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Varsity Cup Championship

Summary

The Varsity Cup Championship was an American college rugby competition established in 2012 to serve as an invitational championship following the breakaway of several schools from Division 1-A Rugby.[1]

Varsity Cup
SportRugby union
Inaugural season2013
Ceased2017 (post-season)
Number of teams16
CountryUnited States
HoldersCal (2017)
Most titlesCal and BYU (2 titles each)
Websitevarsitycup.us
Broadcast partnerNBC Sports

The Varsity Cup was organized by United World Sport, the organization which also ran the USA Sevens tournament and the Collegiate Rugby Championship.[2] The 2014 Varsity Cup final was televised by NBC Sports on NBCSN.[3] The Varsity Cup's ability to get onto television was seen as a boost to the Varsity Cup and to the rugby programs of the member schools.[4]

The development of the Varsity Cup post-season tournament created some controversy. The Varsity Cup Championship did not replace Division 1-A Rugby, but it was endorsed by USA Rugby.[5] The schools participating in the Varsity Cup often referred to it as the national championship, but with the rival Division 1-A Rugby post-season tournament running concurrently, USA Rugby did not consider the Varsity Cup to be the national championship.[6]

The founding schools formed the Varsity Cup with a number of goals in mind. One was the ability to manage and control their playoff games. Another was to develop a tournament with commercial appeal, that would generate revenue from attendance and concessions, and that would generate marketing exposure through TV coverage.[7]

The Varsity Cup folded in November 2017 when the organizer, broadcast partner and a major sponsor, Penn Mutual, withdrew their support.[8]

Teams

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The teams invited to compete in the Varsity Cup were from schools where rugby enjoyed varsity status or advanced club status.[7]

Team School's
Endowment 		School's
NCAA
Affiliation 		Joined
V-Cup 		Head Coach Rugby
Since 		Best
VC Result
Air Force $28 m Mountain West 2013–2016 Denny Merideth 1969 QF (2013)
Arizona State $553 m Pac-12 2015–2016[9] Gary Lane 1975 R16 (2015, 2016)
Arkansas State $43 m Sun Belt Conf. 2015–2017 Mani Delaibatiki 1991 2nd (2017)
Army West Point $284 m Patriot League 2016–2017 Matt Sherman 1961 QF (2016, 2017)
Boston College 2017 R16 (2017)
BYU $957 m West Coast 2013–2016 David Smyth 1965 1st (2013, 2014)
Cal $3.0 bn Pac-12 2013–2017 Jack Clark 1882 1st (2016, 2017)
Central Washington $13 m Great Northwest 2013–2017 Tony Pacheco 1972 SF (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
Clemson $483 m ACC 2014–2017 Steve Lynch 1967 QF (2015, 2017)
Dartmouth $3.7 bn Ivy League 2013–2017 Gavin Hickie 1951 QF (2013, 2014, 2016)
Harvard Ivy League 2017 R16 (2017)
Navy ??? Patriot League 2013–2017 Mike Flanagan 1963 SF (2013, 2014, 2015)
Notre Dame $8.3 bn ACC 2013–2017 Justin Hickey 1961 QF (2013)
Oklahoma $1.2 bn Big 12 2014–2017 Doug Neubauer 1974 R16 (2014, 2016, 2017)
Penn State $3.0 bn Big 10 2016–2017 James Willocks 1962 R16 (2016)
Texas $6.0 bn Big 12 2014–2016 Chris Hopps 1985 QF (2014, 2015)
UCLA $2.6 bn Pac-12 2013–2017 Scott Stewart 1934 QF (2013, 2014, 2015)
Utah $670 m Pac-12 2014–2016[10] Paul Benson ??? QF (2014, 2015, 2016)
Utah Valley 2017 QF (2017)
  • Utah was supposed to be one of the eight teams participating in the 2013 inaugural Varsity Cup, but the Utah rugby team was suspended by the school,[11] with Central Washington replacing Utah in the 2013 Varsity Cup.[12]
  • Arkansas State committed in 2014 to join the Varsity Cup beginning in 2015, in significant part due to the ability of the tournament to improve the name recognition of the school's rugby program.[13]
  • Arizona State joined the Varsity Cup in 2015 to increase the prowess of their Olympic athletes. Soon after their coach was fired following a lawsuit in which it was revealed that an ineligible athlete assaulted an opponent. No criminal charges against Lane were filed and all civil litigation was settled out of court.[14]
  • Oklahoma was supposed to participate in the 2015 Varsity Cup but had to forfeit their scheduled match vs. Utah due to the use of ineligible players.[15]

