Final Tickets Punched to CRC

With the final 12 teams punching their ticket over the weekend, the brackets for the Collegiate Rugby Championship are set to be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on “Selection Saturday” on The Rugby Network. In total, 64 teams have automatically qualified, and 80 at-large bids have been awarded.

The final team to qualify in Men’s Division I Club was the University of Massachusetts. The Minutemen won their home qualifier Saturday, going 4-0 on the day and defeating UConn in the final.  

Sunday, Colorado State took the High Peaks 7s title to become the final team to punch its ticket in Women’s DI Club. The Rams were a perfect 4-0, besting rival Colorado in the semifinal and Boise State in the championship match. 

Montana State and Northwestern were the last two to qualify in Men’s Division II, winning the Bobcat 7s and Great Midwest 7s, respectively. Montana State won home turf in Bozeman, while Northwestern went 5-0 in Cottage Grove, WI. 

Colorado Mesa and Wisconsin La Crosse earned bids in Women’s Division II. The Mavericks won High Peaks 7s in Boulder, CO nipping New Mexico State in the final. Both teams scored three tries, with Mesa converting all three to qualify. La Crosse finished second to Eau Claire in the Great Waters 7s, but the Blugolds had already qualified, giving the Eagles the bid. 

The Wisconsin-Stout men qualified the same way, falling to the Eau Claire men in the final of the Great Midwest 7s. The Blue Devils were 4-0 before running into the Blugolds in the final. Providence also qualified in Men’s DII, winning the Northeast qualifier at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI.

Four Women’s DIII teams qualified over the weekend, including defending champion Yale, winners of the North Atlantic 7s. Wisconsin-Platteville claimed the Great Waters, Baldwin-Wallace won Gannon 7s, and East Stroudsburg finished second to already-qualified York at the Eastern Penn 7s in Lancaster, PA. 

The College Rugby Show’s Pat Clifton, Darian Lovelace and Zach Lanning will unveil and analyze all eight brackets and the entire 144-team field during “Selection Saturday” on The Rugby Network and YouTube at 7pm ET. 

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