The May Madness 7s is set to kick off Memorial Day Weekend in New Orleans and we've got a few updates.

Broadcast and Fans

Some news is coming about broadcast really soon, but expect there to be a combination of social media live, webstreaming service, and regular TV.

One major difference between May Madness and the old CRC tournament is that this time around they aren't looking for everything up front. They aren't telling teams to buy lots of tickets; they are trying to sell the event as a fun fan experience (which it likely will be), and in broadcast NCR will be looking for viewers, rather than a quick payoff. Fans are buying tickets but they are still for sale here>>.

They Got Permission

The term May Madness is being used with permission from the NCAA. National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) asked the NCAA if they could use the term (which is similar to the NCAA's March Madness trademark and the NCAA is very protective of its trademarks). They said yes and off we go.

The Bracket Isn't Completely Full

There was room for 32 teams in the men's division but the number will be more like 28. The top seed in each quadrant gets a bye. The 16-team women's competition may also have a couple of team's getting byes.

Both competitions will be brackets, not pool play. So the May Madness CRC more emulates the 2018 RWC 7s rather than the Sevens World Series.  What that does is reduce the number of blowouts and track like-competitive teams into the right level faster.

The Teams Are All Over The Place

Some teams haven't really play. Others are fairly new programs, and even if they've played, they haven't played much. Other teams have a history, but this is a COVID season so you never know how anyone will come out of it.

But what is clear is that there's going to be a gap between the upper echelon and the ... other echelon. That's really not a surprise, as that has been the case in most major college 7s tournaments.

Among the teams who have been active are:

Iowa State

ISU played several 15s games and also 7s weekend with Iowa Central CC and McKendree.

A couple weeks away from CRC, here’s an inside look at our prep pic.twitter.com/b9aCT98Cri

— Iowa State Rugby (@IowaStateRugby) May 12, 2021

Western Michigan

Watch out for the Mustangs. They have shown very well in 7s tournaments before. In 15s they split a series with Bowling Green, and beat Illinois. They have athletes and are very physical.

Army

They played three 15s games this spring and should be able to jump into 7s without too much trouble.

Lander

Lander played three, three-game tournaments against Belmont Abbey, Emory & Henry, and Coastal Carolina, going 3-0, 3-0, and 2-0-1. Not bad.

Wheeling

Wheeling has been very active, beating Alderson Broaddus twice and Franciscan six times.They went 5-1 at the Tropical 7s collegiate bracket, losing only to Life. 

Lindenwood

The Lions probably had the most active 15s season, but also slipped in a few 7s games. They are also very, very good at identifying what they need to do as a 7s outfit and move from 15s to 7s.

Life

Very much the same story as Lindenwood. They've played a lot in 15s and even more than Lindenwood they've played 7s as they went to the Tropical 7s, where they went 5-1, and played and won the Mount St. Mary's tournament May 8.

McKendree

A new varsity program, McKendree has been as active as anyone, playing 17 games, including Lindenwood and Iowa State, and going 11-5-1.

Notre Dame College

Played 15s against St Bonaventure and Penn State but no 7s.

Davenport

Five 15s games for the Panthers and then they suited up for the Mount St. Mary’s 7s event, where they finished 3rd.

Marian

We saw Marian get some 15s games in and a 7s tilt or two, which is better than most.

Mount St. Mary’s

A few games in 15s and hosting their own tournament leaves us thinking these guys might be a dark horse.