Results

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Summary

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Date Champion Final score Runner Up Broadcast Attendance Location Stadium Other
Semifinalists
May 4, 2013[16] BYU 27–24 Cal YouTube 3,000 Provo, UT BYU's South Field CWU, Navy
May 3, 2014[17] BYU 43–33 Cal NBCSN 10,172 Salt Lake City, UT Rio Tinto Stadium CWU, Navy
May 2, 2015[18] BYU 30–27 Cal NBCSN 9,033 Salt Lake City, UT Rio Tinto Stadium CWU, Navy
May 7, 2016 Cal 40–29 BYU NBCSN Provo, UT BYU's South Field[19] CWU, Ark. St.
May 6, 2017 Cal 43–13 Arkansas State NBCSN Santa Clara, CA Stevens Stadium Penn State, Navy

Note: BYU's 2015 victory was vacated because BYU fielded an ineligible player.[20] Upon the discovery and further questions of the usage of ineligible players by BYU, the team left the Varsity Cup and rejoined D1-A.[21][22]

2013

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Quarterfinals (April 20) Semifinals (April 27) Final (May 4)
         
1 BYU 69
8 UCLA 8
1 BYU 53
4 Central Washington 20
4 Central Washington 81
5 Air Force 28
1 BYU 27
2 California 24
2 California 77
7 Notre Dame 0
2 California 74
6 Navy 6
3 Dartmouth 0
6 Navy 32

2014

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Regionals (April 12) Super Regionals (April 19) Semifinals (April 26) Final (May 3)
            
BYU 70
Dartmouth 15
Dartmouth 59
Clemson 24
BYU 60
Navy 0
Navy 64
Texas 10
Texas 55
Notre Dame 33
BYU 43
California 33
California 41
UCLA 0
Oklahoma 12
UCLA 77
California 58
Central Washington 14
Central Washington 25
Utah 24
Utah 71
Air Force 24

2015

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Regionals (April 4) Super Regionals (April 11) Semifinals (April 18) Final (May 2)
(NBCSN)
            
BYU 45
UCLA 16
UCLA 32
Air Force 12
BYU 35
Central Washington 8
Utah 1
Oklahoma 0
Utah 7
Central Washington 18
Central Washington 72
Arizona State 10
BYU 30
California 27
California 100
Texas 7
Texas 22
Notre Dame 17
California 57
Navy 15
Clemson 26
Arkansas State 22
Clemson 23
Navy 24
Dartmouth 22
Navy 23

Note: BYU's 2015 victory was vacated because BYU fielded an ineligible player.[20]

2016

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1st Round (April 9) Quarterfinals (April 16) Semifinals (April 23) Championship (May 7)
NBCSN
            
BYU 113
Arizona State 8
BYU 75
Dartmouth 15
Penn State 25
Dartmouth 30
BYU 68
Arkansas State 20
Clemson 0
Arkansas State 50
Arkansas State 31
Navy 24
Notre Dame 3
Navy 57
BYU 29
California 40
Texas 0
California 138
California 41
Army West Point 29
Oklahoma 10
Army West Point 55
California 14
Central Washington 13
UCLA 15
Central Washington 44
Central Washington 58
Utah 5
Air Force 31
Utah 36

Italicized teams hosted each round.

