Santa Clara, California – September 14, 2023 – With Life’s departure for Rugby East essentially dissolving the Mid-South Conference, a new more geographically compact conference has been established in the Midwest. Lindenwood and Davenport will be joining D1A newcomers Adrian and McKendree in a two-round competition across both semesters.
“Competitively, Adrian and McKendree have a clear message that they are aiming high and want to set themselves apart from the myriad of new varsity teams who are maybe slow playing themselves in terms of the level where they compete,” commented Lindenwood Head Coach Josh Macy
Newly minted Adrian Head Coach Zach Mizell stated, “I am excited to be joining Adrian as we transition to D1A and the Midwest conference in its first season! With weekly opportunities against high level opponents, we hope to give our student-athletes a chance to compete against the best high performance college programs in the country.. As a former D1A student-athlete I know how quickly one season can change your rugby career when competing at the highest level of competition and hope to give that same opportunity to our student-athletes.”
The new conference wants to drive more fifteens matches across a larger portion of the academic calendar, while creating more opportunities for awards and positive student experiences. The conference is already seeing interest from additional members for next season and has plans for men’s D1AA and D2 conferences across the large area of the Midwest.
Macy added “Lastly, players want to play, and to make the most of budgets you have to maximize geographic opportunities. Everyone deals with distance, and you need as many regional teams together as possible to drive a robust schedule, raise standards, and create an experience our students want. We want to lay a foundation for more teams to join and for us to create divisions at different levels of play and hyper-locally to keep things moving along. Any team is welcome.”
Boasting two D1A playoff teams, multiple national championships, and two more teams with high standards, full-time coaching, and institutional support, the Midwest Conference is certainly one to watch this year. The competition kicks off October 14th with Lindenwood traveling to McKendree and Adrian traveling to Davenport.
The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) is a USA Rugby sanctioned competition that includes premier divisions within Men’s and Women’s Collegiate rugby. The competition includes Men’s D1A, Women’s D1 Elite, Women’s D1 and Women’s D2. CRAA is committed to creating the best possible experience for student athletes, keeping commercial resources in the collegiate game, and creating experiences for our members to engage their academic institutions and alumni.
