The National Small College Rugby Organization will hold two sets of playoffs this weekend as the field of teams vying for a national NSCRO title get cut down significantly.

The Mid-Atlantic South Region Championship will be held this weekend at the Rugby Athletic Center in Charlotte, NC to determine who will represent Region 2 at the Champions Cup.  Also being held this weekend are the Pacific Coast Cup, hosted by Claremont-McKenna College in Claremont, Calif, and the Cowboy Cup, which will be hosted by Sports Properties United at the Albuquerque Fiesta Park, NM.  The winners of the Pacific Coast Cup and the Cowboy Cup will compete in the PacWest Region Championship on 16 - 17 April at California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA to see who will represent Region 2 at the Champions Cup in Glendale, CO on 30 April - 1 May 2016.

Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount), last year's Champions Cup runner-up and currently ranked #1 in the NSCRO Fall national rankings, will face University of North Florida (UNF) at the Mid-Atlantic Region Championship semi-final match.  Last year's champion, New England College, joined the East Coast Division IAA Conference last Fall and finished in 3rd place. The Mount has decided this competitive year to winning the National title and face a UNF Deadbirds side that is flying high after a strong performance at the South Cup two weeks ago.

In the other semi-final match at the Mid-Atlantic Region Championship, Bucknell University will make their first appearance in the NSCRO playoffs and will face off against Duke University.

The Mid-Atlantic Region Championship schedule is below:

Saturday, 2 April
12:00 PM EDT - Mount St. Mary's University vs. University of North Florida
2:00 PM EDT - Bucknell University vs. Duke University

Sunday, 3 April
10:00 AM EDT - Third/Fourth Place Match
12:00 PM EDT - Mid-Atlantic South Region Championship Match
1:45 PM EDT (approx.) - Awards Ceremony

The Mid-Atlantic South Region Championship will be live-streamed. Visit our website,www.nscro.org, for details. 

The Cowboy Cup finds the University of Denver taking on St. Edward's University in one semifinal, while the Rams from Angelo State University will have a run against the Vatos from New Mexico Highlands University. The Rams and Vatos are among the highest scoring teams in all of NSCRO so this should be quite the match up.

The Cowboy Cup schedule is as follows:

Saturday, 2 April
1:00 PM MDT - University of Denver vs. St. Edward's University
3:00 PM MDT - Angelo State University vs. New Mexico Highlands University

Sunday, 3 April
11:00 AM MDT - Third/Fourth Place Match
1:00 PM MDT - Cowboy Cup Championship Match
2:45 PM MDT (approx.) - Awards Ceremony

The Pacific Coast Cup sees California Maritime Academy taking on Azusa Pacific University, while The Claremont Colleges will face off against Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Pacific Coast Cup schedule is as follows:

Saturday, 2 April
10:30 AM PDT - The Claremont Colleges vs. Santa Rosa Junior College
12:30 PM PDT - California Maritime Academy vs. Azusa Pacific University

The top two teams from the Pacific Coast Cup and the Cowboy Cup will compete in the PacWest Region Championship.

Winners of the Mid-Atlantic South Region and the PacWest Region (determined on 16-17 April) will join Eastern Connecticut State University (Northeast Region/Region 1 Champions) and the University of Southern Indiana (Central Region/Region 3 Champions) at the Champions Cup.

For a full recap of the Champions Cup playoffs to date, go to www.nscro.org/mens-champions-cup on our website.

The NSCRO Champions Cup will be held on 30 April - 1 May 2016 at Infinity Park * Rugbytown USA * in Glendale, CO. All matches at the Champions Cup will be live streamed. Details will be available on our website as the event approaches.

Road to the NSCRO Challenge Cup
2014-15 saw the inaugural season for the NSCRO Challenge Cup national playoffs with about 90 teams competing for the title. Last April, the first ever NSCRO Challenge Cup title went to California’s University of the Pacific, the biggest accomplishment ever for a school that began playing rugby in 1908. 

Due to its success, more than 130 teams are now participating in the Challenge Cup playoff pathway - raising the competitive bar higher. In the Fall, Salem State University, representing East Coast/Region 1, earned the first spot in the Challenge Cup Championships which will be held on23 - 24 April 2016 at Founders Field in Cheswick, PA. 

The three remaining Region Championship matches will be held this weekend to determine who will fill the last three spots at the Challenge Cup.  The schedules and locations of these matches are as follows:

Region 2 (Central) Championship - 2 April 2016
Hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH
2:00 PM EDT - University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown vs. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
3:30 PM EDT Award Ceremony

Region 3 (West) Championship - 3 April 2016
Hosted by Sports Properties United at the Albuquerque Fiesta Park, NM
11:00 AM MDT - Tarleton State University vs. University of Northern Colorado
2:45 PM MDT (approx.) - Award ceremony

Region 4 (Pacific Coast) Championship - 2 & 3 April 2016
Hosted by the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
11:00 AM PDT (2 April) - University of Puget Sound vs. University of San Francisco
1:30 PM PDT (2 April) - University of Puget Sound vs. Point Loma Nazarene University
4:00 PM PDT (2 April) - Point Loma Nazarene University vs. University of San Francisco

12:00 PM PDT (3 April) - Region 4 Championship Match with award ceremony immediately after