2017

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1st Round (April 8) Quarterfinals (April 15) Semifinals (April 22) Championship (May 6)
NBCSN
            
1 California 71
– Clemson 5
– Clemson 36
8 Dartmouth 29
1 California 35
5 Penn State 14
4 Army West Point 41
– Notre Dame 8
4 Army West Point 34
5 Penn State 47
– Harvard 7
5 Penn State 100
1 California 43
3 Arkansas State 13
2 Central Washington 24
7 Navy 27
7 Navy 64
– Boston College 14
7 Navy 7
3 Arkansas State 25
6 UCLA 14
– Utah Valley 40
– Utah Valley 12
3 Arkansas State 39
– Oklahoma 7
3 Arkansas State 69

Italicized teams hosted each round.

Records

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Most points for one team (single match):

  1. 136 — California vs Texas (2016)
  2. 113 — BYU vs Arizona State (2016)
  3. 100 — California vs Texas (2015)
  4. 100 — Penn State vs Harvard (2017)

List of broadcasters

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The following table shows the broadcasters for each year's final match.

Year TV Network Play-by-play announcers Color commentators Sideline reporters
2013 YouTube Brian Hightower Salesi Sika
2014[23] NBCSN Todd Harris Brian Hightower Marty Snider
2015[24] NBCSN Todd Harris Brian Hightower Marty Snider
2016[25] NBCSN Bill Seward Brian Hightower Tanith White
2017 NBCSN

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hougaard, Todd (17 May 2013). "USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a mythical championship'". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Our Properties | United World Sports". Archived from the original on 2013-09-24.
  3. ^ "Varsity Cup creates promotional broadcast partnership with NBC, UWS", Varsity Cup.
  4. ^ "Varsity Cup, USA 7s parent, NBC in landmark pact", Gainline, June 21, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "BYU Rugby joins Varsity Cup Championship", Provo Daily Herald, July 17, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "USA Rugby: 'What BYU won ... was a mythical championship'", Deseret News. May 17, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "New college 15s championship points to business goals", Gainline, July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  8. ^ "Varsity Cup's Death D1As Rebirth", Rugby Today, November 28, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  9. ^ "This Is American Rugby: Varsity Cup Adds Teams, Sets Final Location". Archived from the original on 2017-03-24.
  10. ^ "This Is American Rugby: Utah Opts Out Of Varsity Cup". Archived from the original on 2017-03-21.
  11. ^ "University of Utah suspends its club rugby program ", Salt Lake Tribune, April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  12. ^ "Central Washington Replaces Utah in Varsity Cup", This is American Rugby, April 5, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  13. ^ "Arkansas State Joins Expanding Varsity Cup", Rugby Today, July 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "Varsity Cup Adds Arizona State". United World Sports. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  15. ^ "Oklahoma Makes it Official - No Varsity Cup". Goff Rugby Report. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  16. ^ Linehan's dramatic dropkick gives BYU men's rugby Varsity Cup national title with win over Cal, Provo Daily Herald, May 5, 2013.
  17. ^ BYU rugby: Cougars defeat California in 2014 Varsity Cup Final, capture third straight national championship, Deseret News, May 3, 2014.
  18. ^ BYU Wins Thriller, Fourth Consecutive Title, Rugby Today, May 2, 2015.
  19. ^ "Varsity Cup Final Venue, PRP Rescheduling, Tracking Camps". This is American Rugby. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  20. ^ a b "With 2017 fast approaching, the Varsity Cup has a few questions to answer", Goff Rugby Report, December 26, 2016.
  21. ^ byu-out-varsity-cup
  22. ^ byu-joins-d1a-rugby-as-independent
  23. ^ "NBCSN PRESENTS 2014 VARSITY CUP NATIONAL RUGBY COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET". NBC Sports Press Box. 2 May 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  24. ^ "NBCSN PRESENTS 2015 PENN MUTUAL VARSITY CUP NATIONAL RUGBY COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET". NBC Sports Press Box. 30 April 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  25. ^ "CAL FACES BYU IN 2016 PENN MUTUAL VARSITY CUP NATIONAL RUGBY COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. ET ON NBCSN: BYU Cougars Face Cal Golden Bears in Championship Match For Fourth Consecutive Year". NBC Sports Press Box. 5 May 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
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