The Pacific Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference will be concentrating on 7s for the better part of the fall as teams warm up to the 2014-2015 season.

While this schedule was set in part because of slow communication through the various hierarchies of USA Rugby, it might turn out to be the best fit for the teams in the Northwest. Sevens is an excellent way to incorporate new athletes into rugby, and with five or six tournaments available to the teams, there are plenty of opportunities to get game time in before the 15s season gets underway.

The season begins in the last weekend of September with the Viking 7s at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. The week after is split, with teams opting for either a tournament at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., or the Boise State tournament in Idaho. October 11 brings the Palouse Open 7s at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., and then the NCRC 7s conference championship in Ellensburg, Wash. October 18.

Oregon, Washington, and Washington State will likely enter the Pac 12 7s in November, but there are other options, too, with WWU having played in the Battle in the Bay tournament in San Francisco last year.

It’s not entirely clear if the NCRC would have had the same 7s-heavy fall had the conference been told in a timely manner that USA Rugby’s 7s championship would be moved to the spring. The unofficial news that the championship was to be moved came after the NCRC AGM, and last week NCRC Commissioner Matt Hudson said he was yet to be given formal notice of the change.

“The good news is that we can continue to do fall 7s, which I would assume most schools would be in favor because of Pac 12 7s in the fall,” said Hudson, who also said that it can be difficult for some schools that start classes late in the fall to get going in 15s early.

In the 15s season, each team will play seven games, and for most the season starts in January, with Western Oregon visiting Western Washington January 15. However, to fit in busy Central Washington’s busy schedule, which includes the Varsity Cup in the spring, both Washington State and Eastern Washington will visit CWU in November to get a head start.

Meanwhile, the NCRC has expended with the Northwest Cup including as many as 14 lower-division colleges. The likes of Gonzaga, Idaho, WSU Tri-Cities, North Idaho College, Whitman, The Evergreen State College, Lewis & Clark, Reed, University of Puget Sound, Willamette, Oregon Institute of Technology, Pacific, Southern Oregon, and, potentially, Central Oregon Community College will play in three divisions spanning the entirety of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, from Ashland in the very south of Oregon and Bend in the East, to Cour d’Alene in Idaho, central Washington, and the Seattle area.

The NW Cup winners can earn promotion to the NCRC.

NCRC DI Schedule:

NCRC 7s Tournaments:
Sept. 28 Viking 7s at WWU
Oct. 4 Boise State 7s or Oregon State 7s
Oct. 11 Palouse 7s at WSU
Oct. 18 NCRC 7s Finals

NCRC 15s League Fixtures
Nov. 15 WSU at CWU
Nov. 22 EWU at CWU

2015
Jan. 17 WOU at WWU
Jan. 24 CWU at Boise State
WWU at Oregon

Jan. 31 WSU at EWU
WWU at Washington
Oregon at WOU

Feb. 7 Boise State at WSU
CWU at WWU
Washington at Oregon

Feb. 14 EWU at Boise State
WOU at Washington
WSU at Oregon

Feb. 21 CWU at WOU
Washington at EWU
WWU at WSU

Feb. 28 Boise State at Oregon
EWU at WWU
WSU at Washington

Feb. 29 Boise State at WOU

March 7 WWU at Boise State
Washington at CWU
Oregon at EWU
WOU at WSU

March 14 Boise State at Washington
EW at WOU
Oregon at CWU

April 4 Semifinals

April 11 Final