Notre Dame College (Euclid, Ohio) is not competing in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) this year, at least until the Euclid, Ohio, program can rebuild its roster and establish some stability after a difficult COVID-19 season. In the meantime, the Falcons will play local, comparable competition in the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Allegheny conference.
Director of Rugby Operations Jason Fox explained that the realignment had everything to do with numbers and building momentum through a non-NCAA varsity schedule, allowing for more flexibility in terms of player eligibility.
“I think Notre Dame [College] has different students coming in, and it gives chances to other students who might not get into other schools,” Fox said of the player pool. “But when Covid happened, we had several players who struggled with online learning or weren’t comfortable with it, and they fell off and became academically ineligible for the NCAA.”
Fox indicated that the women’s team was down to seven players by spring 2021. The team wasn’t going to be able sustain a 15s season in fall 2021 and wasn’t eager to repeat its last showing in NIRA. In fall 2019, when DII Notre Dame College was competing in DI, the Falcons dropped a 74-20 match to Quinnipiac, and then back-to-back home games against Army (77-0) and Harvard (105-0).
“That isn’t good for anybody,” Fox reflected.
“It’s easier for Dartmouth, Harvard, Quinnipiac that have women going there who are already academically up to snuff, NCAA wise,” he added. “So we thought we’d try to get the program back on track and have more women playing and able to play as opposed to trying to stay in NIRA and only have seven girls.”
Fox asserted that the women’s rugby program has maintained the same support from the college, and it’s still being administered by the athletics department.
“We’re treated like a varsity sport. Nothing has changed in that respect. In fact, they took a step forward by hiring me as Director of Rugby to oversee the hiring of coaches,” said Fox, who is still head coach for the men and had the two teams training together during pre-season. “We’re still part of the school, have athletic trainers, busses – all that.”
Fox has built out his support staff on the men’s side and had to replace the women’s former head coach, Luke Markovich.
“Luke redirected his rugby passion to youth rugby and academy-type stuff for both men and women,” Fox said. “We hosted the youth national championships on June 12, which was a fantastic outing, and Luke was a big part of that.”
Fox hired Jack Nece for the women’s head coach position, and he’s supported by three Falcons alumnae: assistant coaches Danielle Walko-Siua and Lucinda Darvell, and graduate assistant Markaya Bailous.
Notre Dame College will now compete in NCR’s Allegheny conference, which is fielding a 7s competition for regrouping teams. The Falcons are hosting a 7s round robin on Sept. 18 with Gannon, Robert Morris and Saint Vincent, and then traveling to Fairmont, W.V. (Sept. 25), Erie, Pa. (Oct. 2) and Indiana, Pa. (Oct. 9) for tournaments. Robert Morris is hosting the championship on Oct. 23 in Moon Township, Pa.
“At the end of the day, the women just want to play,” Fox said. “Do they want to play in NIRA and at a higher level? Of course they do, but right now, it’s about getting on the field, especially after Covid. Hopefully in a year or two, we can revisit going back to NIRA, but the pathway to do that academically is different at this point.”
Fox indicated that after some on-campus recruiting, the team now has 18 players this season. The 2020 Girls High School National Championship was supposed to be held in Euclid, Ohio, and Fox has submitted another offer to host the 2022 event, which would be another great opportunity to recruit and build more visibility.
“I’m excited,” Fox considered the future. “I’m putting as much energy as I can into both programs. Obviously I want to get back to where we were, and that will come down to a good recruitment class next year.”