Varsity Cup Championship
The Varsity Cup Championship was an American college rugby competition established in 2012 to serve as an invitational championship following the breakaway of several schools from Division 1-A Rugby.[1]
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 2013 |
| Ceased | 2017 (post-season) |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Country | United States |
| Holders | Cal (2017) |
| Most titles | Cal and BYU (2 titles each) |
| Website | varsitycup.us |
| Broadcast partner | NBC Sports |
The Varsity Cup was organized by United World Sport, the organization which also ran the USA Sevens tournament and the Collegiate Rugby Championship.[2] The 2014 Varsity Cup final was televised by NBC Sports on NBCSN.[3] The Varsity Cup's ability to get onto television was seen as a boost to the Varsity Cup and to the rugby programs of the member schools.[4]
The development of the Varsity Cup post-season tournament created some controversy. The Varsity Cup Championship did not replace Division 1-A Rugby, but it was endorsed by USA Rugby.[5] The schools participating in the Varsity Cup often referred to it as the national championship, but with the rival Division 1-A Rugby post-season tournament running concurrently, USA Rugby did not consider the Varsity Cup to be the national championship.[6]
The founding schools formed the Varsity Cup with a number of goals in mind. One was the ability to manage and control their playoff games. Another was to develop a tournament with commercial appeal, that would generate revenue from attendance and concessions, and that would generate marketing exposure through TV coverage.[7]
The Varsity Cup folded in November 2017 when the organizer, broadcast partner and a major sponsor, Penn Mutual, withdrew their support.[8]
Teams
The teams invited to compete in the Varsity Cup were from schools where rugby enjoyed varsity status or advanced club status.[7]
| Team | School's Endowment |
School's NCAA Affiliation |
Joined V-Cup |
Head Coach | Rugby Since |
Best VC Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | $28 m | Mountain West | 2013–2016 | Denny Merideth | 1969 | QF (2013) |
| Arizona State | $553 m | Pac-12 | 2015–2016[9] | Gary Lane | 1975 | R16 (2015, 2016) |
| Arkansas State | $43 m | Sun Belt Conf. | 2015–2017 | Mani Delaibatiki | 1991 | 2nd (2017) |
| Army West Point | $284 m | Patriot League | 2016–2017 | Matt Sherman | 1961 | QF (2016, 2017) |
| Boston College | 2017 | R16 (2017) | ||||
| BYU | $957 m | West Coast | 2013–2016 | David Smyth | 1965 | 1st (2013, 2014) |
| Cal | $3.0 bn | Pac-12 | 2013–2017 | Jack Clark | 1882 | 1st (2016, 2017) |
| Central Washington | $13 m | Great Northwest | 2013–2017 | Tony Pacheco | 1972 | SF (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) |
| Clemson | $483 m | ACC | 2014–2017 | Steve Lynch | 1967 | QF (2015, 2017) |
| Dartmouth | $3.7 bn | Ivy League | 2013–2017 | Gavin Hickie | 1951 | QF (2013, 2014, 2016) |
| Harvard | Ivy League | 2017 | R16 (2017) | |||
| Navy | ??? | Patriot League | 2013–2017 | Mike Flanagan | 1963 | SF (2013, 2014, 2015) |
| Notre Dame | $8.3 bn | ACC | 2013–2017 | Justin Hickey | 1961 | QF (2013) |
| Oklahoma | $1.2 bn | Big 12 | 2014–2017 | Doug Neubauer | 1974 | R16 (2014, 2016, 2017) |
| Penn State | $3.0 bn | Big 10 | 2016–2017 | James Willocks | 1962 | R16 (2016) |
| Texas | $6.0 bn | Big 12 | 2014–2016 | Chris Hopps | 1985 | QF (2014, 2015) |
| UCLA | $2.6 bn | Pac-12 | 2013–2017 | Scott Stewart | 1934 | QF (2013, 2014, 2015) |
| Utah | $670 m | Pac-12 | 2014–2016[10] | Paul Benson | ??? | QF (2014, 2015, 2016) |
| Utah Valley | 2017 | QF (2017) | ||||
- Utah was supposed to be one of the eight teams participating in the 2013 inaugural Varsity Cup, but the Utah rugby team was suspended by the school,[11] with Central Washington replacing Utah in the 2013 Varsity Cup.[12]
- Arkansas State committed in 2014 to join the Varsity Cup beginning in 2015, in significant part due to the ability of the tournament to improve the name recognition of the school's rugby program.[13]
- Arizona State joined the Varsity Cup in 2015 to increase the prowess of their Olympic athletes.[14]
- Oklahoma was supposed to participate in the 2015 Varsity Cup but had to forfeit their scheduled match vs. Utah due to the use of ineligible players.[15]
Results
Summary
| Date | Champion | Final Score | Runner Up | Broadcast | Attendance | Location | Stadium | Other Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2013[16] | BYU | 27–24 | Cal | YouTube | 3,000 | Provo, UT | BYU's South Field | CWU, Navy |
| May 3, 2014[17] | BYU | 43–33 | Cal | NBCSN | 10,172 | Salt Lake City, UT | Rio Tinto Stadium | CWU, Navy |
| May 2, 2015[18] | 30–27 | Cal | NBCSN | 9,033 | Salt Lake City, UT | Rio Tinto Stadium | CWU, Navy | |
| May 7, 2016 | Cal | 40–29 | BYU | NBCSN | Provo, UT | BYU's South Field[19] | CWU, Ark. St. | |
| May 6, 2017 | Cal | 43–13 | Arkansas State | NBCSN | Santa Clara, CA | Stevens Stadium | Penn State, Navy | |
Note: BYU's 2015 victory was vacated because BYU fielded an ineligible player.[20] Upon the discovery and further questions of the usage of ineligible players by BYU, the team left the Varsity Cup and rejoined D1-A.[21][22]
2013
| Quarterfinals (April 20) | Semifinals (April 27) | Final (May 4) | |||||||||||
| 1 | BYU | 69 | |||||||||||
| 8 | UCLA | 8 | |||||||||||
| 1 | BYU | 53 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Central Washington | 20 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Central Washington | 81 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Air Force | 28 | |||||||||||
| 1 | BYU | 27 | |||||||||||
| 2 | California | 24 | |||||||||||
| 2 | California | 77 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Notre Dame | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | California | 74 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Navy | 6 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Dartmouth | 0 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Navy | 32 | |||||||||||
2014
| Regionals (April 12) | Super Regionals (April 19) | Semifinals (April 26) | Final (May 3) | |||||||||||||||
| BYU | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 33 | |||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 43 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 33 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 25 | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
2015
| Regionals (April 4) | Super Regionals (April 11) | Semifinals (April 18) | Final (May 2) (NBCSN) |
|||||||||||||||
