The LSU Men's Rugby Team is moving to DIA and will compete in the Red River Conference in 2015-16.

Assistant Coach Scott McLean confirmed the switch with Goff Rugby Report, saying there were several factors involved in the decision.

"We want to play 15s in the spring, and the Red River season allows us to do that," said McLean. "The SEC conference was really good and there a lot of really strong teams there, but this made more sense from a competition and a logistics point of view."

The teams in the Red River - Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas Tech, and TCU - are marginally closer than those in the SCRC. 

"We look at seven hours as kind of the range of travel we want to work in, and we can get a lot of good competition within seven hours in the Red River," said McLean.

LSU has come back from a suspension related to the serving of beer at a post-match function. The team served its penalty and the players underwent some education and training. Now they are back, and it was the players who voted to make the switch.

"The players want to play in as good a competition as they can, and they want to play in DIA," said McLean.

It's a boost for the conference, too, as LSU is routinely a top competitor. With a strong group of freshmen coming in for this coming fall, the Tigers are in a good position to compete.