ Stanford
March 30 – Semifinals
Game 1: West 1 vs. West 3
Game 2: North 1 vs. West 2
March 31 – Finals
Game 3: 3rd Place
Game 4: Championship (both teams advance to spring regionals)