PAC Rugby Conference

The PAC Rugby Conference is a conference composed of four schools from the Pac-12 Conference that compete against each other in Division 1-A Rugby. It was formed in 2012 with six teams, with conference play beginning in February 2013 to compete in Division 1-AA. In 2016, PAC added USC and Stanford and dropped Oregon State, and moved up to D1-A.[1] Despite only recently moving up from D1-AA affiliation, the PAC has historically been one of the strongest conferences in college rugby, with five of its members consistently ranked in the Top 25 overall.[2] The PAC Rugby Conference began play on February 2, 2013, with Cal beating Arizona State at Witter Field in Berkeley.[3]

History of rugby at PAC schools

Around the turn of the century, American football was frowned upon for its violence, and President Theodore Roosevelt insisted upon reform or abolition of the game. During this period of uncertainty, rugby made a brief but important reappearance in many colleges, most notably at Cal and Stanford. It was these two Universities that supplied most of the players to the two U.S. Olympic rugby teams that won gold medals at the 1920 Olympics and 1924 Olympics. PAC Rugby was shown on television for the first time in 2014, when the PAC 12 Network broadcast Cal vs UCLA.[4] Cal has long been one of the faces of rugby at the collegiate level. In addition, excellence by teams such as UCLA and Arizona, as well as recent growth by USC, have made the conference one of the toughest in the country.

Members
InstitutionTeamLocationFoundedEnrollmentEndowmentNicknameRugby
Since		Head Coach
Arizona Arizona Wildcats Tucson, AZ 1885 40,223 [5] $563,655,000 [6] Wildcats 1969 Sean Duffy[7]
California California Golden Bears Berkeley, CA 1868 36,142 [8] $3.15×10^9 [9] Golden Bears 1882 Jack Clark
UCLA UCLA Bruins Los Angeles, CA 1919 40,675 [10] $2.98×10^9 [11] Bruins 1934 Scott Stewart
Utah Utah Utes Salt Lake City, UT 1850 32,388 [12] $670,411,000 [6] Utes Blake Burdette

Results
SeasonChampionRunner UpThird
2013California[13]UCLA
2014California[14]
2015California[15]Utah

PAC Sevens Rugby Tournament

This PAC Sevens Rugby Tournament occurs every fall. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. The tournament debuted in 2011 where Colorado beat Utah in the final match.[16] In 2012, all 12 of the Pac-12 schools participated for the first time and Cal won.[17] In 2016 the tournament was hosted in Tucson, Arizona for the first time, where it was won by Cal for the fifth straight year .[18]

DateLocationChampionFinal ScoreRunner UpThirdTournament MVPLeading Try Scorer
Oct. 21-22, 2011StanfordColorado[16]14-12UtahUCLALuke Lahman--
Nov. 3-4, 2012Los AngelesCalifornia[19]21-12UtahUCLA----
Nov. 2-3, 2013Los AngelesCalifornia[20]22-0UCLAOregon State----

See also

References
  1. "PAC Rugby Conference joins D1A Rugby – Stanford & USC to become new members". D1A Rugby. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  2. Rugby Mag, All Divisions College Top 25, Jan. 28, 2013, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-02-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Cal Wins PAC Opener Over ASU, Feb. 2, 2013, http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-rugby/recaps/020213aaa.html%5B%5D
  4. Mainstream Broadcast for Cal v UCLA, February 20, 2014, http://www.rugbytoday.com/college/mainstream-broadcast-cal-v-ucla
  5. http://uanews.org/story/ua-enrollment-tops-40000-and-retention-graduation-rates-are-too
  6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-08-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-10-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Facts at a glance - UC Berkeley
  9. About Us Archived 2011-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Berkeley Endowment Management Company'.' Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  10. Quick Facts - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions
  11. UC Annual Endowment Report Archived 2012-01-12 at the Wayback Machine Office of the Treasurer of The Regents'.' Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2012-12-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Cal rugby defeats Utah, clinches inaugural PAC Rugby Conference title, Mar. 30, 2013, http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/30/cal-rugby-defeats-utah-clinches-inaugural-pac-rugby-conference-title/
  14. Cal Takes PAC With 43-31 Win at Utah, Mar. 15, 2014, http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209435860
  15. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865625354/Rugby-Utes-take-second-in-Pac-12-Oklahoma-banned-from-Varsity-Cup.html?pg=all
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. Pac-12, Cal beats Utah, 21-12, to take PAC Sevens title, Nov. 6, 2012, http://pac-12.com/Sports/Rugby/RugbyArticle/tabid/266//Article/200356/Cal-beats-Utah-21-12-to-take-PAC-Sevens-title.aspx
  18. Recap: Cal claims fifth consecutive Pac Sevens Rugby Championship, Nov. 13, 2016, http://pac-12.com/videos/recap-cal-claims-fifth-consecutive-pac-sevens-rugby-championship
  19. Cal Wins Pac 7s, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. Cal Wins PAC 7s, http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/collegiate-sevens/9763-cal-wins-pac-7s.html Archived 2013-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
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