Northeast Launches Cross Conference 7s Series

Four collegiate conferences in the Northeast have banded together to form the Cross Conference 7s Series (CC7S). The competition carries on the spirit of Chip Auscavitch’s New England College 7s Circuit (NEC7C), and represents 70 women’s and men’s college rugby programs from Maine to Connecticut. The spring-based series supports more than 20 tournaments in the region and provides multiple divisions.

Member conferences include Colonial Coast,  New England Wide, New England RFU and Rugby Northeast.

“With Chip Auscavitch stepping away from the NEC7C this past winter, our conferences recognized an opportunity to build upon the rock solid foundation that he had left us, and to continue to foster the growth of collegiate 7s in our region,” NEWCRC President Dave Meyer explained. “Planning was a collaborative effort among all four conferences, and we’ve continued to bring in volunteer admins from each of our conferences to help the season run as smoothly as possible.”

In its inaugural season, the CC7S will not maintain standings nor name a champion at season’s end.

“[H]owever that is certainly in our plans for subsequent years,” Meyer added. “The primary goal this spring was to get our feet underneath us and use the competition as a learning experience for ourselves, while simultaneously providing our members with invaluable 7s rugby competitions.”

Members will be able to qualify for the Rugby 7s Collegiate Championships and/or May Madness CRC 7s through automatic qualifiers and conference championships.

Thirty-eight women’s rugby teams have signed on this spring (see full list below). There is a range of program strength, and thus the tournaments offer different levels of competition. Of the 14 women’s events, three are designated as Tier 2 or Tier 3 (T2/T3), and they’re exclusive to smaller schools and developing teams.

 

 

The men’s field includes 32 teams, and two of the 10 tournaments are reserved for small colleges.

 

CC7S WOMEN’S TEAMS

Colonial Coast Rugby Conference
Keith Cattanach, Commissioner • Instagram @ccrc.rugby
Endicott College
Plymouth State
Salve Regina
Univ Main Farmington
Univ Mass Dartmouth
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wheaton College

New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference
Dave Meyer, President • Facebook @NEWCRC
Babson College
Brandeis Univ
Connecticut College
Eastern Connecticut
Johnson & Wales
Lasell College
Univ. Maine
MIT
Mount Holyoke
Univ New Hampshire
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Wellesley College
Wesleyan Univ.
Westfield State
Williams College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Yale Univ

Rugby Northeast
Devin DiGiovanni, Commissioner • Instagram @rugbynortheast
Bentley Univ
Bryant College
Colby College
Middlebury College
Providence College
Roger Williams Univ
St. Michael’s College
Stonehill College
UMass Lowell

CRAA DI
UMass Amherst
Univ Connecticut
Boston University
Univ. Rhode Island
Northeastern Univ.

CC7S MEN’S TEAMS

Colonial Coast Rugby Conference
Bryant
Bridgewater State
Endicott
Johnson & Wales
Salve Regina
Umass Dartmouth
Wentworth
Wheaton

New England Rugby Football Union
John Slefinger, College 7s Rep • Instagram @newenglandrugby
Babson
Colby Sawyer
Curry
Holy Cross
Keene State
Maine
Middlebury
Mitchell
New Haven
Nichols

New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference
Bentley
Boston Univ
Central CT
Coast Guard
Hartford
Norwich
Quinnipiac
Southern CT
St. Michael’s
UMass Lowell
Univ New Hampshire
Univ Vermont
Western NE
Westfield State