Newberry, S.C. (Nov 22, 2024) – Newberry College has announced that it will discontinue women’s rugby as an intercollegiate sport. The team played its first season in fall 2022 under head coach Emily Roskopf, before Eric Enright took over in fall 2023.
“This is a difficult day for Newberry College Athletics,” said Director of Athletics Sean Johnson. “We value our female student-athletes and the sport of rugby, but unfortunately, despite the best efforts of two very capable head coaches we have not been able to achieve our institutional goals.”
The move will affect 15 student-athletes and one full-time staff member.
The team recently completed their season November 10.
“We remain committed to growing opportunities for female student-athletes at Newberry College with the recent addition of women’s acrobatics and tumbling and women’s wrestling which are in their first seasons of competition,” said Johnson.
Each of the affected student-athletes will have the opportunity to continue their education at Newberry College and will retain their athletic and academic scholarships. The Department of Athletics will assist any student-athlete who is interested in transferring to compete at another institution to find the right fit for them academically and athletically.
Newberry competed in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) as a provisional member, meaning the Wolves played non-15s and were not eligible for the championship season’s playoffs. The program was the farthest-south member of NIRA. Including those teams that intend to play in fall 2025, NIRA now has 24 members. There are more NCAA varsity programs in existence; they’re just not required to compete in NIRA. Geographic and/or competition options have influenced varsity teams to join other leagues, e.g., Central Washington University in DIA.