The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) is an annual college rugby competition played every spring among 10 universities from the Southeastern Conference.
The SCRC was formed in December 2010 by a core group of founding schools — Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. By April 2011 the SCRC had expanded to 12 schools composed of the NCAA's Southeastern Conference (SEC).Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference, Eight teams approved for membership, April 4, 2011,
The conference is led by SCRC Commissioner Marty Bradley.
Commercial success The Southeastern Conference has enjoyed commercial success, announcing in October 2010, before conference play had even begun, that the SCRC had formed commercial partnership agreements with Adidas and the World Rugby Shop. World Rugby Shop decided to sponsor the SCRC "because of the vision and potential of the league. Using established conference structures and rivalries is the future of the college rugby game in the U.S. and the SCRC will tap into a rich tradition of Southern rivalries at the major Southeastern Universities."Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference, SCRC Partners with Adidas and World Rugby Shop, Oct. 27, 2011,
Schools The current 10 member schools of the SCRC are in the table below.
Institution Location Enrollment Nickname Rugbysince Head coach Eastern Division University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 35,520 Bulldogs 1967 Doug Porter University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky 28,094 Wildcats 1969 Tony Vince University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 30,721 Gamecocks 1967 University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee 27,523 Volunteers 1970 Marty Bradley Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee 12,093 Commodores 1970 James Snell Western Division University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama 33,602 Crimson Tide 1973 Eddie Buckner Auburn University Auburn, Alabama 25,078 Tigers 1973 Dale Hartmann University of Florida Gainesville, Florida 51,474 Gators 1967 Ken Simmons Mississippi State University Starkville, Mississippi 21,424 Bulldogs 1977 Evan Kaplan University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi 19,822 Rebels 1974
The SCRC includes 10 of the 14 SEC schools. The other four schools are Missouri and Arkansas (which play rugby in the Heart of America conference), and Texas A&M and LSU (which play rugby in the Red River Conference). LSU was in the SCRC until 2014, but left before the 2015 season to join the Texas-based teams in the Red River Conference; Florida switched from the Eastern Division to the Western Division to balance the divisions with five teams each.
Results (regular season) The following tables show the win–loss records of the various SCRC teams during conference play. The numbers in parentheses show that team's national ranking at the end of the season.
2013 regular season West Record East Record LSU 5–1 Tennessee (19) 6–0 Ole Miss 4–2 South Carolina 5–1 Alabama 1–3Kentucky 3–3 Auburn 2–2 Florida 2–3 Mississippi State 0–6 Vanderbilt 2–4 Georgia 0–5
2014 (Spring) West Record East Record LSU 6–0 So. Carolina (23) 6–0 Auburn 3–3 Florida 4–2 Alabama 2–4 Georgia 2–3–1 Ole Miss 2–4 Tennessee 2–3–1 Mississippi State 1–5Kentucky 2–4 Vanderbilt 2-4
2014 (Fall) West Record East Record Mississippi State 5–1 Tennessee 6–0 Alabama 4–2 South Carolina 5–1 Auburn 3–3 Florida 4–2 Ole Miss 1–5Kentucky 3–3 LSU 0–6 Vanderbilt 1–5 Georgia 1–5
2015 West Record East Record Alabama (24) 6–0 Tennessee (9) 6–0 Florida 3–3 South Carolina (12) 5–1 Auburn 2–4 Georgia 3–3 Mississippi State 1–5Kentucky 3–3 Ole Miss 1–5 Vanderbilt 0–6
Results (post season)
Season Location SCRC Champion Final score SCRC Runner Up East Division Champ West Division Champ 2011–12 Montgomery, AL Florida 22 – 14 Tennessee Tennessee (6–0) LSU (5–1) 2012–13 Atlanta, GA Tennessee 46 – 34 South Carolina Tennessee (6–0) LSU (5–1) 2013–14 Knoxville, TN South Carolina 41 – 24 LSU South Carolina (6–0) LSU (6–0) 2014–15 Columbia, SC South Carolina 50 – 22 Alabama Tennessee (6–0) Mississippi St. (5–1) 2015–16 Charlotte, NC Tennessee 23 - 22 South Carolina Tennessee (6–0) Alabama (6–0) 2016–17 Marietta, GA Alabama 12 – 8 Tennessee ?? ?? 2017–18 Knoxville, TN Kentucky 26 – 22 Tennessee ?? ?? 2018–19 Knoxville, TN Kentucky 36 – 31 Alabama ?? ?? 2019–20 ?? Tennessee 46 – 21 Kennesaw State ?? ?? 2020–21 Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 Knoxville, TN Tennessee 26 – 17 Clemson ?? ?? 2022–23 ?? Tennessee 27 – 22 South Carolina ?? ?? 2023–24 Hendersonville, TN Kentucky 32 – 12 Tennessee Kentucky (7–0) Tennessee (6–1)
In 2012, Florida beat Tennessee 22-14 at the championship match, held in Montgomery, Alabama,AL.com, Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference final four set in Montgomery this weekend, April 12, 2012, http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2012/04/southeastern_collegiate_rugby.html to win the inaugural SCRC title.Rugby Mag, Florida Ousts Vols for SCRC Title, April 15, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4187:florida-ousts-vols-for-scrc-title&catid=48:mens-di-college&Itemid=208 Florida (#2 East) had beaten LSU (#1 West) 35-17 in one semifinal, while Tennessee (#1 East) had defeated Alabama (#2 West) 31-22 in the other semifinal.Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference, 2012 SCRC Championship, April 15, 2012,
In the 2013 semifinals, Tennessee (#1 East) defeated Ole Miss (#2 West) 36-32, and South Carolina (#2 East) defeated LSU (#1 West) 36-28. The final featured Tennessee defeating South Carolina 46-34.
