Life Women Address Isolation with New Comp Plan
Life Women Address Isolation with New Comp Plan
One of the upshots of the changes is Women’s D1A College is to leave Life University isolated both geographically and in terms of competition.
D1A (formerly D1 Elite) lost Central Washington when the school pulled the program’s funding, and lost Lindenwood as they move to NIRA.
With that, and with Penn State finishing their season playing 7s, the D1A had shrunk significantly. Recently, CRAA announced that they would allow teams to play in NCR competition and playoffs in the fall and still be eligible (if they are CRAA/USA Rugby registered) for the spring postseason. Penn State, Wheeling, and BYU are three teams listed as having said they would do both. Life did not.
So at a major collegiate level only BYU has committed to playing them this coming season, while Wheeling Head Coach Ken Pape said he wanted to play the Running Eagles as well. This has emerged as a bit of a crisis moment for the Running Eagles. With their large roster of players and proven ability to compete at a multitude of levels, might they pivot to operating as something more akin to an elite development program?
Life is already a daily training environment and has shown that its younger players can handle themselves in the college sphere, so could they also then play their older players in club rugby?
A Club/College Hybrid?
They tried, and found some roadblocks, chief among them was not being able to join the Atlantic D1W league. Margy Dessypris Thomas, who has headed up the Mid-Atlantic region, was asked by GRR about this.
“It is unfortunate for them,” Dessypris Thomas said of Life University. The problem, she added, was a bunch of other things were changing in the relevant leagues, specifically the Atlantic D1W Super Region. That league includes Atlanta Harlequins, Beantown, Boston, DC Furies, New York, NOVA, Philadelphia, and Raleigh Venom.
That’s a pretty robust league with eight teams. But that doesn’t tell the entire story. Atlanta had been struggling for numbers for years and were ineligible for the postseason this past season because they had been forfeiting too many games. They are now expected to be back as full members of the competition. As the same time, New York and Beantown were pushing to join the league, basically expanding the league from five to eight.
“There was already some additional changes going in the Atlantic D1W league that raised concerns from the clubs and the amount of growth at one time,” continued Dessypris Thomas. “We're letting Atlanta return from sanctioned participation, and NY and Beantown were in discussion at the same time. It was a challenging planning cycle to get through.”
But the wheels were still in motion. Dessypris Thomas and USA Rugby 15s Competitions Chair David McPhail were looking for other options, and the Gulf Coast Super Region (which is essentially Texas and Arkansas at the D1 level) was a possibility.
The Gulf Coast League is smaller than the Atlantic league, and needs more teams. In the 2023-24 season Utah (!) was in the Gulf Coast, and in fact won that super regional. This past season they joined the more geographically-logical Pacific, won it, and went on to beat NOVA in the national D1 final.
But while the Gulf Coast conjures up images of teams all along the Gulf Coast, in women’s D1 club rugby, that’s not exactly the case. The competition is centered around Texas and Arkansas, with Little Rock, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas competing.
Between Texas and Atlanta you have some teams that play a different division, and it would not be constructive to force some of those teams (New Orleans, Battleship, Panama City Beach) to move up just to accommodate Life.
But it’s good enough. Life has announced that they are joining the Texas league (which serves as the Gulf Coast D1 Super Region). Older players in the program will play in this league, while younger players will play in Women’s D1 College. There will be a flex group that might play in either. In addition, they have reached an agreement with the Carolinas Rugby Union, which operates a women’s club league at a slightly lower divisional level, but can offer competition, as well.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Life University Women into the WD1 League,” said McPhail. “Their inclusion reflects the expanding depth of women’s rugby in this country and further strengthens the competitive nature of the WD1 league. Life University has long been a cornerstone of collegiate rugby, and their presence will elevate the league as we continue to grow the game across the Gulf Coast and beyond.”
Dual Pathway
Life is calling it a Dual Pathway model.
"This dual-pathway model is unprecedented,” said Life AD Jayme Pendergast. “Life U will continue to compete in CRAA’s D1 College Division, while simultaneously entering the USA Rugby Women’s Club D1 league — the premier platform for senior-level women’s rugby in the country. The partnership between USA Rugby, the Texas Rugby Union, and the Carolina Rugby Union underscores a shared commitment to growth, excellence, and access for the next generation of American women’s rugby talent. Our athletes deserve this opportunity, and a massive thank you goes out to all involved in this decision.”
What Life didn’t want to do is play in a competition where they win games by wide margins. At the same time, they need appropriate competition for younger players.
So they will focus with the 18- to 20-year-old undergraduates will be on skill development and an introduction into the team systems and major collegiate competition. The target is to put these players on the USA U18 and U20 teams.
Players of 20 to 22 years who are undergrads will be developed as leaders and expanded competition opportunities. This is the Hyrbrid group and they could be playing collegiately or in the club level if that’s appropriate. Expect to see this group play Life’s very toughest college opposition. The tagret here is to put these players on the USA U20 and U23 teams.
Then finally there is the D1 Club group which is for players 22 years old and older (more and more women are taking post-grad courses at Life so this fits) and they would also be mentors in the program. They would be team leaders and player against women’s D1 clubs, with an eye toward a national club title and also targeting the USA U23 or Senior national teams.
This, then, has become an opportunity rather than a problem, for Life, as they are positioned as a somewhat unique elite player development institution.
“We’re thrilled to confirm our entry into the Women’s Division 1 Club competition through the Texas Rugby Union for the 2025–26 season,” said Life Head Coach Ryszard Chadwick. “This opportunity allows us to expand our competitive calendar while continuing to develop a world-class daily training environment for all our athletes. What excites us most is the dual-pathway opportunity, remaining a proud competitor in CRAA D1 College Rugby while stepping into the D1 Club landscape. This blended schedule supports the growth of every player in our program, from our high-potential underclassmen to our senior student-athletes pushing for national honors. Life U has always been about more than just winning games, it’s about building a legacy of high performance, opportunity, and leadership. We’re not just building a team; we’re building a system that serves the athlete from recruitment to retirement. That’s what sets Life apart.”
Competition is Good
The message here, in part, is that high-level programs need help, too. And the presence of a program with high standards can help raise the level for everyone.
Life University is not made up of superwomen. They are not appreciably larger or faster or meaner than other rugby teams. They just execute. They are just good at playing the game. In a sport where kicking for accuracy and distance is a game-changer, especially for women, Life has several excellent kickers. That’s just one aspect of play where they have superior skill performance.
And because they care about being good at the game, they deserve competition. Life’s presence in the Gulf Coast (TRU) league will drive standards there, while Life’s collaboration with the Carolinas will allow the Running Eagles to play more games that are geographically closer. And, finally, the collegiate group will still need to finalize a full collegiate schedule, but that will be as an independent against the likes of BYU, Penn State, Wheeling, and some other teams.
Remember, things are still in flux—Loyola of New Orleans is starting a varsity program. CRAA opened the door for teams to play in other postseasons and still play in the CRAA playoffs in the spring. As each season progresses, some programs will start to look for more and better challenges.
