PHOTO: Notre Dame College won its first DII title in May 2015 and became a DI varsity program in fall 2015. /// Photo courtesy of Travis Prior (KLC fotos) for USA Rugby
To sum up women’s collegiate championships these days: It’s complicated. At first, there were only USA Rugby championships, but now there are multiple organizations that hold culminating tournaments that can be considered national or seasonal championships.
First, the most transparent championships: National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) and DI Elite. NIRA is for the NCAA varsity women’s college programs, and today it holds DI, DII and DIII championships in the fall (in previous years, the competition was divided into tiers, and unofficial DII & DIII title matches were held). DI Elite is for a special tier of college programs that have athletics support but aren’t NCAA varsity. There have been three core teams – Lindenwood, Life, Penn State – that have participated in all seasons, while BYU and Central Washington have rotated in. DI Elite is a spring-based competition that names a national champ.
NIRA NATIONAL 15s
| Year | 1st | 2nd |
| 2021 (DI) | Dartmouth | U.S. Military Academy |
| 2021 (DII) | AIC | West Chester |
| 2021 (DIII) | Bowdoin | Univ. New England |
| 2020 |
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| 2019 (Tier 1) | Harvard | U.S. Military Academy |
| 2019 (Tier 2) | West Chester | Brown |
| 2019 (DIII) | Bowdoin | Univ. New England |
| 2018 | Dartmouth | Harvard |
| 2017 | Quinnipiac | Dartmouth |
| 2016 | Quinnipiac | Central Washington |
| 2015 | Quinnipiac | U.S. Military Academy |
DI ELITE NATIONAL 15s
| DI Elite | ||
| Year | 1st | 2nd |
| 2021 | Lindenwood | Life |
| 2020 |
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| 2019 | Lindenwood | Life |
| 2018 | Lindenwood | Life |
| 2017 | Penn State | Lindenwood |
| 2016 | Penn State | BYU |
Below those two levels, there are, generally three categories of college teams – Division I, Division II, Small College – however, there are multiple member organizations with their own criteria, formats and partnerships.
USA Rugby’s DI 15s National Championship has the longest history of any of the collegiate competitions, starting back in 1991. In the early 2010s, there was a schism along seasonality issues, and ACRA formed to advocate for fall-based teams. ACRA ran its own championships in the fall until USA Rugby ultimately adopted them, and there were a few years where the DI fall and DI spring champions met in a national final. That format was abandoned after a few years, and post-seasons ended with seasonal championships. Now all of those DI teams are either CRAA or
When ACRA formed to advocate for fall-, which had more of an impact on the DII because of sheer numbers,
Outside of those two competitions, there are two main categories beginning in 2021-22: USA Rugby affiliated, and National Collegiate Rugby (NCR). The latter used to be called National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) and has held national 15s championships for its women’s small colleges (SC) since 2007. In 2020, NSCRO became NCR and added large schools, deemed “DI,” to its membership. NCR DI held its first 15s national championship in fall 2021.
NCR DI & SMALL COLLEGE 15s NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
| Year | 1st | 2nd |
| 2021 (SC) | Wayne State College | SUNY Cortland |
| 2021 (DI) | Life Univ. JV | Univ. Northern Iowa |
| 2020 ^ | South Dakota | Univ Chicago |
| 2019 | Wayne State | MSU Moorhead |
| 2018 | Wayne State | Catholic |
| 2017 | Wayne State | Bentley |
| 2016 | Wayne State | Colgate |
| 2015 | MSU Moorhead | Colgate |
| 2014 | Roger Williams | Sacred Heart |
| 2013 | Wayne State | Smith College |
| 2012 | Wayne State | Roger Williams |
| 2011 | Carleton | Lock Haven |
| 2010 | Bentley | Drexel |
| 2009 | MIT | East Stroudsburg |
| 2008 | Bryant | Gettysburg |
| 2007 | Stonehill | Marist |
^ NCR held a virtual season in fall 2020.
The teams that didn’t join NCR after USA Rugby’s reorganization in 2020 joined Collegiate Rugby Association of America (CRAA) or American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA), both USA Rugby partners (or are still TBD the DII West Coast conference). In 2021-22, CRAA held a fall DI championship, and spring DI and DII 15s championships are on the books. CRAA has one DII fall conference, so it coordinated with ACRA for a DII fall 15s championship in 2021.
