The Ivy League is partitioned out this year. The three NIRA programs – Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard – will play each other and determine the Ivy Varsity champion. It’s likely to be Dartmouth vs. Harvard, a preview of which occurs this weekend in Hanover, N.H.
The remaining five teams have been placed in the Ivy Club competition, and Yale coach Craig Wilson explained that the victor will advance to the DII fall playoffs. Four of the teams are DII – Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Yale – but the fifth team, Princeton, has always been Division I and as of last year took an at-large berth to the DI fall playoffs.
When asked about the Tigers’ route this fall, Princeton coach Chris Ryan wrote, “We have been told that we cannot advance in the fall playoffs by our administration.”
When questioned whether money was at the root of the shortened season, Ryan responded, “No, number of double competition weekends,” was the deciding factor.
Princeton women’s rugby president Kate Leung then elaborated and wrote:
This has been a [DI/II] subject of great discussion on our side. Basically, after looking at the USARugby rules, we have determined that Princeton actually falls into Division 2. Therefore, we can qualify for the DII fall playoffs and attend if we win Ivies. However, there is a great deal of administration confusion about whether or not we will be allowed to go with our team rules, so it’s possible that if we win, we may cede the playoff berth. Either way, we will not be applying for an at-large DI berth because we feel our season will not prepare us for success.