The College Rugby Association of America has confirmed that it will hold its annual fall classic December 2 at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

The 10,500-seat Memorial Stadium is located next to Central Piedmont Community College and is the home venue for the Charlotte Independence soccer team.

The Fall Classic serves as the fall championship and bowl game event for the CRAA, which oversees D1A Men, D1 Elite Women, and championships for D1 Women and D2 Women.

While most of the championships are held in the spring, there will be a fall D1 Women College final at the Fall Classic. This final has, the last couple of years, helped steer some programs to the NCAA rolls at NIRA, with 2021 fall champion Davenport and 2022 fall champion Navy both moving on to that league. But even before these teams joined NIRA, USA Rugby’s fall champions usually came from the same two conferences—Rugby Northeast and Rocky Mountain—with the likes of Air Force and UConn being providing six of the 10 fall finalists from 2015 to 2019.

Those teams, along with Northeastern and a surging Colorado Mesa look to be the main competitors for a spot in Charlotte this fall.

Navy beat Utah State in last year's Women's D1 Final. Photo by Broadgauge Media.

In addition, there will be three men’s bowl games at the Fall Classic. The matchups are yet to be announced but this is often a good chance for D1A and D1AA teams to test where they sit.