The East Coast Rugby Conference is a college rugby conference, founded in 2011 after USA Rugby decided that collegiate rugby teams would leave their local area unions and form independent conferences. Seven teams participated in the inaugural season.
In 2012, the league expanded and added an eighth team, with American International College joining the league as an associate member.http://aicrugby.com/2012/02/23/mens-team-heading-to-division-i/ They were voted into full membership for the Fall 2013 league season.
Members Institution Club Estab. Northeastern Northeastern University RC Boston College Boston College RFC Fairfield Fairfield University RFC Massachusetts Amherst UMass Minutemen Connecticut UConn Huskies Middlebury Middlebury College RFC Albany Great Danes American International Yellow Jackets
2011 Boston College played at the 2011 Collegiate Rugby Championship. The CRC, held every June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, is the highest profile college rugby tournament in the US, and is broadcast live on NBC. The opening round of fixtures took place on September 17, 2011. Northeastern won the conference's inaugural season, earning a bid to the round of 16 of the D1-AA tournament.Rugby Mag, men's D1-AA Bracket Finalized, April 15, 2012, http://rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4196&catid=48&Itemid=208 The conference also hosted a 7's tournament on November 5, with the winner getting an automatic bid to the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. Boston College defeated the University of Albany 36–10 in the final, but declined the bid to the national championships.
Final standings
Position Team G W L D PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Northeastern University 6 6 0 0 226 27 +199 5 0 29 2 Boston College 6 4 2 0 112 87 +25 2 1 19 3 Middlebury College 6 3 3 0 135 107 +28 3 2 17 4 University of Massachusetts 6 3 3 0 90 96 −6 2 1 15 5 University of Albany 6 2 4 0 120 170 −50 2 2 12 6 Southern Connecticut 6 2 4 0 55 154 −99 0 0 8 7 University of Connecticut 6 1 5 0 70 167 −97 1 0 5
2012
The opening round of fixtures for the 2012 season will take place on September 15. The 2nd annual East Coast Rugby Conference 7's tournament was won by Northeastern University, who defeated Middlebury College 12-7 in the final. Northeastern accepted their bid to the 2012 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships, and were joined by Middlebury, who accepted an at-large bid. Both teams performed admirably, with Middlebury posting a 2-3 record for the tournament, losing 14-7 to defending Division 1-AA champion Davenport University in the Shield semi-final. Northeastern finished 2-1 in their group, losing only to defending 7's national champion Life University on the first day, followed by a second day loss to Cal Poly in the quarterfinals.
Final standings Rugby Mag, men's D1-AA Conference Standings, 11 November 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/men's-di-college/5791-mens-di-aa-conference-standings.html
Position Team G W L D PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Middlebury College 7 6 1 0 295 95 +200 5 1 30 2 Boston College 7 6 1 0 191 84 +107 2 1 27 3 Northeastern University 7 5 2 0 211 121 +90 4 1 25 4 University of Albany 7 3 4 0 191 230 −39 5 3 20 5 American International College 7 3 4 0 163 144 19 3 1 16 6 Southern Connecticut 7 2 5 0 156 250 −94 4 2 14 7 University of Massachusetts 7 2 5 0 135 175 −40 3 2 13 8 University of Connecticut 7 1 6 0 79 322 −243 1 1 6
2013
Southern Connecticut has dropped out of the ECRC, no replacement named.
Final standings The ECRC Fall 2013 Final Standings, http://theecrc.com/standings/
Position Team G W L D PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Middlebury College 6 6 0 0 305 74 +231 6 0 30 2 American International College 6 5 1 0 170 110 +60 4 0 24 3 Boston College 6 4 2 0 147 102 +45 2 0 18 4 Northeastern University 6 3 3 0 150 142 +8 2 1 15 5 University of Massachusetts 6 2 4 0 106 142 -36 1 0 9 6 University of Albany 6 1 5 0 131 238 −107 1 0 5 7 University of Connecticut 6 0 6 0 66 267 −201 0 0 0
References
External links East Coast Conference at URugby