In the 2014 spring semifinals, South Carolina (#1 East) defeated Auburn (#2 West) 41–5. In the other semifinal, LSU (#1 West) defeated Florida (#2 East) 54–27, marking the first time that a team from the Western Division reached the final. South Carolina defeated LSU in the final 41–24.
In the 2014 fall semifinals, South Carolina (#2 East) defeated Mississippi State (#1 West) 55–7. In the other semifinal, Alabama (#2 West) defeated Tennessee (#1 East) 37–25 in overtime, marking the first time that the top seed from the Eastern Division did not reach the final. South Carolina defeated Alabama in the final 50–22.
In the 2015 semifinals, South Carolina (#2 East) defeated Alabama (#1 West) 34–27, and Tennessee (#1 East) defeated Florida 30–13. Tennessee defeated South Carolina in the final 23–22.
Awards Season Player of the Year Coach of the Year 2012 Matt Neuhart (TENN) Mark Seitz (ALA) 2013 Tim Holkenborg (SCAR) Mark Morris (SCAR) 2014 (Spring) Matt Berenato (SCAR) Mark Morris (SCAR) 2014 (Fall) Dana Corcoran (SCAR) Evan Kaplan (MSST) 2015 Matthew Schick (ALA) Marty Bradley (TENN) 2016 Ross Depperschmidt (ALA) Gary Anderson (KEN) 2017 Brendon Esson (KEN) Gary Anderson (KEN) 2018 ?? ?? 2019 Brendon Esson (KEN) ?? 2020 Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Greg Janowick (TENN) ?? 2022 Josh Shelter (TENN) Scott Tungay (TENN) 2023 Jack Phillips (KEN) Sam Enari (KEN)
National playoffs Florida qualified for the 2012 Division 1-AA playoffs by virtue of its Southeast Conference championship, but lost to Florida State in the round of 32. Tennessee received an at large bid to the 2012 Division 1-AA playoffs due to the strength of the Southeast Conference; in the national playoffs, Tennessee defeated Maryland 47–13 and Florida State 45–27 to reach the quarterfinals.Rugby Mag, Men's D1-AA Bracket Finalized, April 16, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4196:mens-di-aa-bracket-finalized&catid=48:mens-di-college&Itemid=208Rugby Mag, Men's D1-AA Elite Eight Update, April 29, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4335:mens-di-aa-sweet-16-update&catid=48:mens-di-college&Itemid=208
Tennessee and South Carolina both reached the 2013 national D1-AA playoffs. Both fell in the Round of 16 — Tennessee fell 17–30 to eventual champions Central Florida, and South Carolina lost 7–29 to in-state rival Clemson.2013 USA Rugby Men's Collegiate DI-AA National Championship, USA Rugby. REtrieved May 7, 2015.
In the 2014 national D1-AA playoffs, the SCRC was represented by South Carolina, Georgia, and LSU. South Carolina beat Georgia 46–22 in the Round of 16, before falling 28–44 in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Central Florida. LSU lost in the Round of 16 to Central Florida by 19–50.2013-14 Men's DI-AA College National Championship, USA Rugby. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
Southeastern Collegiate 7s Championship
Season Location SCRC Champion Final score SCRC Runner Up Semifinalists 2010 Tuscaloosa, AL Tennessee 19–17 LSU Florida, ?? 2011 Knoxville, TN Tennessee 26–14 Florida LSU, Arkansas 2012 Montgomery, AL Texas A&M 28–10 Georgia Tennessee, Auburn 2013 Knoxville, TN Auburn 28–22 Florida Tennessee, South Carolina 2015 Knoxville, TN Alabama 24–14 Mississippi State Tennessee, South Carolina
The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championship was played every fall by universities from the southeastern United States until transitioning to a spring event beginning with the 2014/2015 academic season. Tennessee won the inaugural 2010 Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championship and currently has the most titles at two.Examiner.com, Tennessee continue dominating rugby season, Oct. 8, 2010.
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