Beginning with the 2020 championship season, the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) will group member institutions according to their NCAA divisions. Tier I and Tier II will dissolve, and teams will compete in Divisions I, II and III.
NIRA is the organizational body for women’s NCAA varsity rugby teams, and oversees the league as the NCAA Emerging Sport builds toward 40 programs – a number that will grant NCAA national championship status. Since NIRA’s inception, the varsity league has offered different competitive options that allowed teams of similar strength and/or geographic convenience to play each other, all in the name of supporting young and growing programs, while keeping competitive standards high. Thus, Tier I and Tier II included a mix of included DI and DII teams, but Division III was legitimate and included only DIII teams.
During last week’s NCAA Convention, NIRA held its annual athletic director (AD) meeting, and the board unanimously voted to eliminate the tier system and place programs into their appropriate NCAA division.
“[It] certainly helps eliminate confusion for prospective student-athletes and prospective emerging program ADs,” NIRA commissioner Amy Rusert considered the implications.
The reorganization means some teams will have to “play up” in terms of their programatic strength. For example, Long Island University and Sacred Heart University, which combined for a 1-11 record in Tier II last year, as well as Mount St. Mary’s University will play in DI in 2020. Division II will gain Notre Dame College, which went 0-4 in Tier I last year, and Division III will go unchanged.
To ease some of those growing pains, the NIRA coaches group recommended divisional crossover play, and last week the broader membership approved the allowance.
Stay tuned for more information on NIRA’s website, www.nirawrugby.org.
2020 NIRA DIVISIONS
DIVISION I
Brown University – 2019 Tier II runner-up to West Chester University
Dartmouth College – 2018 Tier I national champion
Harvard University – Tier I national champion
Long Island University – 0-6 in 2019 Tier II
Mount St. Mary’s University – 2019 Tier II semifinalist, 2018 Tier II champion
Quinnipiac University – 2015-17 Tier I national champion
Sacred Heart University – 1-5 in 2019 Tier II
U.S. Military Academy at West Point – finished 2nd in Tier I
DIVISION II
American International College – 2-4 in 2019 Tier II
Notre Dame College – 0-4 in 2019 Tier I
Molloy College – all games were friendlies in 2019
Queens University of Charlotte – 2019 Tier II semifinalist in first season
West Chester University – 2019 Tier II national champion
DIVISION III
Bowdoin College – 2019 DIII national champion
Castleton University – all games were friendlies in 2019
Colby-Sawyer College – 25-24 SF loss to UNE
University of New England – 2019 runner-up to Bowdoin
New England College – 1-3 in DIII
Norwich University – 12-7 SF loss to Bowdoin