National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) does a nice job of sharing information for all of its events, and the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7s is no exception. The 2023 tournament is Friday-Sunday, April 28-30 and it will welcome 120 teams in eight divisions to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md. The following is an on-going list of women’s teams (48) that have qualified for the event. April 15 is the final day to qualify, and there are several events scheduled that Saturday. [The Rugby Breakdown will be on the ground for the CRCs women’s competition thanks to a travel sponsorship from NCR.]
RELATED: CRC 7s Homepage & Instagram
Prior to NCR’s management of the CRCs, the annual event was more invitational in nature for the women. There’s still an invitational element to the NCR-run CRCs, but there are loads more qualifiers, and in one case, a strict national championship that features conference winners and at-large berths only.
SMALL COLLEGE
The Small College division, regardless of the season or competition format, is always the easiest to define because there is an enrollment cap for members. A small college can “play up” in Division II (e.g., Roger Williams, Wayne State College), but a large school can not “play down.”
Last year, the small colleges opted to hold a separate NCR 7s National Championship in Pittsburgh in late April, because that timeframe worked better for members’ school calendars (CRCs have always been late May-early June, after school lets out). But now that CRCs have shifted to late April, the small colleges have folded into the CRCs and can benefit from all that promotion and infrastructure.
Lee Univ. is a regular 7s contender / Photo: Jackie Finlan
Twelve teams will feature in the Small College division, and April 15 qualifiers have finalized the field. Pools will be announced Tuesday, April 18. The Univ. Chicago is the reigning national champion.
• Colby College (Rugby Northeast)
• Colorado College (Rocky Mountain)
• Endicott College (Colonial Coast)
• Gannon College (Allegheny)
• Lee Univ. (South Atlantic)
• Marywood Univ (Eastern Penn)
• Missouri S&T (Mid-America)
• Ohio Wesleyan Univ. (Ohio Valley)
• St. Bonaventure Univ. (Upstate New York)
• Univ. South Dakota (Prairie States)
• UW Platteville (Great Waters)
• York College (Eastern Penn)
DIVISION II
Division II is new to the NCR lineup as of 2022-23. UW Eau Claire won the first NCR DII 15s national championship in December, and now a matching 7s champion will be named in April. Twelve teams will compete in this division, which is now set. Expect pools on Wednesday, April 19.
• Coastal Carolina Univ. (South Atlantic)
• Colorado School of Mines (Rocky Mountain)
• Grand Valley State Univ. (Great Lakes)
• IUPUI (Ohio Valley)
• Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania (Allegheny)
• Roger Williams Univ. (Rugby Northeast)
• Sacramento State (West Coast)
• Salisbury Univ. (Eastern Penn)
• Temple Univ. (Mid-Atlantic)
• Univ Texas – San Antonio (Lone Star)
• Wayne State College (Mid-America)
• UW Eau Claire (Great Waters)
DIVISION I CLUB
Division I Club existed at the 2022 CRCs, and it was a space for traditionally DII teams or DI teams just below the Premier level. Coincidentally, it was a Small College playing up (Roger Williams) that won the 2022 title. Now that Division II has its own competition, DI Club brings together independent teams, or those from hybrid conferences, or Open Qualifier participants.
Roger Williams won the 2022 CRC 7s DI Club title but will compete in DII in 2023.
Now that Lone Star has contested its conference championship, the eight-team field is now finalized (listed in seed order):
1. Baylor Univ (Lone Star)
2. Cornell Univ (Upstate NY)
3. Univ Pittsburgh (Allegheny)
4. Colgate Univ (Upstate NY)
5. UMASS (Rugby Northeast)
6. Boise State (Independent)
7. Univ Wisconsin (Midwest)
8. Clemson Univ (South Atlantic)
PREMIER
Iowa State at the ’22 CRC 7s / Photo: Jackie Finlan
The Premier division has locked up its 16 teams, which are a mix of NCR conference champions, CRC Qualifier winners, and invitational teams with histories at the CRCs. The pools will be announced Saturday, April 22.
• Aquinas College (Independent)
• Brown Univ. (NIRA)
• Kutztown Univ. (Mid-Atlantic)
• Univ. Iowa (Big 10)
• Iowa State (Midwest)
• Indiana Univ (Big 10)
• Univ. Michigan (Big 10)
• Michigan State (Big 10)
• Montana State (Rocky Mountain)
• Univ. Northern Iowa (Midwest)
• Southern Nazarene Univ. (Lone Star)
• Penn State (DI Elite)
• Texas A&M (Lone Star)
• U.S. Military Academy (NIRA)
• U.S. Naval Academy (Independent)
• Virginia Tech (Independent)