National Intercollegiate Rugby Association

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National Intercollegiate Rugby Association
National Intercollegiate Rugby Association logo.png
AbbreviationNIRA
Formation2015
Legal statusAssociation
Region served
United States
Official language
English
Commissioner
Amy Rusert
Main organ
Board of Directors
Websitewebsite

The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) is a governing body of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate women's rugby programs in the United States founded in 2015.

History[]

The NIRA traces roots back to 2015 when eight NCAA member institutions formed the National Collegiate Varsity Women’s Rugby Association (NCVWRA) to organize collegiate competition and aid in the promotion of rugby at the varsity level in the NCAA after rugby was promoted to Emerging Sport status.[1][2]

Inaugural members of the association included Army, Bowdoin, Brown, Central Washington, Harvard, Norwich, Quinnipiac, and West Chester. Membership in the organization was limited to NCAA institutions who sponsor women’s rugby at the varsity level.[2] The foundation of the NCVWRA was in contrast to USA Rugby who sponsors collegiate competition for men’s and women’s rugby teams in a mixed format of club, quasi varsity, and full-varsity programs.[2][3] In 2016 the association became known as the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA).[4]

Members[]

Tier Club Location Nickname Type Joined Coach
Division 1 Army West Point West Point, New York Black Knights Federal Service Academy 2018 Bill LeClerc
Brown University Providence, Rhode Island Bears Private 2018 Kathy Flores
Dartmouth College Hanover, New Hampshire Big Green Private 2018 Katie Dowty
Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Crimson Private 2018 Mel Denham
Long Island University Brooklyn, New York
Brookville, New York		 Sharks Private 2018 Colleen Doherty
Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, Maryland Mountaineers Private 2018 Farrah Douglas
Quinnipiac University Hamden, Connecticut Bobcats Private 2018 Becky Carlson
Sacred Heart University Fairfield, Connecticut Pioneers Private 2018 Michelle Reed
Division 2 Alderson Broaddus University Philippi, West Virginia Battlers Private 2020 Laura Miller
American International College Springfield, Massachusetts Yellow Jackets Private 2018 Tara Roberts
Molloy College Rockville Centre, New York Lions Private 2018 Melissa Olman
Notre Dame College South Euclid, Ohio Falcons Private 2018 Luke Markovich
Post University Waterbury, Connecticut Eagles Private, for-profit 2020 Jacob Dilts
Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina Royals Private 2019 Katie Wurst
West Chester University Chester County, Pennsylvania Golden Rams Public 2018 Tony Deremer
Division 3 Bowdoin College Brunswick, Maine Polar Bears Private 2018 MaryBeth Mathews
Castleton University Castleton, Vermont Spartans Public 2018 Frank Graziano
Colby–Sawyer College New London, New Hampshire Chargers Private 2018 Ken Pape
Guilford College Greensboro, North Carolina Quakers Private 2020 Emily Record
Manhattanville College Purchase, New York Valiants Private 2020 TBD
New England College Henniker, New Hampshire Pilgrims Private 2019 Tom Campbell
Norwich University Northfield, Vermont Cadets Private 2018 Austin Hall
University of New England Biddeford, Maine Nor'easters Private 2018 Ashley Potvin-Fulford

[5] [6]

Championship finals[]

Division 1[]

  • 2019 – Army 7–18 Harvard [7]
  • 2018 – Dartmouth 19–14 Harvard[8]
  • 2017 – Quinnipiac 29–20 Dartmouth
  • 2016 – Quinnipiac 46–24 Central Washington
  • 2015 – Quinnipiac 24–19 Army[9]

Division 2[]

Division 3[]

  • 2019 – Bowdoin College 27–5 University of New England [12]

References[]

  1. ^ "Emerging Sports for Women". www.ncaa.org. NCAA. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Young, Wendy (September 11, 2014). "National Collegiate Varsity Women's Rugby Association (NCVWRA) Formed". Your Scrumhalf Connection. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ Clifton, Pat (December 13, 2017). "Cliff Notes: Varsity Schmarsity, Just Play". Rugby Today. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Women's Intercollegiate Season Starts with 2015 Final Rematch". Goff Rugby Report. Aug 31, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02. What was the NCWVRA [National Collegiate Women’s Varsity Rugby Association] is now the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Women's Rugby Crowned NIRA National Champions After Victory Over Army West Point, 18–7". Harvard Athletics. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  8. ^ "Dartmouth Claims Program's First NIRA Championship". USA Rugby. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  9. ^ Finlan, Jackie (November 22, 2015). "Quinnipiac, First Varsity Champion". The Goff Rugby Report. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  10. ^ @NIRArugby (17 November 2019). "Brown in possession but it's not enough. Final WCU 15 Brown 14" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Women's Rugby Runs Away From UNE to Claim NIRA Division III Title". Bowdoin Athletics. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2021-10-15.

External links[]

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