The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) includes 19 teams that are playing NCAA-sanctioned rugby. Tier 1, Tier 2 and Division III will name champions at the end of the 15s season but cross-competition play is permitted during the regular season, as are non-NIRA exhibition games.
The NIRA coaches were recently polled for pre-season rankings (below) and those lists provide clarification on which teams are competing toward which titles.
COACHES POLL
PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
TIER 1
1 Dartmouth College
2 Harvard University
3 Army West Point
4 Quinnipiac University
5 Notre Dame College
TIER 2
1 American International College
2 Mount St. Mary’s College
3 Brown University
4 Sacred Heart University
5 West Chester University
6 Queens Univ. of Charlotte
7 LIU Post
8 Molloy College
NIRA didn’t release a DIII ranking but the following member teams remain:
DIVISION III
Bowdoin College
Castleton University
Colby-Sawyer College
Univ. New England
New England College
Norwich University
League starts tomorrow.