The field for the Collegiate Rugby Championship is filling up, with 10 teams automatically qualifying over the weekend. 12 more are set to punch their ticket before brackets are revealed on Selection Saturday, April 19 7pm ET live on The Rugby Network and YouTube.
Dartmouth became the seventh team to qualify for the Men’s Premier Cup Sunday, finishing second to Kutztown at Monumental 7s in Quincy, MA hosted by the New England Free Jacks. The Golden Bears had already qualified, so the bid fell to the Big Green, who were 5-0 before losing, 24-14, in Sunday’s final, a rematch of the 2022 CRC championship match.
The winner of Saturday’s Stag 7s at Fairfield University will claim the final AQ bid. AIC, Siena, Fordham, Babson, Harvard and host Fairfield are gunning for the final spot, but already-qualified Kutztown, Dartmouth, Brown and St. Bonaventure are also in the mix.
Men’s Division I Club will also see another team automatically qualify Saturday from the Minuteman 7s Saturday at UMass.
Women’s DI Club grew over the weekend, as well, with Purdue winning the Wolverine 7s in Ann Arbor, MI to punch its ticket, and Northeastern winning the Rugby Northeast 7s. The Huskies and Boilermakers will be joined by the winner of the High Peaks 7s Saturday in Greeley, CO.
Miami (OH) claimed the automatic bid at Pittsburgh 7s over the weekend, reaching the final to play Indiana University Pennsylvania. The game was canceled due to weather and field conditions, and since the Crimson Hawks were already qualified, the bid was awarded to Miami.
Two more teams will qualify in Men’s DII this weekend, from the Bobcat 7s at Montana State and the Great Midwest 7s in Cottage Grove, WI.
Women’s DII saw three teams punch their ticket over the weekend. Towson won the MARC 7s, Roger Williams won Rugby Northeast’s AQ, and Syracuse won the Pittsburgh 7s, all earning automatic bids. The winners of the Great Waters and High Peaks tournaments Saturday will also clinch berths.
In Men’s Division III, Susquehanna and Springfield earned bids from AQs at Franklin & Marshall and Niagara, respectively, over the weekend. The River Hawks went 5-1, losing only to already-qualified Slippery Rock in the final in Lancaster, PA, while The Pride won four in a row, convincingly, to claim the title in Lewiston, NY.
The final Men’s DIII AQ bid will be claimed Saturday at the Great Midwest 7s in Cottage Grove, WI.
Middlebury claimed the only Women’s Division III bid over the weekend, winning the Rugby Northeast 7s. The final four AQs will be won Saturday at the North Atlantic, Great Waters, Gannon and Franklin & Marshall tournaments.
Check out the lineup of qualified teams and get your tickets now!
