Miami of Ohio's convincing victory over Middle Tennessee State was the tipping point to get the team into GRR's Top 15 among D2 college teams.
It's a step for something of a comeback for a program that hit some tough times over the past years.
"We have a great group of student-athletes excited about rugby and the club," said club President Wesley Seay.
Numbers are up, with most of them underclassmen.
"We've been fortunate to have quite a few freshmen and sophomores who have previous experience playing rugby in high school, which has been essential in our quick development and success so far this season," said Seay. "As a club sport with limited resources, we have been engaging in a lot of grassroots recruitment on campus and social media and have had some success recruiting students with no previous playing experience, many of whom have been key players on our team so far this year despite a lack of rugby knowledge."
Seay credits the team's more experienced players with getting the new recruits up to speed. That rugby experience then gets shared quickly.