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.
As March is around the corner there’s the little matter of figuring out who will be in the Men’s DIAA playoffs.
The DIAA championship is starting to garner some interest around the nation, and programs realize this is a good post-season for smaller DI programs, clubs, and up-and-coming quasi-varsity teams.
LSU has taken a slow return to competitive rugby but faces a stiff test this coming weekend.
After a rough fall of 2014 when the program was suspended for an infraction at a post-match social, the Tigers are back on the field in good standing, and looking ahead to the Red River Conference season.
The University of Arkansas has qualified for the DIAA National Quarterfinals after thrashing Iowa State 62-7, and thus leapfrogging Kansas State and Missouri to the top of the Heart of America Conference.
While playoffs determine three of the remaining four DIAA national quarterfinalists, one regular-season game makes the decision in the Heart of America.
The University of Arkansas is 4-0-1 with 22 points in the standings. Missouri sits 4-1-1 with 25, and Kansas State is 5-1 with 25 points.
The University of Arkansas took one fairly big step closer to claiming the Heart of America conference with a 67-7 defeat of Truman State Saturday.
Their two main rivals won, also, but it still seems that the Razorbacks are in the driver's seat.
