Teams in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia have united to form a single Ohio Valley Women’s Rugby Conference, a hybrid league that will compete under the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) umbrella.
Previously, there were two separate Ohio Valley conferences – one for the Division II teams that competed toward USA Rugby’s fall 15s championships; and one for the small schools, which competed in NSCRO (now NCR’s Small College Division). When USA Rugby’s reorganization forced teams to consider future playing options, the two competitions started collaborating and united under one conference. The hybrid league will see cross-divisional play and the post-season will align DII teams with NCR’s Open Division pathway, and small schools with NCR’s Small College Division.
“I wanted what was going to be best for all of my girls in the league,” explained Kayla Closson, former commissioner of the DII Ohio Valley conference. “Moving them to NCR keeps the league aligned with the other Midwest leagues and allows the most competition possibilities for them. When the possible move came about, I had a great conversation with Marc Ferguson where the idea of combining stemmed from it. We agreed that this would open up so many opportunities for both of our leagues and that we are stronger and better in numbers.”
Ferguson is commissioner for the entire conference and now oversees eight Open Division teams and 11 Small College Divisions teams. Closson, who is an assistant coach for DII powerhouse University of Cincinnati, will serve on the conference executive board.
“It gives both his teams and my teams a chance to play each other more,” Closson explained the benefits of a hybrid league. “Having games at all has been a continuing issue in our area, so to be able to plan more games for both sides will truly help continue to grow the game for Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia. We will have a great support system for the league and will unify us as one.”
In addition to a more robust regular season, Closson is looking forward to some of the added benefits of NCR membership.
“It would be so great to have the All-Star 7s opportunities extended to the Open Division,” Closson referenced the Small College All-Star 7s Championship and touring select sides. “I am excited to see how my teams compete. I hope this move will be beneficial to all and really allow college rugby to shine more.”
Ohio Valley Open Division
- Ball State University
- Cedarville University
- University of Cincinnati
- Eastern Kentucky University
- University of Kentucky
- Ohio University
- Marshall University
- Miami University
Ohio Valley Small College Division
- Baldwin Wallace University
- Denison University
- Earlham College
- University of Findlay
- Grace College
- Kenyon College
- Oberlin College
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Tiffin University
- Wittenberg College
- Wooster College
MORE INFORMATION
NCR Open Division: Angela Smarto smarto@ncr.rugby
Ohio Valley Open Division: Commissioner Kayla Closson kclosson2@gmail.com
Small College Division Commissioner: Marc Ferguson fergusonm@earthlink.net