National Collegiate Rugby Release
National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) has announced the final playoff teams for the Men’s 2021 Collegiate Rugby Championship.
The national championship tournament includes 64 teams across five divisions, including Division I, Division I-AA, Division II, Small College Cohen Cup, and Small College Challenge Cup.
The regional championships will be played in six host locations with most matches occurring over the weekend of November 19-21.
The full match schedule appears on the NCR website.
Division I
In a highly competitive Elite 8, St. Bonaventure comes in as the favorite after finishing the regular season as the #1 team in the coaches poll.
Following this weekend’s play-in matches, the national quarterfinals include teams from Rugby East (3), Chesapeake (2), Liberty (2) and Ivy (1) conferences.
“It is great to see how small college teams have stepped up to compete despite the challenges of restarting play after 18 months of pandemic difficulties. The energy of all the teams chasing championships in both the Cohen Cup and Challenge Cup is sure to produce memorable playoff competitions,” added NCR Men’s Director Steve Hiatt.
The Collegiate Rugby Championship will be held on December 10-12 at the Houston Sabercats’ AVEVA Stadium in Houston, TX. During this championship weekend, Small Colleges and Division II will play a national semi-final and championship match. In Division I and I-AA, the weekend features the national championship matches on December 11.
In addition to the national championship matches, the weekend also includes the CRC Bowl Series. In the first bowl game on December 11, Wheeling University faces Iowa Central Community College. An additional bowl game will be announced in the coming days.
All quarterfinal matches will be played as a home game for the higher ranked team. The semifinal round will be broadcast on December 4 from Penn State Berks County in Reading, PA.
Division I-AA
A strong Mid-Atlantic Conference sends three teams into the national quarterfinals along with three teams from New York State. Boise State will represent the West while Virginia Tech will bring its experience playing primarily varsity teams this year.
The quarterfinal matches will be held in Knoxville, TN and Cherry Hill, NJ.
Division II
With nearly 100 teams vying for a national title, Division II’s Sweet 16 will feature a diverse and highly-competitive field.
Without the 2019 champion, Queens University, a new Division II champion will be crowned this year. Thomas More, Illinois State, Norwich, and UNC-Wilmington enter the tournament as favorites in each of their respective regions.
The first round includes several key matchups including UMass-Lowell vs. Illinois State, Northern Iowa vs. Virginia and Norwich vs. IUP.
Brad Dufek, NCR Men’s DI/DII Commissioner
remarked, “NCR is thrilled to have the opportunity to give these Division I and II teams a special platform to showcase their abilities with top notch host venues, a challenging playing field, and experiences that will last a lifetime. We can’t thank our partners and volunteers enough for the work they’ve done to make this all a reality.”
Small College Cohen Cup
Despite the extra challenges small colleges faced coming out of COVID, over 160 teams competed in the Men’s Cohen Cup division, formerly known as the Championship pathway.
The first round features several compelling matchups including St. John’s (MN) taking on Franciscan, Christendom vs. Loyola (MD), Xavier facing Rio Grande, and Holy Cross playing SUNY Geneseo.
Traditionally strong powers like St. John’s (MN), Endicott, Christendom, and Loyola enter into the Small College Sweet 16 alongside newcomers New Mexico Tech, Rio Grande, and Humboldt State.
Small College Challenge Cup
The Small College Challenge Cup continues to provide well-deserved national exposure to emerging, non-varsity teams across the country.
The 16-team tournament includes favorites Western Oregon, Wayne State and Siena who enter the Challenge Cup playoffs with big wins and lots of momentum.
The competition includes several intriguing first round games such as Emory & Henry vs. the College of Charleston, Chicago taking on Wayne State, Slippery Rock playing Case Western, and Buffalo State vs. Mass Maritime.
“It is great to see how small college teams have stepped up to compete despite the challenges of restarting play after 18 months of pandemic difficulties. The energy of all the teams chasing championships in both the Cohen Cup and Challenge Cup is sure to produce memorable playoff competitions,” added NCR Men’s Director Steve Hiatt.
The Collegiate Rugby Championship will be held on December 10-12 at the Houston Sabercats’ AVEVA Stadium in Houston, TX. During this championship weekend, Small Colleges and Division II will play a national semi-final and championship match. In Division I and I-AA, the weekend features the national championship matches on December 11.
In addition to the national championship matches, the weekend also includes the CRC Bowl Series. In the first bowl game on December 11, Wheeling University faces Iowa Central Community College. An additional bowl game will be announced in the coming days.
