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02.22.2022
211106 pac 7s rugby rd2 3 barpal 0728

USA Rugby's Collegiate Council-sanctioned college 7s championships, the NCCR 7s, is set for May 14-15 at Kennesaw State University's main stadium, and there are some familiar aspects to the event.

Both this AEG/CRAA/Collegiate Council event and National Collegiate Rugby's May Madness carry features from the old CRC 7s which ran from 2011 to 2019. NCR's May Madness uses the name and has received license to use logos and and the CRC's old social media account. 

The NCCR 7s has linked up with NBC, which showed the CRC for almost its entire run, and has re-introduced a key aspect of the old CRC's business model—teams are on the hook for a portion of the ticket sales.

Now, this isn't new. College Football Bowl Games expect participants to sell tickets, and, as we said, the old CRC expected participating teams to sell several thousand dollars' worth of tickets. We talked to Life University Head Coach Colton Cariaga, who has been involved in developing this event (in part because the event is on his doorstep in the Atlanta area). Cariaga said that college rugby programs that played in the old CRC, or who wanted to play in it, understood that the ticket-selling thing was part of the deal.

Basically, invited teams need to buy $5,000 in tickets (100 tickets), which ideally they'd sell to fans or alumni who would attend the event, fill the stadium, have a great weekend watching some college rugby, and look good on TV. (This $5,000 is, if memory serves, less than what the old CRC expected of the men's-team invitees.) The idea is to leverage team loyalty to get fans in seats. 

Note: the other aspect is that teams at AEG's NCCR get accommodation, food, ground transportation, as well as the fields, refs venue and TV coverage.

Cariaga, who remembers playing 7s at Life and not being invited to the CRC, and then qualifying to play and showing well, and then coaching there, says playing in a big stadium with lots of fans and on television "is a game-changer. We're not talking about having a championship that's just the same old thing we used to have most of the time, but a true experience."

It matters, he said. It matters to the fans, the school, and the players, to have the stage be big. And the question arises: is $5,000 all that much? For some teams, if they are not well-funded and find themselves unable to sell those tickets, it could be a problem. But the answer might also be, if you're serious about performing at a high level on a national stage, should you be able to sell 100 tickets to your faithful?

Life University got invited back to the CRC not because they made the 2013 final, but because they brought fans, loud fans in matching T-shirts. The same is true of Kutztown. 

With 60 teams hoped for in six brackets, might we see 6,000 fans in the stadium thanks to this plan? Quite possibly.


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Ah yes—brackets. So May Madness will have brackets for D1 Men Premier, D1 Women Premier, D1 Women Club, D1 Men Club, D2 Men, and Small-College Men. Six championships. For the NCCR 7s (AEG's event), it's D1 Men (which will mostly be D1A teams), Women D1 Elite/NIRA (a mixture of the four D1 Elite teams plus the NCAA programs), D1 Men Club, D1 Women Club, Open Men, D2 Women.  

Both events have TV contracts, with NBC, along with CNBC and Peacock for the AEG event May 14-15, and CBS Sports Network for the NCR event May 28-30. How teams qualify for these events is especially clear. AEG wants qualifiers to be done early so they can plan and get license to use university logos, and other things. Some conferences pushed back on the timeline and AEG did ease the deadline somewhat. The May Madness event appears to be more of an invitational, but both events have their invitational aspects.

We'll keep you updated on that, and one which teams are trying to sell tickets, and who is going where. For now, here, updated, is our list of college 7s tournaments. Let us know if we missed one.

 

