CRAA Classic Offers Impressive Showdowns in South Carolina

North American Challenge Bowl
Life University vs. University of British Columbia. Kickoff 6:30 PM

Coming off a season in which they finished 2nd in D1A, Life University went 7-1 this fall, with their only loss being 29-21 to Navy. Despite some graduations and player shifts, the Running Eagles have been fairly dominant, with their closest victory being by a margin of 28 points.

Meanwhile, UBC finished 3rd in Canada's University championship, beating Université de Montreal in the quarterfinals, losing 13-7 to eventual champions Guelph, and then beating UVic 27-12 for third.

So they are, like Life, a major national contender and a program that produces national team players. In addition, like Life, UBC feeds into a men's club that plays at a high level. Life's men's team won the ARP. In last year's BC Premier League, the UBC RFC team (which includes undergrads and graduate students) went 13-3 and finished 2nd behind Burnaby Lake.

Sunday, Dec 7

Spartan Regiment Bowl
Mount Saint Mary’s  vs. Arkansas State University. Kickoff Noon

The Mount finished 2-3 in the Rugby East, and outside of their conference games they beat Davenport and St. Thomas. Featuring some players with high-level expectations, the Mount is a tough competitor.

Arkansas State is 4-1 this fall, which includes conference wins over Danveport and McKendree, and also a victory over St. Thomas. Their lone loss is to Lindenwood. They have a potent offense, and their 33-17 loss to Lindenwood was nothing to be ashamed of.

Battle of Cowpens Bowl
St. Thomas vs. University of Mary Washington. Kickoff 2:30PM

St. Thomas won CRAA's D1AA final in dramatic fashion last fall. They (as well as the team they beat, San Diego) have moved up to D1A. Their early games were losses, but that's to be expected as the Bobcats have ramped up their schedule this fall. That experience has been crucial.

UMW is coming off winning the 2024-25 CRAA Challenge Cup, and while they were "only" 1-4 in the always-difficult Rugby East, they also beat Southern Virginia and Ohio State.

Schedule Change

And speaking of Ohio State, for the first time since the CRAA Fall Classic has been held, the Buckeyes won't be there. That's not their fault. They were schedule to play Utah State but USU pulled out fairly late. A suitable opponent could not be found for OSU at late notice, so the Buckeyes vs Aggies game, or any game involving Ohio State, won't happen.

This is a shame and speaks to how important it is for college teams to have travel logistics and control. Many colleges work with their schools to. basically make flight arrangements en masse, and then, if the players or the team (or some combination) are ultimately paying for it, the University is paid back by those people.

It works quite well because universities are very good at chasing people down for money. If you simply depend on players to make their individual travel arrangements, that won't happen.

This means Day Two has two games, not three.

But the six total games will supply excellent challenges for all concerned, and the inclusion of University of British Columbia opens the door for more competitions across the USA's northern border.