The Tri-State Collegiate Rugby Conference Women's Division II teams have aligned with the American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA) for the 2020-21 Season.

The Tri-State Conference is home to a number of very competitive division II programs including Vassar College, the 2018 USA Rugby Fall Champions, and close neighbors Marist College perennial Northeast Region playoff contenders.

The recent turn of events with USA Rugby filing for bankruptcy and the onset of Covid-19 has caused collegiate teams to consider their competition pathways and support services. ACRA was formed in 2013 and was a popular option among women's teams as it produced a fall championship for over 70% of the women's collegiate teams in the USA. Now, ACRA is reconstituting itself and every conference will have representation on the Board.

ACRA will solely serve women's collegiate rugby teams and in addition to the competition pathways, organizers say they will invest in team growth strategies, coach and player development as well as assisting with team administration.

Teams will register and obtain insurance through USA Rugby, adhering to the individual and team eligibility criteria that has worked successfully over the past five years.

The Tri-State Conference teams that will play at the Division II level in 2020-21 are:

North Division
Fairfield University
Marist College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stony Brook University
University at Albany
Vassar College

South Division
Columbia University
Hofstra University
Montclair State University
Rutgers University
Siena College
SUNY-New Paltz

It is clear that the USA collegiate rugby map is fragmenting and becoming regionalized. Division II teams located on the west coast are reportedly joining the CRAA, Midwest teams are joining NSCRO/NCR, and the northeast and east are joining ACRA (with some exceptions). The south east and deep south teams have those options but it's not clear yet where they will align.

More information on ACRA coming soon.