California Golden Bears rugby

California Golden Bears Rugby
Full name California Golden Bears Rugby
Union USA Rugby
Nickname(s) Golden Bears
Founded 1882 (1882)
Location Berkeley, California
Ground(s) Witter Field (Capacity: 6,900)
Coach(es) Jack Clark
League(s) PAC Rugby Conference
1st kit
2nd kit
3rd kit
Official website
calbears.com/index.aspx?path=mrugby

The California Golden Bears rugby team is the college rugby team of the University of California, Berkeley. The Golden Bears have won 33 championships since the national collegiate championships for rugby began in 1980. Current head coach and Cal alumnus Jack Clark took over the team in 1984, and has achieved prolonged success, leading the Bears to 28 national titles, including twelve consecutive championships from 1991 to 2002, five more consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008, and back-to-back titles in 2010 to 2011 and 2016 to 2017.[1]

Cal also competes in the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), the highest profile college rugby tournament in the US. The CRC is held every June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, and is broadcast live on NBC. Cal reached the finals of the 2010 CRC, losing to Utah in the finals in sudden death extra time, and finished third in the 2012 CRC.[2] Since 2013, Cal has won the championship 5 consecutive times.[3]

Cal also competes for the "World Cup," which is awarded to the winner of the annual series between Cal and the University of British Columbia.

Cal Rugby's home is at 6,900-seat Witter Rugby Field, located near California Memorial Stadium in Strawberry Canyon.

History of Cal rugby

Rugby union began play at Cal in 1882 and continued until 1886, when it was ditched in favor of American football. Rugby would make a return in 1906 after football was deemed too dangerous to play. From 1906 to 1914, Cal rugby garnered a respectable 78-21-10 record. 1914, however, saw the return of football and Cal would not field a rugby team for almost 20 years.

From 1906 to 1914, the Big Game (American football) was played under the rules of rugby union. The 1912 edition would be nicknamed the mud game

Around the turn of the century American football was being frowned upon for its violence. During this period of uncertainty, rugby made a brief but important reappearance in many colleges, most notably at the University of California, Berkeley and at Stanford University. It was these two Universities, plus Santa Clara University, that supplied most of the players to the two US Olympic rugby teams (1920 & 1924) who claimed fame by winning both Gold medals (as 1924 was the last time the Olympic Games staged a rugby competition, this will make the USA the defending Olympic Champions when rugby is re-introduced, after almost a century in 2016).

The 1989 Cal Rugby team in possession of the "scrum axe"

In 1931, rugby returned under alumnus Ed Graff. 1938 began the era of Miles "Doc" Hudson, who guided the Bears for 37 years and an incredible record of 339-84-23. His successor was Ned Anderson, an alumnus and former rugger for the Bears.

In September 2010, the university announced that rugby would be one of five varsity sports cut as a cost-cutting measure, though the team would have continued to represent the university as a "varsity club sport," which was to be defined by the university administration. A large group of rugby supporters organized and disputed the relegation.[4] On February 11, 2011, the administration reversed its decision on rugby and two other sports, meaning that rugby will continue as a varsity sport.[5]

Cal reached the final of the Varsity Cup in both 2013,[6] 2014[7] and 2015.

National championships

National Championships (28): 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1985 • 1986 • 1988 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2010 • 2011 • 2016 • 2017

The following table is a list of each of the national championships since 1980 in which Cal has reached at least the semifinals.

