The USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships is an annual competition among the top men's college rugby teams in the country to decide a national champion in rugby sevens. USA Rugby organized the championship to capitalize on the surge in popularity of rugby sevens following the 2009 announcement of the addition of rugby to the Summer Olympics. USA Rugby recognized that rugby sevens is growing in popularity, participation and interest. At the time of the foundation of the tournament, rugby was one of the fastest growing sports across college campuses. This tournament is a major contributor to the selection process for USA Rugby Olympic athletes.Rugby Mag, College 7s Back at Texas A&M, September 5, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/collegiate-sevens/5686-college-7s-back-at-texas-aam.html
History USA Rugby announced in September 2011 the creation of a new sevens tournament.USA Rugby Press Release, September 1, 2011, http://www.midwestrugby.org/usarugbynews09.01.11.htm The launch by USA Rugby had a few hiccups. USA Rugby did not officially announce the December 16–17, 2011 tournament and its dates until September 2011, and at that time USA Rugby had still not determined the location. Those mid-December dates were in the middle of exams for some schools. College Station, Texas, was ultimately announced as the venue in November.Rugby Mag, College 7s Championships Details Coming Wednesday, November 8, 2011, http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/collegiate-sevens/2611-college-7s-championships-details-coming-wednesday.html College Station lacks direct flight to many major cities, and this problem was compounded by the decision to hold the tournament over a Friday and Saturday, requiring students to miss both a Thursday and Friday. For these reasons, many colleges that qualified or were invited to the tournament—such as Penn State, UCLA, Utah, BYU, Boston College, Navy, LSU, Iowa, Dartmouth, Delaware, Cal, and Bowling Green—declined to participate.Rugby Mag, One Out, One in for College 7s Nats, November 2, 2011, Rugby Mag, Razorbacks to 7s Nats, One Spot Left, November 27, 2011,
The inaugural 2011 tournament was contested by 24 teams that qualified based on performance in qualifying tournaments throughout the fall of 2011. The 2011 tournament was won by Life University, defeating Central Washington 22–17 in overtime.Rugby In Texas, Order Of Finish For Collegiate 7s Championship, December 20, 2011, http://rugbyintexas.com/?p=1264 Tim Stanfill of Central Washington was the tournament MVP, and Derek Patrick of Miami was the tournament's leading try scorer.Rugby Mag, 7s Nationals Men's All-Tourney Team, December 18, 2011, http://rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2994:7s-nationals-mens-all-tourney-team&catid=73:collegiate-sevens&Itemid=91
The 2012 tournament was more organized, with only one team - UCLA - declining to participate in the tournament. The 2012 tournament also saw increased airtime, with the entire tournament available live via webstream and some of the knockout rounds broadcast on ESPN3.RugbyRugby, USA Rugby & ESPN3 Partner for College 7s Championships Coverage, November 29, 2012, http://www.rugbyrugby.com/news/more_news/college_rugby/7007526/usa_rugby___espn3_partner_for_college_7s_championships_coverage
For the 2013 tournament, three teams—Cal, BYU, and UCLA—won bids but declined to participate.Rugby Mag, College 7s Nationals Fields Finalized, 12 November 2013,
The 2015 tournament was held in May — unlike previous tournaments which had been held in December. The tournament took place in Denver over the weekend of May 23–24, less than one week before the 2015 Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia. Once again, several top teams did not play: BYU, California, Life University, and UCLA.
