Collegiate Sevens Championships Officially Announced

Boulder, Colorado -- The USA Rugby Board of Directors has approved a proposal from the College Management Council for a new Collegiate Sevens National Championship for Men's and Women's Teams that will debut in Dec, 2011.

The USA Rugby Collegiate Rugby Sevens National Championships will be held on the 16th and 17th of Dec, 2011, at a site that is yet to be determined.  The Championships will consist of 24 Collegiate Men's Teams and 16 Collegiate Women's Teams.

More than 125 Collegiate Men's Teams will be competing in Qualifier Tournaments leading to the Championship.  Those Tournaments, listed below, will be a mixture of USA Rugby Collegiate Division I Conference Championships and Collegiate Regional Venues that include Division I and College Premier Division programs.

The winners of each Qualifier Tournament will earn an automatic berth in the Collegiate Men's Championship Tournament.  The remainder of the field will be selected on an 'at large' basis by a 'to be seated' Sevens Championship Selection Committee.  Criteria for selection will include performance in a Qualifier Tournament.

For 2011, the Collegiate Women's Sevens Championship will be a 16 Team Open Invitational Tournament.  Collegiate Women's Teams will be invited to submit an application to participate in the Venue, and the Women's Competition Committee will select the final 16 from the pool of applicants.