May 3, 2017
Saint Mary’s College to Play Life University for D1A Rugby National Championship
USA Rugby Release
MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary’s College will host the D1A Rugby National Championship Saturday, May 6, between the school’s own Gaels and Life University, in a match that will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
This weekend’s National Championship fixture will mark the fifth consecutive year the two schools have played for the distinction of college rugby’s best team, including last year’s title match at Saint Mary’s in which the Life Running Eagles won, 24-20.
Saint Mary’s enters the National Championship Final as the country’s No. 1-ranked team thanks, in part, to a win in Berkeley over perennial power and Bay Area rival California. After a receiving a bye in the opening round of the 2017 D1A Rugby Playoffs, the Gaels beat both San Diego State and Arizona convincingly to reach the May 6 National Championship match.
No. 2-ranked Life University, a chiropractic college in Marietta, Ga., makes the trip to California in hopes of defending its 2016 D1A Rugby National Championship. The Running Eagles are in the midst of an undefeated season that led to another first-place finish in the Mid-South Conference. In order to punch its ticket to the D1A Rugby National Championship, Life upended fifth-ranked Lindenwood University in the Quarterfinals before dispatching No. 3 BYU April 29 in the Semifinals.
Boasting campus enrollments of fewer than 5,000 students, both Saint Mary’s College and Life University have utilized notable coaching staffs, talented student-athletes and an unthinkable amount of hard work to reach five consecutive D1A Rugby National Championships. The first meeting between the schools came in 2013 when Life won its first title. Saint Mary’s went on to win the next two D1A Championships before Life found revenge last year – beating the Gaels for the 2016 trophy at Saint Mary’s Stadium.
Nationally televised broadcast coverage provided by CBS Sports Network of the May 6 D1A National Championship will begin at 4 p.m. PT from Saint Mary’s College. Tickets can be purchased online until noon PT Friday, May 5, after which time they must be acquired at the stadium gate.
For any media inquiries, please contact USA Rugby’s Alex Solomon: asolomon@usarugby.org.
To apply for media credentials, visit usarugby.org/media-credential
About USA Rugby
Established in 1975, USA Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby in America and a Full Sport Member of the United States Olympic Committee. Currently headquartered in Lafayette, Colorado, USA Rugby is charged with developing the game on all levels and has more than 120,000 active members, with more than 40,000 playing collegiate rugby and 35,000 playing senior club rugby. USA Rugby oversees four national teams, multiple collegiate and high school All-American sides, and an emerging Olympic development pathway for elite athletes. It also hosts more than 30 national playoff and championship events each year as a service to its members. In October 2009, the International Olympic Committee announced Rugby Sevens (the seven-a-side version of the game) would appear in the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, in which both the men and women qualified. Visit www.usarugby.org for more information.
