Kennesaw State is dense with nervous energy, as four college national championships prepare to play out tomorrow. For women’s DII finalist UC Riverside, it’s an experience that almost never happened. The Southern California team fundraised for trips to Albuquerque and Pittsburgh, but cashed in every favor to afford the trip to the spring championship. Heading into the April 26 spring final against CSU Northridge, Riverside coach Roger Light wanted to win, but he had no idea how the team was going to afford another cross-country trip in less than two weeks.

The Highlanders did win, by one point on the last play of the game, and that game-ending thrill helped Riverside recommit to another blistering fundraising campaign to get to Georgia. As soon as we reported on Riverside’s woes, West Chester coach Tony DeRemer reached out.

“Players who've never had to go through that experience, or even players who played in high school and did have that experience, tend to forget what it was like to struggle financially to travel every weekend,” said DeRemer, whose DI varsity program is financially covered by the university. “UC Riverside, although achieving an amazing accomplishment of making the national championship game, had found themselves in a crazy predicament of having to travel across country three times to attend the championship match. When we read their story, it was a no-brainer that the girls wanted to help them. We were at Pittsburgh for the national semifinals with them, but we had never met them or seen them play. We just felt that another team needed assistance, and we were going to try to help them as much as we could.”

West Chester was at last year’s DI final four in Stanford, and playing in that professional environment is unforgettable. The Golden Rams’ playoffs ended in Pittsburgh, but the players collected $500 so that Riverside’s could continue.

“We were hoping to help at least one player get to the championship if we could,” DeRemer said. “Every little bit helps I guess. It's a really nice feeling to give back to rugby even though we do not have those types of expenses anymore. 

“It also gives them a sense of inclusion in the national championship game, and a new team and new friends to cheer for this weekend,” DeRemer added.

The Women’s DII College Championship kicks off at 10 a.m. ET and can be viewed here. The Women’s DI final occurs at 2 p.m. For some background on both title bouts, read:

Tale of the Tape: Penn State v Central Washington

Notre Dame's One-Game Season

Riverside is the DII Spring Champion