So, let’s take a look at an updated listing of collegiate teams in the south ranked by undergraduate enrollment… 2008 Ranking - I've highlighted in red the teams that have changed divisions since 2006.
When you examine this list and then also examine the total numbers in each division, some things jump out fairly quickly.
First, we need more Division 1 teams. Looks like LSU may be heading to the South so we need another team to join them for an 8
Second, there needs to be a separate competition for small college teams. The disparity of enrollment within Division III is ridiculous. Rugby is at its most popular on campus when the students and administrators can identify with their success. Sure, if Sewanee beats Georgia it is huge back on campus, but if Sewanee gets put out of the playoffs by Memphis or Mississippi State, most are going to wonder what the heck those schools are doing playing Sewanee in a playoff match.
Third, providing quality coaching and non-student leadership on campus has got to improve. You see it every time someone steps up and takes on a program with the right tools in the toolbox. My good friend Jeremy Linne is proving it this year at UNC – Greensboro. Those boys had not won a game in three seasons and were known only for their anti-social behavior. Well, this fall he’s got them to a 3-3 record and his boys are actually helping to coach the local high school teams. He’s gone in and used a proven formula and they have bought into it and are on their way. Closer to home, Scotty McCreight is doing the same thing at Tennessee Tech.
So, lets find another team ready to take on the challenge of Division I rugby; lets create a separate small college competition and then give those that qualify the choice of either playing in it or playing in the conventional divisions; and lets create a coaching mentoring program to get every college club a coach that has the tools to build a respectable program. Sounds easy enough, right?
7 comments:
Don't worry Marty, Life will soon be joining the collegiate fray, right? That will really help promote the game among university administration. There's nothing Clemson fans care about more than beating Life.
Based on the enrollment numbers and recent on field performance, Florida State and South Florida are logical candidates to move up to D1. The problem is you never can really accurately guage the on-field success of the Florida teams because so many of them use players who are not collegiately eligible. Next in line would be ECU, but they don't have the administrative structure for sustained success. Kennesaw State, now on the Arkansas State South African importation plan, is another possible candidate.
Won't the addition of LSU make 8 teams (UT, ASU, UNC, USC, UGA, Clemson, UF, LSU)? Or are you assuming Clemson is going to have to drop to D2 after this year?
Sorry, I meant an 8 game league schedule which would take 9 teams. That way every team has 4 home and 4 away matches.
Clemson's going through a rough spot right now but they will get back on track.
Marty-
9 teams playing an 8 week schedule is going to be tough. First, it is going to be extremely difficult for teams to handle the travel financially. Say, for example, that East Carolina (or Wake Forest perhaps) moved up to D1 and had to make a trip to Jonesboro and Gainesville in a season or to Baton Rouge and Jonesboro. That is going to be tough economically. We need to make it viable from an administrative and economic standpoint for teams to make the move up.
I think the ideal would be a 10 team D1 league with north and south or east and west conferences. 4 games within your conference and then a 4 team playoff.
An eight week season (or 9 if you want to give a bye week, which really would probably be necessary) means you run into spring breaks and/or have to start in early-mid January when the nothern teams are going to have difficulty with weather.
What about this for 2010 or 2011?
USARS D1 North
ASU
UT
UNC
Clemson
ECU/WFU/MTSU?
USARS D1 South
LSU
UF
USC
UGA
Life/USF/FSU?
Or perhaps an East-West setup:
East
UT
UNC
UF
Clemson
ECU/WFU/USF?
West
ASU
LSU
USC
UGA
MTSU/FSU/Life?
Marty
Great blog and a really good topic that needs addressing.
Being one of those 'funny talkers' of course I will always go for promotion and relegation.
With LSU coming in I think the league needs splitting, many teams including mine (UNC), simply could not handle those huge trips every year. Getting my boys out of classes on a Friday is really hard and even thyen, thatn only gets you into places like Jonesboro at midnight on a Friday night.
I'm very hopeful that within 3 years North Carolina will have 4 Division 1 sides which will help enormously.
On the coach mentoring side of things, I think its a great idea but schools like mine are student led; thats not negotiable. I have to sign an agreement each year to limit my involvement - sports club policy in many schools mirrors this. There are ways of doing things but it reallyn does depend on whether the sports club director likes rugby or not.
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