We're getting close to the climax of college 7s.
The tournament frequency and meaning will ramp up starting this coming weekend, and here's a quick look at what has happened so far.
St. Joseph's swept the Keystone series, and did so in pretty impressive fashion. 7s Training Plan at Heart of St. Joe's Spring.
Fordham won the first two of the Empire Series, and has looked quite strong so far. In the latest final at Colgate, Fordham shut out Stony Brook 31-0 in the final. Stony Brook had all the right moves, but Fordham had an answer for each one of them. The first half Fordham came out with a fire which was backed up with a physical brand of rugby. They stayed in Stony Brooks face and gave them little time to execute. In the second half, Fordham did not deviate from their clinical approach. They controlled the pace of the game by staying collected and slowing it down. Even with the game all but over, Fordham played for their shirts and added one more try before the final whistle.
So Fordham looks to be in good shape for the Empire title.
South Carolina also were winners a week ago, taking the SEC 7s and with it garnering a spot in the CRC 7s Invitational. The Gamecocks were in control. shutting out Mississippi State and Georgia in pool play, and also beating Alabama 24-5. In the semis they also shut out their opponents, Tennessee, and capped it all off with a 26-12 win over Kentucky - their toughest game, as the two teams were tied 12-12 at halftime.
Alabama took 3rd and will be, along with Kentucky, looking to play at USA Rugby's nationals.
AIC won the Scott Miley 7s AIC Wins Scott Milley 7s, and Wyoming won the Rocky Mountain 7s, bating Colorado in the final. Wyoming certainly shed some flashes early in the season.
This past weekend, FIU won the Tropical 7s (not a qualifier, and FIU has qualified anyway), and Dartmouth won the Ivy League while Sanford won the Pac West.
Here's a list of 7s tournaments during the season. These are DI qualifiers for USA Rugby and/or the CRC, or other tournaments with DI men's college teams involved. Below that is a list of who is (or could be) slated to play in the two major 7s tournaments at the end of the season.
| Date | Tournament Name | Winner | Qualifier | Notes |
| 10/8/2016 | West Coast 7s (SLO) | Cal | Going to CRC | |
| 11/15/2016 | NCRC 7s | CWU | USAR | |
| 10/22-23/'16 | West Coast 7s (San Francisco) | Arizona | USAR | |
| 11/12-13/'16 | PAC Conference 7s (Tucson) | Cal | Going to CRC | |
| 1/28/2017 | SIRC 7s | FIU | USAR | |
| 2/12/2017 | Furman Invitational 7s | Clemson | ||
| 2/18/2017 | New Orleans Collegiate Sevens | LSU | ||
| 2/18/2017 | Scrum for the Cure | South Carolina | ||
| 2/18/2017 | Chesapeake Conference Series | Bowling Green | Part of a Series | |
| 2/25/2017 | Moosemen 7s | Ohio State | ||
| 2/25/2017 | Bix XII 7s | Arkansas | USAR | |
| 2/25/2017 | Chesapeake Conference Series | Maryland | Part of a Series | |
| 3/2/2017 | Las Vegas Invitational | Lindenwood | CRC | |
| 3/4/2017 | Elon 7s (NC) | Duke | NSCRO | |
| 3/11/2017 | Wheeling Jesuit 7s | Canceled | ||
| 3/18/2017 | NDC 7s | Canceled | ||
| 3/19/2017 | 2016 Ariel Re Bermuda Sevens | Kutztown | ||
| 3/25/2017 | Heart of America Classic | AIC | CRC/USAR | AIC Going to CRC |
| 3/25/2017 | SoConn 7s | UNC-W | Part of a Series | |
