NCR Announces Qualification Pathways for 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championship

The 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championship will feature a new structure for teams to compete for a Nationals 7s championship. Over the next four months, 144 men’s and women’s teams from across eight divisions will claim a spot at the prestigious national tournament through a combination of automatic qualification and at-large bids.

‍

For the first time, all automatic qualifier (AQ) bids will be earned through open regional tournaments, so as to encourage more cross-conference competition and to qualify teams earlier in the season. Over 40 qualification tournaments have been scheduled across the country, which include over 50 automatic bids. Additional AQ tournaments may be added until January 15, 2025. 

‍

The rest of the tournament field will be filled via at-large bids from the CRC Selection Committee. 

‍

The Selection Committee will exclusively consider results from tournaments that are registered on the NCR master schedule. Tournaments may be added to the list by the hosts, as well as any participant team with intentions of applying for an at-large bid, until February 7, 2025. 

‍

While conference champions will no longer automatically qualify, a conference championship is the top-possible credential for an at-large application, and the Selection Committee will prioritize results from conference championships in selections and seeding.

‍

Any non-registered school interested in participating in National 7s must register their club by March 1, 2025 or before participating in an AQ. At-large applications for NCR-registered clubs will be accepted until April 1, 2025.

‍

Qualifying Teams and full brackets will be announced during the CRC Selection Saturday Show on April 19. 

‍

The 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championships will return to the Maryland SportsPlex on April 25-27.  The men’s tournament will be held on April 25-26 while the women compete on April 26-27.

‍

Key Dates

- Automatic Qualifier Deadline: January 15

- Add Tournament to NCR Master List: February 7

- Club Registration Deadline: March 1 (or prior to tournament participation)

- At-Large Applications: April 1

- Selection Saturday: April 12

‍