The Heart of America (HOA) is a Division I-AA men's college rugby conference that expanded to 12 teams for the 2025-2026 season. It operates under the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) and is made up of schools from the middle part of the USA—Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.
The conference plays its 15s season in the fall but enters its champion in the CRAA D1AA postseason in the spring.
Iowa State was named one of FloRugby's potential breakout DI college teams, and things have been going well for the team so far.
ISU beat Iowa two weekends ago 43-0, getting four tries from center Joe Dillon, and two from scrumhalf Emmett Wagner.
Call it the bracket where no one knows each other.
The eastern side of the DIAA spring playoffs brings four disparate teams together at the Upward Star Center in Spartanburg, SC.
American International College earned a place in the CRC by winning the two-day Heart of America 7s tournament Sunday.
Eighteen college rugby teams will compete in the Heart of America Classic this weekend in Kansas City, Mo., an automatic qualifier for the CRC 7s invitational this coming June in Chester, Pa.
Of the teams involved, one, Lindenwood University, is already qualified having won the Las Vegas Invitational qualifier earlier this month. The rest are looking to get that golden ticket.
One of the interesting surprises in Men's DIAA college rugby is that there's an impression held by some in the East that most of the season is played in the fall.
That's not exactly the case, given that the Gold Coast, Pacific West, NCRC, and Mountain States all start in the winter, and the Heart of America and Ivy League (playoffs, anyway) finish off in the spring.