College 7s Tournaments Around the Country
DateEventLocationDivisionWinner
2/12Furman 7sGreenville, SCMen DI/DIIKentucky
2/19Chesapeake Tnmnt #1 (Open)Buena Vista, Va.Men DIMary Washington
2/19Pitt Dome 7sPittsburgh, Pa.Men D1/DIIWheeling
2/26Frostbite TnmntLandsville, Pa.Multiple 
2/26Chesapeake Tnmnt #2 (Open)College Park Md.Men DI 
2/26SCRC 7s AlabamaTuscaloose, ALMen DI 
2/26Southern Conference 7sWilmington, NCMen DII 
3/19Virginia Tech 7sBlacksburg, VAWomen DI 
3/19Allegheny 7sIndiana, Pa.Men DII/SC 
3/19University of Minnesota 7sMinneapolis, Minn.Women DI 
3/19Mooseman 7sMurfreesboro, Tenn.Men DI/DII 
3/26Baldwin Wallace 7sCleveland, OhioWomen 
3/26WPU, Seton Hall, Drew & MSUDrew UniversityMen DII 
3/26Chesapeake Tournament #3 (Open)Emmitsburg, Md.Men DI 
3/26Columbia, RPI, Hofstra & Fairfield.Fairfield UniversityWomen DII 
3/26MARC 7sGettysburg, Pa.Men SC 
3/26Southern Conference 7sGreenville, NCMen DII 
3/26NALA 7sLindenwoodWomen 
3/26MARC 7sPenn State-Berks, Pa.Men SC 
3/26Allegheny 7sRio Grande U.Men DII/SC 
3/26Notre Dame Tnmnt South Bend, Ind.NCR CRC Qualifier 
3/26Liberty Conference Tnmnt Stony Brook, NYMen DI 
3/26USMMA, Fairfield, Hofstra & MaritimeSUNY MaritimeMen DII 
3/27Drew, MSU, SBU & AlbanyDrew UniversityWomen DII 
3/27Fordham, Molloy, Rutgers & UNHFordhamWomen DII 
3/27Marist, RPI, New Paltz, Vassar & OneontaHudson Valley 7sMen DII/DIII 
3/27Hilltop 7sPhilippi, WVWomen DI/DII 
3/27Marist, Vassar, New Paltz & MaritimeVassarWomen DII 
4/2Great Lakes 7s ChampionshipAllendale, MichWomen DI 
4/2Northeast 7sBeverly, Mass.Men SC 
4/2Boise State Tnmnt Boise, IdahoNCR CRC Qualifier 
4/2New England FreejacksBoston, Mass.NCR CRC Qualifier (men) 
4/2Harvard 7sCambridge, Mass.Women DI/DII 
4/2Ohio Valley 7s SeriesDelaware, OhioWomen SC 
4/2MARC 7sEaston, Pa.Men SC 
4/2Allegheny 7sGambier, OhioMen DII/SC 
4/2Great Lakes 7sGrand Rapids, Mich.Men SC 
4/2Ohio Valley 7s SeriesGranville, OhioWomen SC 
4/2MARC 7sLancaster, Pa.Men SC 
4/2Oneonta, New Paltz, Fairfield & VassarNew Paltz, NYMen DIII 
4/2Ohio Valley 7s SeriesOxford, OhioWomen DI 
4/2Midnight 7sSt. Boanventure, U.Multiple 
4/2Lindenwood QualifierSt. Charles, MONCCR Qualifier 
4/2Hofstra, Maritime, SBU & MolloyStony Brook, NYWomen DII 
4/2Big 10 Series-IllinoisU. IllinoisMen DI 
4/2Allegheny 7sUpland, Ind.Men DII/SC 
4/2Sioux City 7sWayne, Neb.Women 
4/2Allegheny 7s-Nail City 7sWheeling, WVMen DII/SC 
4/3Maritime, Hofstra, Drew & MSUHofstraMen DII 
4/3Marist, Fairfield, UNH & New PaltzHudson Valley South 7sWomen DII 
4/3Columbia, Rutgers, Fordham, Drew & MSUMontclair StateWomen DII 
4/3WPU, Marist, RPI, Seton Hall, USMMATroy, NYMen DII 
4/3Upstate 7sTBAWomen SC 
4/3Hudson Valley North 7sUAlbanyWomen DII 
4/9Allegheny 7sCedarville, OhioMen DII/SC 
4/9Queens 7sCharlotte, NCWomen DI/DII 
4/9MARC 7sDunmore, Pa.Men SC 
