Pretty much every year in the Mid-American Conference has seen the same teams compete for the championship.
Bowling Green is in the hunt every year, and wins almost every year. But they have been pushed, with Louisville interrupting BGSU’s 40-year run of conference titles with championship wins in 2022 and 2023.
Bowling Green pulled it back last year in a one-point comeback thriller.
But could we see something different this year?
BGSU’s recruiting has been strong and while they are drawing heavily from Ohio, that’s a state with a lot of good high school rugby players. The Falcons know they will need to work hard for it, and Louisville, after an astonishing three-year run, they still have some players who have been central to their efforts. They lost some experience in their tight five but have some talent coming through.
Who else?
Keep an eye on Dayton, which has a chance to take a step forward, even with a Week 1 opener against those self-same Louisville Cardinals.
Cincinnati and Western Michigan have often been tenaciously close to the top, and they could be again this year.
“We’re very excited for the upcoming season,” said University of Cincinnati Head Coach Kyle Roche. “We’re returning a very strong group, especially in the forwards.”
All but one of their starting forward pack that lost in the semis to Bowling Green return, with John Reddy having enjoyed a strong 2024 season. And all-conference prop Andrew McGlaughlin is back after a semester away on a co-op career-building program. His presence will be huge.
“The biggest opportunity for new faces into the first side will be in the backline,” added Roche. “We graduated five seniors, including our starting centers.”
