The Keystone Rugby Conference has expanded its roster of teams even as the conference loses its defending champion.

With West Virginia off to the Rugby East in DIA, the DIAA Keystone welcomes James Madison, Lock Haven, and Villanova to the competition. JMU was a top-four DII program last year, and won USA Rugby’s DII College 7s Championship. The move up to DIAA was clearly a rugby/competitive decision. The addition of the other two teams was a little more about geography than it was about looking for tougher competition. Lock Haven was 2-4 in the DII MARC last year, while Villanova was 0-5. 

Still, they bolster a conference that was reduced to seven after the news that WVU would move up. Now Keystone has ten teams.

The favorite to win in 2015 has to be St. Joseph’s, last year’s runner-up and annually a team with plenty of rugby intelligence. SJU leads the East with Temple and Rutgers (both 2-2 in 2014), chasing. West Chester, winless in conference play in 2014, and Villanova, round out the East.

In the West, it’s all up in the air with WVU out. Pittsburgh was 2nd in 2014 with a 2-2 record, but will encounter plenty of competition from James Madison, who should do well this fall. Shippensburg, Millersville, and Lock Haven all seem to be fairly close, at least going into the fall.

The fall season ends with playoffs at the end of October and beginning of November, followed by the ACRC Bowl Series in November.