| BYU | 45 | |||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 32 | |||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 35 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 18 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 27 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 100 | |||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 57 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 26 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 23 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 23 | |||||||||||||||||
Note: BYU's 2015 victory was vacated because BYU fielded an ineligible player.[23]
2016
| 1st Round (April 9) | Quarterfinals (April 16) | Semifinals (April 23) | Championship (May 7) NBCSN |
|||||||||||||||
| BYU | 113 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 25 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 20 | |||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 31 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 57 | |||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 29 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 138 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
| Army West Point | 29 | |||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Army West Point | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| California | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 13 | |||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 44 | |||||||||||||||||
| Central Washington | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 31 | |||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 36 | |||||||||||||||||
Italicized teams hosted each round.
2017
| 1st Round (April 8) | Quarterfinals (April 15) | Semifinals (April 22) | Championship (May 6) NBCSN |
|||||||||||||||
| 1 | California | 71 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Clemson | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Clemson | 36 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Dartmouth | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | California | 35 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Army West Point | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Notre Dame | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Army West Point | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State | 47 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Harvard | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State | 100 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | California | 43 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Arkansas State | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Central Washington | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Navy | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Navy | 64 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Boston College | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Navy | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Arkansas State | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | UCLA | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Utah Valley | 40 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Utah Valley | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Arkansas State | 39 | ||||||||||||||||
| – | Oklahoma | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Arkansas State | 69 | ||||||||||||||||
Italicized teams hosted each round.
Records
Most points for one team (single match):
- 136 — California vs Texas (2016)
- 113 — BYU vs Arizona State (2016)
- 100 — California vs Texas (2015)
- 100 — Penn State vs Harvard (2017)
List of broadcasters
The following table shows the broadcasters for each year's final match.
| Year | TV Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | YouTube | Brian Hightower | Salesi Sika | |
| 2014[24] | NBCSN | Todd Harris | Brian Hightower | Marty Snider |
| 2015[25] | NBCSN | Todd Harris | Brian Hightower | Marty Snider |
| 2016[26] | NBCSN | Bill Seward | Brian Hightower | Tanith White |
| 2017 | NBCSN | |||
References
- "USA Rugby: What BYU won was a mythical championship", Deseret News.
- http://unitedworldsports.com/our-properties/
- "Varsity Cup creates promotional broadcast partnership with NBC, UWS", Varsity Cup.
- "Varsity Cup, USA 7s parent, NBC in landmark pact", Gainline, June 21, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- "BYU Rugby joins Varsity Cup Championship", Provo Daily Herald, July 17, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- "USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a mythical championship'", Deseret News. May 17, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- "New college 15s championship points to business goals", Gainline, July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- "Varsity Cup's Death D1As Rebirth", Rugby Today, November 28, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2017/03/varsity-cup-adds-teams-sets-final.html
- http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2017/03/utah-opts-out-of-varsity-cup.html
- "University of Utah suspends its club rugby program ", Salt Lake Tribune, April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- "Central Washington Replaces Utah in Varsity Cup", This is American Rugby, April 5, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- "Arkansas State Joins Expanding Varsity Cup", Rugby Today, July 2, 2014.
- "Varsity Cup Adds Arizona State". United World Sports. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- "Oklahoma Makes it Official - No Varsity Cup". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
- Linehan's dramatic dropkick gives BYU men's rugby Varsity Cup national title with win over Cal, Provo Daily Herald, May 5, 2013.
- BYU rugby: Cougars defeat California in 2014 Varsity Cup Final, capture third straight national championship, Deseret News, May 3, 2014.
- BYU Wins Thriller, Fourth Consecutive Title, Rugby Today, May 2, 2015.
- "Varsity Cup Final Venue, PRP Rescheduling, Tracking Camps". This is American Rugby. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
- "With 2017 fast approaching, the Varsity Cup has a few questions to answer", Goff Rugby Report, December 26, 2016.
- byu-out-varsity-cup
- byu-joins-d1a-rugby-as-independent
- "With 2017 fast approaching, the Varsity Cup has a few questions to answer", Goff Rugby Report, December 26, 2016.
- "NBCSN PRESENTS 2014 VARSITY CUP NATIONAL RUGBY COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET". NBC Sports Press Box. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- "NBCSN PRESENTS 2015 PENN MUTUAL VARSITY CUP NATIONAL RUGBY COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET". NBC Sports Press Box. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
- "CAL FACES BYU IN 2016 PENN MUTUAL VARSITY CUP NATIONAL RUGBY COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET ON NBCSN: BYU Cougars Face Cal Golden Bears in Championship Match For Fourth Consecutive Year". NBC Sports Press Box. Retrieved May 5, 2016.