SANTA CLARA, CA – The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) is pleased to announce that women’s teams who are dual registered with CRAA and participate in other Fall championship competitions will now be eligible to compete in the CRAA Spring National Championship Pathway. This new eligibility structure reinforces CRAA’s commitment to expanding student-athlete opportunities and strengthening the competitive landscape of collegiate women’s rugby.
With the rise of women’s rugby in the USA, creating more opportunities for women’s collegiate rugby teams to play more rugby throughout the academic year is a core principle of CRAA. Allowing teams to play in a Fall competition and prepare to play in a more robust and competitive CRAA National Championship pathway creates a larger pool of eligible players for USA Rugby National Age-Grade selection.
Under this model, dual-registered teams competing in Fall-based competitions may transition into the CRAA Spring XVs season and pursue a national championship berth through the CRAA pathway. These teams will also be eligible to compete in the CRAA USA Rugby 7s National Championship.
The first programs confirmed to compete under this model are:
- Brigham Young University Women
- Pennsylvania State University Women
- Wheeling University Women
Each of these programs will compete in Fall championships outside the CRAA and USA Rugby umbrella and will transition to CRAA’s competitive season in the Spring, aiming to earn a place in the CRAA USA Rugby Women’s D1 National Championship.
“This approach reflects CRAA’s mission to support student-athlete opportunities while offering flexibility for programs to play more rugby,” said Paul Keeler, President of CRAA. “By opening the Spring pathway to dual-registered programs, we are ensuring that women’s teams have access to meaningful postseason play and playing more meaningful match minutes to prepare for the highly competitive CRAA Women’s competition and to increase the number of players into the USA Rugby National Pathway pool.”
CRAA will continue to work closely with its member institutions and partner organizations to ensure alignment, fairness, and clarity in the administration of its championship structures. Event dates, locations, and further competition details for the 2025-2026 Championship season will be announced in September 2025.
For more information, visit www.craa.rugby or contact withyou@craa.rugby.
