The Great Lakes Collegiate Rugby Conference is a regional women's and men’s collegiate club-rugby league (D2) operating under the umbrella of National Collegiate Rugby (NCR), representing universities across the Great Lakes region. It provides a structured competitive platform where member schools play within the conference during the regular season and vie for qualification into national playoffs under NCR’s governance.
Grand Valley State put down a bit of a marker this weekend, beating a very good Miami of Ohio side 61-0 Saturday to take control of the Great Lakes conference.
GVSU has been playing some challenging opponents, some in DI, in order to be better prepared for the playoffs, and boy did that pay dividends.
Coming off a season where they made the NCR D2 semifinals, Grand Valley State University coaches and players realized one thing—they needed to play more tough games early.
For scrumhalf Calvin Schwandt, the idea of doing more, and then, perhaps, doing more again, is just fine.
The best Men's D2 college team that didn't get a spot in the playoffs is almost certainly Miami of Ohio, and there are a few reasons for that.
While Miami didn't make the playoffs because they were a close second in a conference that only got one bid to the postseason, Head Coach Killan Mulkern's squad played with intelligence, experience, and something extra.
Grand Valley State University stormed back from a 28-10 deficit to beat Miami of Ohio in probably the game of the year in the Great Lakes D2 Conference.
Miami took an early lead and held it until the final 20 minutes.
"It was a lead Miami deserved," said GVSU Head Coach John Mullett.
Grand Valley State University won a key game in the Great Lakes Conference, taking down rivals Central Michigan 30-5.
Injuries have hit CMU a little bit but the side they fielded was a hard-nosed one that didn't back down.
De La Salle HS
Saint Mary's (Rudy Scholz Finalist)
USA U20s (Captain)
USA Men's National 15s Team (Debut vs Georgia 2023 at age 20)
As a 17-year-old Spencer Huntley required a waiver to play for the USA U20s, an indication of how he was rated in the USA age-grade pathway. He got that waiver and impressed for the USA U20s, and then moved up to the USA U23s. He led the San Diego Mustangs to a national HS Club championship in 2024.
He also played in the SoCal single-school league for Cathedral Catholic.
Hope Rogers began playing rugby at age 16 in high school and continued to compete during her time at Penn State University. There, she won four National Championships, was crowned MVP on two occasions, was named to the USA Under-20s and earned Collegiate All-American honors for four years. Rogers was also an impressive discus player during her senior year in high school where she broke a school record and won Gold at Districts for the sport.
Mike played for Life College, Philly-Whitemarsh and played for the USA National 7s and 15s teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was also part of the Atlantis touring side, playing 7s for the team in several around the world.