4/9Southern Conference East Carolina UniversityMen DII 
4/9Iron Man 7sEau Claire, WIGMW 
4/9Tri-State Conference 7s Fairfield UniversityWomen DII/SC 
4/9MARC 7sFarmville, Va.Men SC 
4/9Chesapeake ChampionshipsFredericksburg, Va.Men DI 
4/9Liberty Conference Tnmnt Hamilton, NYMen DI 
4/9Neb-Mo. 7sKansas City, Mo.Multiple 
4/9Life UniversityMarietta, Ga.NCR CRC Qualifier 
4/9WVU 7sMorgantown, WVMen 
4/9Battle of the BorderNiagara Falls, NYMultiple 
4/9Big 10 7s Series-PurduePurdue U.Men DI 
4/9Colonial CoastSmithfield, RIMen SC 
4/9MidAmerica 7sTBAWomen SC 
4/9Ohio Valley 7sTBAWomen SC 
4/9SARC 7sTBAWomen SC 
4/9MARC 7sTemple U.Men DI/DII 
4/9Ohio Valley 7s ChampionshipTiffin, OhioWomen DI 
4/9Cal MaritimeVallejo, Calif.Men SC 
4/10Tri-State Conference 7s HofstraMen DII 
4/10Life U. 7sMarietta, Ga.Women 
4/10Chris Munn 7sNorthfield, Vt.Men DII 
4/10Upstate 7sTBAWomen DI 
4/10EPRU 7sTBAWomen SC 
4/16Princeton 7sPrinceton, NJWomen DI/DII 
4/16MARC 7sSelinsgrove, Pa.Men SC 
4/16Bloodfest 7sStevens Point, WIGMW 
4/16Great Waters 7sTBAWomen SC 
4/16Big 10 7s Series-MichiganU. MichiganMen DI 
4/17RPI, Hofstra, Drew & VassarVassarMen DII 
4/23Ivy Rugby 7sCambridge, Mass.Men DI 
4/23Midwest 7s ChampionshipCedar Falls, IwaWomen DI 
4/23Gareth Jones 7sCollege Station, TexasMen/Women 
4/23Allegheny 7sCrawfordsville, Ind.Men DII/SC 
4/23Wildcat 7s (TBC)Evanston, ILGMW 
4/23Three Rivers 7s FinalsGrove City, Pa.Men SC 
4/23MARC 7s ChampionshipLancaster, Pa.Men SC 
4/23Southern Nazarene Oklahoma City, OklaNCR CRC Qualifier 
4/23Great Waters 7s ChampionshipsOshkosh, Wisc.Women DI 
4/23Northern Lights 7sOtsego, Minn.Men SC 
4/23Northwest Conference 7s FinalsPortland, Ore.Men SC 
4/23MARC 7sRowan U.Men DI/DII 
4/23MAC Conference TournamentTBAMen DI 
4/23Mid-America 7sTBAWomen 
4/23Southern Conference Finals Wake Forrest UniversityMen DII 
4/23Gateway 7s ChampionshipWarrensburg, Mo.Men DII 
4/24Liberty Conference FinalsHamilton, NYMen DI 
4/24NEWCRC ChampionshipTBAMen DII 
4/30New England FreejacksBoston, Mass.NCR CRC Qualifier (women) 
4/30Allegheny Conference ChampionshipCalrion, Pa.Men/Women 
4/30Great Midwest 7sCottage Grove, WIMen DII 
4/30Great Plains 7sDes Moines, Ia.Men SC 
4/30MARC 7sSalisbury U.Men DI/DII 
4/30Allegheny 7s ChampionshipsSouth Euclid, OhioWomen DI 
4/30Red River 7sTBADIA 
4/30West Point 7sWest Point, NYWomen DI/DII 
5/1ACRA 7s FinalsTBDWomen DII ACRA 
5/14SVSU 7sUniversity Center, Mich.Women 
3/12-13St. Patrick's Day Tnmnt Savannah, Ga.Multiple 
4/23-24Lighthouse 7sNeedham, Mass.Men SC 
4/23-24Beast of the East Tnmnt Portsmouth, RIMen/Women 
4/23-24Southeastern ConferenceTBAMultiple 
5/14-15National Collegiate Championship 7sKennesaw State, GAMultiple 
5/28-30May Madness 7sNew Orleans, LAMultiple

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