The Heart of American DIAA conference has settled its schedule for the fall of 2021.

The conference welcomes back Arkansas and also brings in the University of Minnesota, which moves from the Big 10.  

The addition of these two programs makes the HOA now ten teams strong, so the teams within the conference agreed to split the conference into two geographical divisions.

It helps that these teams in the conference are all quite competitive, giving both sides a good level of games to play.

The North is comprised of Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Truman State. The South is comprised of Kansas, Kansas State, Mizzou, Oklahoma State, and Arkansas.

Following the conclusion of divisional round-robins the top two teams from each division will play crossover matches in a two-game playoff weekend. The remaining six teams will play a crossover match with their corresponding seed from the opposite division for placement. With the addition of Minnesota and Arkansas the Heart of America has become one of the strongest DIAA conferences in the country.

Iowa State: 2019 15s and 7s conference champions and CRC champions bracket 3rd place in 2021. Iowa State retains almost their entire roster, including thre-year starters Griffin Huffmon and Mark Murphy and Co-Captain Owen McGuffin, and longtime assistants Evan Sunde and Matt Brotherton rejoin Head Coach Anthony Frein for the fall. 

Iowa: Iowa has over 40 players practicing while they were not allowed to play matches last year. Tyler Dailey has been coaching the club since the 2018/19 season and they have the stability to perform well.

Nebraska: Nebraska qualified for 7s nationals in 2019 and has had the consistent coaching of Niko Waqalaivi and Derek Peterson for a while.

Truman State: Truman State has the most tenured coaching and infrastructure in the conference with Dr. William Sexton being the most tenured HOA leader.

Minnesota: Minnesota qualified for 7s nationals in 2019 and Coach Lindersmith was able to get the Gophers playing matches in spring of 2021.

Kansas: Qualified for 15s nationals in 2019 and was in pole position before the COVID shutdown. Coach Schwartz and staff have a talented team ready to take the field after the long layoff.

Kansas State: Kansas State was able to play a few matches in spring of 2021 and looks to build off a 2019 season that saw them travel to Ames for a shot at the 15s title in the final week of the season.

Mizzou: The University of Missouri is looking to reclaim their grasp on the HOA after their reign in 15s was ended in 2019. Mizzou has maintained the same club leadership and coaching (Don Corwin) through the COVID shutdown.

Oklahoma State: New club leadership look to get the Cowboys back on track.

Arkansas: Arkansas has been a fixture at 7s nationals in the 2010s and look to return to form coming back to the HOA after a stint in D1A. Warren Fyfe remains the Head Coach of a Razorbacks program that produces solid rugby every year.

Heart of American 2021 Conference Schedule