Belmont Abbey To Join Rugby East
Belmont Abbey To Join Rugby East
The Rugby East Conference ha announced that the Belmont Abbey College Crusaders will join the conference effective August 1, 2024.
"We are very excited to welcome Belmont Abbey to the Rugby East," said Scott Zavrel, Rugby East Conference Commissioner. "The Crusaders are an ascending program, who already exist within our geographic footprint, and are making great strides towards becoming a powerhouse in the region. We are looking forward to our new partnership and to seeing the Crusaders achieve great things on and off the fields of play."
Based in Belmont, NC, Belmont Abbey added rugby as a full varsity program in 2019, and they have continued to steadily develop over the past four years. The Crusaders captured both the 2022 and 2023 Southern Collegiate Rugby Conference Championships and advanced into National Collegiate Rugby's (NCR) Division 1 15s playoffs. The Crusaders also experienced success playing 7's; including a 4th place finish in the Men’s Premier bracket at 2023 NCR Collegiate Rugby 7's Championship. That hybride (D1 and D1AA) Southern Conference competition involved just four conference games, and one of those games was canceled. Meanwhile, Belmont Abbey augmented its 2023 fall season with what amounted to a test Rugby East schedule, playing Mount St. Mary's, Mary Washington, Southern Virginia, and Queens. The Crusaders also played Rugby East team Kutztown in the NCR D1 playoffs, losing 11-7.
"This is exciting for our program on multiple fronts," said Nick Whitrow, Head Coach of the Crusaders. "The prospect of facing top-tier teams regularly is a thrilling challenge that motivates our students to push their boundaries and strive for excellence and virtue. Additionally, the increased visibility and recognition that comes with being part of Rugby East will help showcase the talent and dedication of our students, fostering a sense of pride and camaraderie within our program.
"The Rugby East is a power conference that every week provides top level competition. This exposure to strong competition will undoubtedly contribute to the growth and development of our students, enhancing their skills and elevating the overall performance of our program."
With the addition of Belmont Abbey, the Rugby East now has 12 programs; each affiliated with their respective institutions' Athletics departments. The Crusaders will compete within the South Division along with Life University, University of Mary Washington, Mount St. Mary's University, Queens University Charlotte, and Southern Virginia University. The North Division will continue to consist of Army West Point, Kutztown University, U.S. Naval Academy, Notre Dame College (OH), Penn State University, and St. Bonaventure University.
This makes things a little easier for the Rugby East when it comes to scheduling. The conference is actually split into North and South divisions, and operated with six in the North and five in the South in the fall of 2023. With six each in the two divisions the Zavrel and the conference as a whole have more flexibility to create a schedule that gives every team the same number of games (five in-division games plus two or three out-division conference games, for example).