Men's results Year Location Champion Score Runner up Third Fourth Quarter-finalists Reference 2011 College Station, TX Life University 22–17 Central Washington Arkansas State Kutztown Saint Mary's, Colorado, Tennessee, Cal Poly 2012 College Station, TX Arkansas State 21–7 Life University Delaware Saint Mary's Navy, Central Washington, Texas A&M, Kutztown 2013 Greensboro, NC Arkansas State 32–12 Saint Mary's Dartmouth Central Washington Life University (5th), Davenport (6th), Air Force, Lindenwood 2014 Tournament moved from fall 2014 to spring 2015 2015 Denver, CO Lindenwood 28–10 Davenport Central Washington Utah Saint Mary's (5th), Arizona St. (6th), American International College, San Diego State 2016 Cary, NC Saint Mary's 7–5 American International College Davenport Arizona St. Central Washington, Notre Dame, Lindenwood, West Virginia 2017 Glendale, CO Lindenwood 26–5 Saint Mary's Davenport Utah Ohio State, Bowling Green, Florida International, Grand Canyon 2018 Glendale, CO Lindenwood 26–12 Cal Kutztown Grand Canyon Arizona, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Indiana 2019 Tucson, AZ Lindenwood 36–0 American International College Davenport Grand Canyon Notre Dame, Arizona Ohio State 2020–21 Not held due to Covid-19 pandemic 2022 Kennesaw, GA Life University 24–19 Lindenwood Davenport Saint Mary's Arizona, Central Washington, Cal Poly, UCLA 2023 Houston, TX Life University 28–17 Lindenwood Army Davenport Penn State, Arizona, Grand Canyon, Central Washington
Championships
Team #Years 4 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 3 2011, 2022, 2023 2 2012, 2013 1 2016
Television Ratings Year TV Viewership Ratings Channel 2022 519,000 – NBC* *TV broadcast was taped.
Players
Year Tournament MVP Leading Try Scorer Leading Points Scorer Ref. 2011 Tim Stanfill (Central Washington) Derek Patrick (Miami, Ohio) 8 2012 Zac Mizell (Arkansas State) 2013 Dylan Carrion (Arkansas State) Matthew Beeman (Miami, Ohio) 7 2014 Tournament moved from fall 2014 to spring 2015 2015 Mickey Batemen (Lindenwood) 2016 Dylan Audsley (St Mary's) 2017 2018 Deion Mikesell (Lindenwood) 7 Nicholas Feakes 47 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Orrin Bizer (Life)
Qualifying tournaments The following rugby sevens tournaments, played throughout the fall season preceding the national championships, serve as the qualifying events for the national championships. The winner of each qualifying tournament earns an automatic berth in the national championships.Rugby America, Finally!!! USA Rugby Announces Collegiate 7's National Championship, September 1, 2011, http://rugbyamerica.net/2011/09/01/finally-usa-rugby-announces-collegiate-7s-national-championship/ The rest of the places in the national championships are awarded to at large bids chosen by a selection panel.
Legend — Champions — Champions — Runners-up — Third place — Fourth place
Tournament 2011Rugby Mag, 23 Teams Announced for 7s Nationals, November 9, 2011, http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/collegiate-sevens/2618-23-teams-announced-for-7s-nationals.html 2012 2013Allied 7s Texas A&M Texas A&M OklahomaAtlantic Coast 7s N.C. State Virginia Tech Navy Battle in the Bay 7s * * St. Mary'sBig 10 7sWisconsinWisconsinWisconsinCalifornia 7sSt. Mary'sSan Diego StateCal PolyEast Coast 7sBoston CollegeNortheasternEmpire 7sNavy*Halloween 7sKutztown*Heart of America 7s * Lindenwood ArkansasIvy Rugby 7s Dartmouth Dartmouth DartmouthMAC 7s*DavenportMidwest 7sMiami, Ohio*Northwest 7sCentral Washington Central Washington Central WashingtonPAC 7s Colorado Cal CalPacific Western 7s * * San Jose St.South Independent 7sLife UniversityLife University Arkansas St.Southwest 7s * Texas TexasSoutheastern 7s Tennessee Texas A&M AuburnCougar Invitational Brigham Young Air Force Air Force
Notes: Team in italics declined to participate in the championship tournament or were not invited for team-specific issues. An asterisk indicates that the tournament was not held or was not an automatic qualifier that year. The Cougar Invitational was called the Rocky Mountain 7s in 2012 and the Mountain 7s in 2011. The Allied 7s was known as the Oklahoma 7s in 2011 prior to the formation of the Allied Rugby Conference.
See also College rugby Collegiate Rugby Championship Intercollegiate sports team champions USA Rugby
References
External links