October 25, 2016
Arizona Wildcat Rugby Hosts PAC7s Championship
Photo:Cal Athletics
Cal Athletics Release: Anton Malko
TUCSON, Ariz. – Following the sport’s popular return to the Summer Olympics and featuring eight of the best rugby teams among Pac-12 member universities, four of which featured at last spring’s Collegiate Rugby Championship, the 2016 PAC 7s Rugby Championship will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 12-13, hosted by the University of Arizona at nearby Kino Stadium.
National champion California, national runner-up UCLA, national semifinalist Arizona and national qualifier Utah will be joined by USA 7s semifinalist Arizona State, former PAC 7s winner Colorado, Stanford and Oregon to compete in the two-day PAC 7s Rugby Championship, the second day of which will be broadcast live nationally by Pac-12 Network (Sunday, Nov. 13, 2-5 p.m. ET, 12-3 p.m. MT, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. PT).
“The University of Arizona is excited to partner with the City of Tucson in this effort to put together a fantastic experience for fans, teams and corporate partners,” said Wildcats head coach Sean Duffy, whose squad recently won the West Coast Collegiate 7s on Treasure Island. The Wildcats were winners of the bowl final at the 2015 PAC 7s and advanced to last spring’s national semifinals of the Collegiate Rugby Championship. “With the beautiful sunny weather, three-day holiday weekend and some of the best teams in the nation from some of our country’s top universities, this will be a tremendous weekend for everyone.”
Tucson, home to almost one million people, is sure to be a welcoming host city, and Kino Stadium, the former Spring Training home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks, is likewise sure to be a special venue for the PAC 7s Rugby Championship. The tournament has proven to be a showcase for the best collegiate talent in the nation, as demonstrated at the 2016 CRC national championship, where PAC Rugby Conference programs Arizona, Cal, UCLA and Utah went a combined 18-4 on the national stage, capped by the Golden Bears’ national title.
PAC Rugby Conference prowess has been on display once again this autumn. At the West Coast Collegiate 7s October 22-23, every participating conference team exited the weekend with winning records. The Wildcats came away as cup champions to win the tournament at 6-0, while Arizona State won the cup consolation at 5-1, echoing its third-place finish at the 2016 USA national 7s tournament. Utah and UCLA each finished 4-2, and Cal, using an all-freshman-sophomore squad, won its last contest of the weekend to finish 5-1.
The additional teams at the 2016 PAC 7s have all shown potential to play their way deep into Sunday’s action. Colorado won the 2011 PAC 7s and aims to remain a contender after reaching the bowl final of the tournament last year. Stanford looks to make its mark in conference play after ending the 2015 PAC 7s with a 17-5 win to earn the shield over Oregon, and the Ducks should be firing on all cylinders in Tucson having played substantial 7s this autumn.
The move to Tucson in 2016 to be hosted by the University of Arizona marks the fourth location rotation for the PAC 7s. After its inaugural run in 2011 at Stanford, the event was held at UCLA in 2012 and ’13 before moving to Berkeley for the 2014 and ’15 conference championships.
Pac-12 Network televised the championship rounds of the 2015 tournament and will once again bring the action live to homes on TV. Participating teams at the PAC 7s Rugby Championship are proud to be representing their universities on the pitch and national television as one of the network’s 300 annually televised Olympic events.
“We are now in our fourth year working with Pac-12 Network in its broadcast of PAC Rugby and the relationship has grown our rugby materially,” said Cal head coach Jack Clark. “This is the second year in which the network will be broadcasting the Sunday knockout rounds of our conference 7s tournament nationally and we’re very appreciative. There is no doubt that these broadcasts enrich the student-athlete experience.”
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements to confirm pools, schedule and other information, and follow hashtag #PAC7s on social media as the PAC 7s Rugby Championship approaches kickoff on the road to crowning a 2016 conference 7s champion.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Following the sport’s popular return to the Summer Olympics and featuring eight of the best rugby teams among Pac-12 member universities, four of which featured at last spring’s Collegiate Rugby Championship, the 2016 PAC 7s Rugby Championship will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 12-13, hosted by the University of Arizona at nearby Kino Stadium.
National champion California, national runner-up UCLA, national semifinalist Arizona and national qualifier Utah will be joined by USA 7s semifinalist Arizona State, former PAC 7s winner Colorado, Stanford and Oregon to compete in the two-day PAC 7s Rugby Championship, the second day of which will be broadcast live nationally by Pac-12 Network (Sunday, Nov. 13, 2-5 p.m. ET, 12-3 p.m. MT, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. PT).
“The University of Arizona is excited to partner with the City of Tucson in this effort to put together a fantastic experience for fans, teams and corporate partners,” said Wildcats head coach Sean Duffy, whose squad recently won the West Coast Collegiate 7s on Treasure Island. The Wildcats were winners of the bowl final at the 2015 PAC 7s and advanced to last spring’s national semifinals of the Collegiate Rugby Championship. “With the beautiful sunny weather, three-day holiday weekend and some of the best teams in the nation from some of our country’s top universities, this will be a tremendous weekend for everyone.”
Tucson, home to almost one million people, is sure to be a welcoming host city, and Kino Stadium, the former Spring Training home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks, is likewise sure to be a special venue for the PAC 7s Rugby Championship. The tournament has proven to be a showcase for the best collegiate talent in the nation, as demonstrated at the 2016 CRC national championship, where PAC Rugby Conference programs Arizona, Cal, UCLA and Utah went a combined 18-4 on the national stage, capped by the Golden Bears’ national title.
PAC Rugby Conference prowess has been on display once again this autumn. At the West Coast Collegiate 7s October 22-23, every participating conference team exited the weekend with winning records. The Wildcats came away as cup champions to win the tournament at 6-0, while Arizona State won the cup consolation at 5-1, echoing its third-place finish at the 2016 USA national 7s tournament. Utah and UCLA each finished 4-2, and Cal, using an all-freshman-sophomore squad, won its last contest of the weekend to finish 5-1.
The additional teams at the 2016 PAC 7s have all shown potential to play their way deep into Sunday’s action. Colorado won the 2011 PAC 7s and aims to remain a contender after reaching the bowl final of the tournament last year. Stanford looks to make its mark in conference play after ending the 2015 PAC 7s with a 17-5 win to earn the shield over Oregon, and the Ducks should be firing on all cylinders in Tucson having played substantial 7s this autumn.
The move to Tucson in 2016 to be hosted by the University of Arizona marks the fourth location rotation for the PAC 7s. After its inaugural run in 2011 at Stanford, the event was held at UCLA in 2012 and ’13 before moving to Berkeley for the 2014 and ’15 conference championships.
Pac-12 Network televised the championship rounds of the 2015 tournament and will once again bring the action live to homes on TV. Participating teams at the PAC 7s Rugby Championship are proud to be representing their universities on the pitch and national television as one of the network’s 300 annually televised Olympic events.
“We are now in our fourth year working with Pac-12 Network in its broadcast of PAC Rugby and the relationship has grown our rugby materially,” said Cal head coach Jack Clark. “This is the second year in which the network will be broadcasting the Sunday knockout rounds of our conference 7s tournament nationally and we’re very appreciative. There is no doubt that these broadcasts enrich the student-athlete experience.”
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements to confirm pools, schedule and other information, and follow hashtag #PAC7s on social media as the PAC 7s Rugby Championship approaches kickoff on the road to crowning a 2016 conference 7s champion.
