Connor Reid, Softball / Baseball / Rugby Beat Writer 

HAMDEN, Conn. – Rugby is one of the hardest sports to play on the planet. It is non-stop action from whistle to whistle, and it is one of the least represented sports in the United States.

As someone who grew up with a parent who played rugby professionally in England, I have seen just how different rugby culture is in the United States vs. other countries. From kids between the ages of eight to 18, there are only 50,000 players in the country.

Which is what makes it so much harder when the access to these sports is cut off.

While rugby may be considered a “niche” sport with only 50,000 players across the country, women’s rugby can be considered as a rarity. Across the entire country, including Quinnipiac, there are only 13  Division I rugby teams. Next year, there will only be 12.

On Tuesday, April 14, Quinnipiac University announced that it would “transition women’s rugby from varsity to club status at the conclusion of the current competitive cycle,” effectively ending one of the most successful programs in collegiate women’s rugby.

“I’m here to play rugby. I’m not here to live in Connecticut,” said sophomore McKenzie Kroeger, “I’m from California  and I’d much rather be in California than in Connecticut. But I don’t really have that much of a choice. My choice is if I want an education or not.”

But even though not transferring means that she can’t play Division I rugby, transferring isn’t a one-size fits all.

“I have a lot of offers. I just don’t want to go to any of the schools just because, like, their academics aren’t great, and that’s kind of like a big thing for me,” said Kroeger.

Quinnipiac positioned itself uniquely in the space of women’s rugby. Both overseas and in the United States, rugby has been viewed as a game for elites. Outside of the Bobcats, half of Division I rugby is made up of either Ivy League schools or service academies.

This makes it extremely difficult for transfers.

“I can either go to one of the Ivy’s, which don’t really accept transfers,” said Kroeger, “The rosters are full. Or I go to West Point or Navy, and I don’t want to be in the Army.”

The world of competitive women’s rugby is shrinking, and it makes it extremely difficult for athletes to find the right fit when they are looking at a school to call their new home.

While the competitive aspect of the sport may technically still be intact due to Quinnipiac Athletics will “coordinate with Campus Recreation to ensure women’s rugby remains a well-resourced and organized club” there is a stark difference between club play and Division I level.

As someone who is part of Club Sports at Quinnipiac, I know exactly the world that these women  will be stepping into next year. While I love playing on a club team, the nature of the sport is something almost entirely different.

“I have no time to do anything else other than, like, rugby and school, and it’s been my life for the past, like, eight years, and it’s just been, like, kind of thrown away,” said Kroeger.

But for the club sports program that could not be farther from the truth. While rugby is still a time commitment, not only does our team not “get up at 5 or 6 am some days to get a team lift in before a 7 am practice,” as Kroeger said of her varsity experience, not only because the dedication to the sport is so different, but also because the access to facilities like the varsity weight room is non-existent.

“It’s a totally different beast,” said Jason O’Hagan, president of Quinnipiac’s rugby club. “We have to schedule our own games and practices. We have to drive ourselves to games. And on top of all that, we’re still spending our own money to play.”

And while I recognize that the club rugby team, as recreational, probably shouldn’t be in the varsity weight room or on a school-sponsored meal plan. But the varsity rugby team is different; these women have been playing high-level rugby every day for nearly a decade of their lives, only to have it ripped away from them by the school’s administration.

“I just wanted to play rugby at a good university,” said Kroeger, “and now [that dream] has been crushed”

In justification for shutting down the school’s rugby program the University cited Title IX concerns, and a disparity between male and female athlete participation at the school.

“Title IX compliance was a central component of the evaluation process and remains a guiding priority for Quinnipiac’s long-term athletics planning. The review assessed participation opportunities by gender, roster management practices, proportionality relative to undergraduate enrollment, and the sustainability of providing equitable competitive and developmental support across all varsity programs. The resulting realignment reflects the University’s commitment to maintaining gender equitable participation opportunities while ensuring the long-term viability and competitive health of its varsity sport offerings.” wrote the Athletics Department on the 14th of April.

While the reasoning behind the decision may hold up, a roster analysis by Front Office Sports found that Quinnipiac’s athlete population was made up of 64% female athletes and 36% male athletes, which is strikingly similar to the university’s overall student body composition which is  

Even though Quinnipiac is sound in its logic concerning the closure of the storied women’s rugby program, calculating out your most successful program in the middle of the night is not the best way to go about navigating Title IX.