USA Rugby is based upon these core organizational beliefs: We believe that rugby will be the best experience in American sports. We believe in delighting and creating value for our members. We believe rugby has something for everyone and that anyone can play. We believe in lifelong camaraderie beyond the game. We believe that our greatest assets are our players. We believe in developing peak performance at all levels of the game. We believe in owning our performance.

College rugby (a version of rugby union) is played throughout universities in the United States of America. Unlike most university sports, college rugby is not governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and is instead governed by USA Rugby and the International Rugby Board. Often called a club sport, each individual team is administered by either the athletic department or the student club department.

History

Shortly after the 1924 Olympics, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) removed rugby as an Olympic sport. Without the Olympic incentive, the sport’s growth in America collapsed and the game remained dormant for the next half century. However, during the 1960’s and ‘70’s, the sport enjoyed a renaissance. With this renewed interest there became a need for a national governing body to represent the USA in the International rugby community. In response to the need for a centralized national structure, four territorial organizations gathered in Chicago, Ill., in 1975 and formed the United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby) to serve as the game’s national governing body.

U.S. National Teams

The USA Men’s National Team, nicknamed the Eagles, won the Gold Medal in Olympic rugby in 1920 and 1924. After that time, rugby in the US stagnated while continuing to grow in the rest of the world and only recently has rugby started to become popular again in the US. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s the sport of rugby union enjoyed a renaissance in the USA. This created the need for a national governing body to represent the USA. In 1975 four territorial organizations (Pacific Coast, West, Midwest and East) gathered in Chicago, Illinois to form the United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby).

Over 30 years later, USA Rugby is an official member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB). The organization has approximately 75,000 members and is responsible for the development of the boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club athletic programs, and ultimately all of the national teams representing the U.S. in international competitions. The current structure of USA Rugby comprises seven Territorial Unions and 34 Local Area Unions that compete for regional and National Championships. The national office is located in Boulder, Colo., and is run by paid staff, including the union’s newest CEO and President of Rugby Operations, Nigel Melville.

Popularity

Over 60,000 citizens are registered with USA College Rugby (One needs to be certified by USA Rugby to participate in most matches and tournaments), and 18 teams are entered in the premier domestic competition, the Rugby Super League, for 2007. There are 815 referees within USA Rugby.There are over 1,200 pre-teens currently playing organized rugby union (1,097 male, 197 female). There are over 20,000 high school athletes playing rugby union for their schools or U19 clubs (14,875 male, 6468 female).