Five Women's DII College conferences that participate in spring playoffs have announced, as a group, to join the College Rugby Association of American (CRAA), and work within the USA Rugby framework as the competition goes forward.

After discussion among the DII conferences who participate in spring playoffs, the following conferences have voted to move forward as a single unit to partner with CRAA and, as part of that, with the Women's Collegiate D1 Division:

Women's Spring DII College Conferences Joining CRAA:

Capital Conference (12):
American University
George Washington University
George Mason University
Georgetown University
University of Mary Washington
University of Maryland
Northern Virginia Community College
Old Dominion University
Towson University
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Virginia Commonwealth University
College of William & Mary

Carolinas Conference (6):
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolinas University
College of Charleston
UNC Charlotte
UNC Wilmington
Western Carolina University

Florida (5):
Florida International University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Gulf Coast University
University of Miami
Eckerd College

SIRC (up to 9):
(Teams to be announced)

Pacific Desert (7):
Claremont Colleges
Long Beach State University
Mira Costa College
Occidental College
San Diego State University
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
 

These conferences will play a spring 15s season and will call themselves the Women's Collegiate D2 Division - Spring. They will remain members of USA Rugby and will seek to establish a strategic partnership with CRAA for additional services that will benefit the division.

In addition, the Women's Collegiate D2 Division - Spring will partner with the Women's Collegiate D1 Division for the development and growth of the women's game.

"I think it was a good decision for the Division II Spring Conferences to join CRAA as a group. By joining Division I in partnering with CRAA, we should be able to provide better services at a reduced cost. I'm looking forward to working within the CRAA management structure to develop a strong organization that will benefit all the teams and players in the member conferences," said Bill Lucas, Capital Conference Commissioner.

This is another fairly big step in CRAA's growth, and an interesting pivot toward the women's game, with D1 Elite, D1, and Spring D2 now working within the organization that also oversees D1A.   

“CRAA looks forward to working with D2 Women in their efforts to improve the student athlete experience through sharing our best practices, standards, and creating better synergies within our divisions," said CRAA President Paul Keeler. :The growth of the women’s game is vital to the development of our sporting culture.”

CRAA has already announced that it will remain full members of USA Rugby, paying dues to the NGB and using USA Rugby (most likely) for insurance policies.

CRAA Makes Statement Emphasizing USA Rugby Partnership

The news was received positively by USA Rugby, with Scholastic Rugby chief Johnathan Atkeison saying that engaging with large groups, not just single conferences, is a good way forward.

"From the start of their discussions, the Women's D2 Spring Conferences were resolute in their desire to stay together as a group, and in finding an organization to help support and achieve that goal. We're entering a new phase of development in the college game and partnerships like this are going to drive future success," said Atkeison.

“It was very important for the Spring Division 2 teams to make this move together," added Emily Ogata, Pacific Desert RC Competitions Director. "We gain a lot of strength by continuing to operate as a group and I believe the division has set itself on a very successful path by opting to partner with D1 and CRAA. This decision has also allowed us to remain members of USA Rugby, which gives additional opportunities for collaboration. We have had preliminary conversations with ACRA about continued synergies between D1 women’s fall championships and ACRA D2 fall championships, and I am excited for the additional possibilities this relationship could bring to the D2 spring division.”

(This article has been updated as there have been changes to the conference team lists)