ACRA didn’t just form because of USA Rugby’s reorganization. There was a schism in the early 2010s, with colleges dividing along seasonal lines. ACRA formed to advocate for fall-based programs and held its own competitions for a couple of years until USA Rugby adopted ACRA’s championship. For a few years, USA Rugby named fall and spring 15s champions, and then had those two teams face off in a national championship match in the spring, but that final match was abandoned after May 2017. Going forward, USA Rugby named separate fall and spring champions, with no national champion, until relinquishing the college game to CRAA, ACRA and NCR. In 2021, ACRA revived and held a DII fall 15s championship, which included the one CRAA DII fall conference (Rocky Mountain).
USA RUGBY DI 15S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
UNTIL 2013: PENN STATE VS. NORWICH
After the 20
| 2021 (f) | ||
| 2021 (s) |
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| 2020 (f) |
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| 2020 (s) |
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| 2019 (f) | Air Force | Navy |
| 2019 (s) | BYU | Virginia Tech |
| 2018 (f) | Air Force | Davenport |
| 2018 (s) | Chico State | Central Florida |
| * 2017 (f) | Davenport | Notre Dame |
| 2017 (s) | UC Davis | Notre Dame College |
| 2016 (f) | Air Force | UCONN |
| 2016 (s) | UC Davis | UVA |
| 2015 (f) | UCONN | Air Force |
| 2015 | Penn State | Central Washington |
| 2014 | Penn State | Stanford |
| 2013 | Penn State | Norwich |
| 2012 | Penn State | Stanford |
| 2011 | Army | Penn State |
| 2010 | Penn State | Stanford |
| 2009 | Penn State | Stanford |
| 2008 | Stanford | Penn State |
| 2007 | Penn State | Stanford |
| 2006 | Stanford | Penn State |
| 2005 | Stanford | Penn State |
| 2004 | Penn State | Princeton |
| 2003 | Air Force | Illinois |
| 2002 | Air Force | Penn State |
| 2001 | Chico State | Penn State |
| 2000 | Penn State | Princeton |
| 1999 | Stanford | Princeton |
| 1998 | Radcliffe | Penn State |
| 1997 | Penn State | Princeton |
| 1996 | Princeton | Penn State |
| 1995 | Princeton | Penn State |
| 1994 | Air Force | Boston College |
| 1993 | Connecticut | Air Force |
| 1992 | Boston College | Connecticut |
| 1991 | Air Force | Boston College |
USA RUGBY DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIPS
| (f) fall; (s) spring | ||
| Year | 1st | 2nd |
| 2021 (f) | See NCR & ACRA | |
| 2021 (s) | CLD BY COVID-19 | |
| 2020 (f) | CLD BY COVID-19 | |
| 2020 (s) | CLD BY COVID-19 | |
| 2019 (f) | Winona State | CO School of Mines |
| 2019 (s) | Fresno State | Salisbury |
| 2018 (f) | Vassar | Winona State |
| 2018 (s) | Tulane | Claremont |
| 2017 (f) ^ | Winona State | Vassar |
| 2017 # | Davenport | Kennesaw State |
| 2016 # | Davenport | USC |
| 2015 # | Notre Dame College | UC Riverside |
| 2014 $ | Mary Washington | CSU Northridge |
| 2013 | Washington State | Winona |
| 2012 | Norwich | Winona |
| 2011 | Radcliffe | Notre Dame |
| 2010 | Washington State | Temple |
| 2009 | Shippensburg | Stonehill |
| 2008 | Shippensburg | UM Duluth |
| 2007 | Iowa State | UC Santa Cruz |
| 2006 | UC Santa Cruz | Plymouth State |
| 2005 | Providence College | Temple |
| 2004 | Temple | Providence College |
| 2003 | Dayton | Northern Iowa |
| 2002 | Northern Iowa | Minnesota |
| 2001 | Northern Iowa | Nevada |
| 2000 | Plymouth State | East Stroudsburg |
^ From fall 2017 – spring 2020, USA Rugby abandons the fall champion vs. spring champion format for naming a national champion, and instead names two seasonal champions each year. Of course, Covid-19 halted the spring 2020 season.
# From fall 2015-spring 2017, ACRA’s fall champion played USA Rugby’s spring champion in a national final in May.
$ In fall 2013, ACRA held its first DII 15s championship in the fall, and none of those teams participated in USA Rugby’s national playoffs in spring 2014.