| 3/25/2017 | SEC 7s | Canceled | Part of a Series | |
| 3/25/2017 | Chesapeake Conference Series | Kutztown | ||
| 3/25/2017 | Keystone 7s (Temple) | St. Joseph's | Part of a Series | |
| 4/1/2017 | Empire Sevens I (Stony Brook) | Kutztown/Fordham | Part of a Series | |
| 4/1/2017 | Hogan Memorial 7s | Ohio State | ||
| 4/1/2017 | SEC 7s | South Carolina | USAR | Final |
| 4/1/2017 | Chesapeake Conference Series | Virginia Tech | Part of a Series | |
| 4/1/2017 | Keystone 7s (West Chester) | St. Joseph's | Part of a Series | |
| 4/1/2017 | CCRC April Fool's | Old Dominion | ||
| 4/8/2017 | Keystone 7s (Millersville) | St. Joseph's | Part of a Series SJU to CRC | |
| 4/8/2017 | Michigan 7s | Wisconsin | ||
| 4/8/2017 | Chancellor's Cup 7s (TexasA&M) | Texas A&M | ||
| 4/8/2017 | St. Bonaventure Sevens | Kutztown | ||
| 4/8/2017 | SEC 7s Finals | South Caroiina | CRC | |
| 4/8/2017 | Rocky Mountain 7s | Wyoming | USAR | |
| 4/9/2017 | Scott Miley 7s | AIC | USAR | |
| 4/9/2017 | Empire Sevens II (Colgate) | Fordham | Part of a Series | |
| 4/15/2017 | Capital 7s | USAR | ||
| 4/15/2017 | Ivy League | Dartmouth | ||
| 4/15/2017 | Pacific Western 7s | Stanford | USAR | |
| 4/15/2017 | Tropical 7s | FIU | ||
| 4/22/2017 | Big Ten 7s | USAR | ||
| 4/22/2017 | Kutztown Sevens | |||
| 4/22/2017 | Empire Sevens III (Binghamton) | USAR | Series Finale | |
| 4/22/2017 | Jesuit 7s (Santa Clara, Calif.) | USAR | ||
| 4/22/2017 | MAC 7s | USAR | ||
| 4/22/2017 | Chesapeake Conference Series | USAR | ||
| 4/29/2017 | Red River Conf. 7s | USAR | ||
| 4/29/2017 | U. Buffalo 7s | |||
| 4/30/2017 | Chris Munn 7's | |||
| 4/30/2017 | AIC / Armory 7s | USAR | ||
| 5/13/2017 | Irish 7s | |||
| 5/19/2017 | USA Rugby Collegiate Championship | |||
| 5/20/2017 | West Point 7s | |||
| 6/2/2017 | Collegiate Rugby Championship Invitational |
CRC Invited or qualified: AIC (Qualified in HOA), Arizona, Arkansas State, Army, Boston College, Clemson, Dartmouth, Indiana, Kutztown, Life, Lindenwood (Qualified in LVI), Navy, Notre Dame, Penn State, Saint Mary's, St. Joseph's, Temple, Tennessee, Cal, Delaware, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, South Carolina.
Teams that won a USA Rugby qualifier and are playing in the CRC: Cal, Arizona, AIC, St. Joseph's, South Carolina
USA Rugby Qualified: Florida International, Arkansas, Wyoming, Stanford, Central Washington
Remaining Qualifiers: Empire Final, Jesuit 7s, MAC 7s, Chesapeake Final, Red River, Armory 7s
The Men's DI tournament will have 16 teams. With as many as 11 teams qualifying directly, there are at least five, and probably more, at-large places available.
Here are your current at-large candidates (based on high finishes in recent tournaments, or with an eye toward teams that are going deep into the 15s playoff season): Colorado, Western Washington, Notre Dame College, Davenport, Ohio State, Kentucky, Alabama, Stony Brook, Fordham, Lindenwood-Belleville, St. Bonaventure, San Diego State, Grand Canyon, Central Florida, UC Davis, Cal Poly, Air Force, Bowling Green, JMU, Mount Saint Mary's, Iona, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Utah, Wheeling Jesuit.
Some of those at-large candidates could win a qualifier.
(Additional reporting and content by Conor O'Brien)