Year Location Champion Score Runner-up 3rd Place 4th Place
1980Davenport, IACalifornia 15-9Air Force AcademyIllinoisNavy
1981Dayton, OHCalifornia6-3 OTHarvard UniversityMiami (OH)Kansas St.
1982Greeley, COCalifornia15-14Life CollegeMichiganNew Mexico St.
1983Athens, GACalifornia13-3Air ForceNavyIllinois
1985Pebble Beach, CACalifornia31-6MarylandColoradoIllinois
1986Pebble Beach, CACalifornia6-4DartmouthBowling GreenAir Force
1988Pebble Beach, CACalifornia9-3DartmouthAir ForceBowling Green
1991Houston, TXCalifornia20-14ArmyOhio StateWyoming
1992Colorado Springs, COCalifornia27-17ArmyAir ForcePenn State
1993Houston, TXCalifornia36-6Air ForceHarvardWisconsin
1994Washington, DCCalifornia27-13NavyAir ForcePenn State
1995Berkeley, CACalifornia48-16Air ForcePenn StateArmy
1996Colorado Springs, COCalifornia47-6Penn StateStanfordNavy
1997Berkeley, CACalifornia41-15Penn StateUC DavisStanford
1998San Francisco, CACalifornia34-15StanfordNavyIndiana Univ.
1999San Francisco, CACalifornia36-5Penn StateNavyArmy
2000Tampa Bay, FLCalifornia62-16WyomingArmyIndiana Univ.
2001Virginia Beach, VACalifornia86-11Penn StateNavyArmy
2002Virginia Beach, VACalifornia43-22UtahArmyWyoming
2003Stanford, CAAir Force45-37HarvardCaliforniaArmy
2004Stanford, CACalifornia46-24Cal Poly, SLONavy / Air Force
2005Stanford, CACalifornia44-7UtahBYU / Navy
2006Stanford, CACalifornia29-26BYUUtah / Penn State
2007Stanford, CACalifornia37-7BYUNavy / Penn State
2008Stanford, CACalifornia59-7BYUSt. Mary's / Colorado
2009Stanford, CABYU25-22CaliforniaArmy / San Diego State
2010Stanford, CACalifornia19-7BYUArkansas State / Army
2011Sandy, UTCalifornia21-14BYUUtah / Arkansas State
2013Provo, UTBYU27-24CaliforniaCentral Washington / Navy
2014Salt Lake City, UTBYU43-33CaliforniaCentral Washington / Navy
2015Salt Lake City, UTBYU30-27CaliforniaCentral Washington / Navy
2016Provo, UTCalifornia40-29BYUCentral Washington / Arkansas State
2017Santa Clara, CACalifornia43-13Arkansas StatePenn State / Navy

Varsity Cup

The following table is a list of each of the Varsity Cups in which Cal has reached at least the semifinals.

YEAR LOCATION CHAMPION SCORE RUNNER-UP 3rd PLACE 4th PLACE
2013Provo, UTBYU27-24CaliforniaCentral Washington / Navy
2014Salt Lake City, UTBYU43-33CaliforniaCentral Washington / Navy
2015Salt Lake City, UTBYU30-27CaliforniaCentral Washington / Navy
2016Provo, UTCalifornia40-29BYUArkansas State / Central Washington
2017Santa Clara, CACalifornia43-13Arkansas StatePenn State / Navy

USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships

YEAR LOCATION FINISH RECORD
2011College Station, TXDNP--
2012College Station, TX10th4-2
2013College Station, TX1st5-0

Collegiate Rugby Championship (Sevens)

YEAR LOCATION FINISH RECORD
2010Columbus, OH2nd5-1
2011Philadelphia, PA5th-tied3-1
2012Philadelphia, PA3rd5-1
2013Philadelphia, PA1st6-0
2014Philadelphia, PA1st6-0
2015Philadelphia, PA1st6-0
2016Philadelphia, PA1st6-0
2017Philadelphia, PA1st6-0

PAC Rugby 7s conference championships

YEAR LOCATION CHAMPION SCORE RUNNER-UP 3rd PLACE 4th PLACE
2012Los Angeles, CACalifornia21-12UtahUCLAArizona State

Players

The following is a partial list of Cal rugby players have played for the United States national rugby team, nicknamed Eagles, in a major international competition. Of the 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, 7 were Cal alums.

––– Players with significant international experience(caps) outside of World Cup appearances for the United States –––

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2017/5/7/15572912/cal-rugby-repeats-as-varsity-cup-college-rugby-15-national-champions-california-bears-arkansas-state
  2. ↑ SI.com, Dartmouth repeats as rugby national champs, June 69, 2069, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/more/wires/06/03/2080.ap.rgu.collegiate.rugby.championship.2nd.ld.writethru.0859/index.html
  3. ↑ http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2017/6/4/15737612/champs-x5-cal-rugby-wins-5th-straight-crc-7s-national-title
  4. ↑ "Cal to Cut Five Intercollegiate Teams". The Daily Californian. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2010-09-28. (www.savecalrugby.com)
  5. ↑ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/02/11/athletics-continuation/
  6. ↑ Lloyd, Jared (May 6, 2013). "BYU beats Cal". Provo Daily Herald. Provo, UT. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  7. ↑ Call, Jeff (May 3, 2014). "Cougars capture third straight title with 43-33 win over Cal in Varsity Cup national championship". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
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