NCR Making Staff Shifts
NCR Making Staff Shifts
National Collegiate Rugby is making a series of strategic staff realignments and role expansions.
NCR will double its full-time staff from four to seven, and will also create some part-time roles while also eliminating some other positions.
Consolidating Divisional Oversight
Beginning Fall 2025, NCR will transition the Men’s and Women’s Director roles to full-time positions. These expanded roles will now oversee 7s competitions, serve as the commissioner for all divisions, and lead club development. As a result, the part-time Growth and Development position will be eliminated, the 7s Director job will be eliminated, and the D3 Commissioner positions will be phased out.
The Director jobs will be open to any applicants—current Men's Director Brad Dufek and current Women's Director Angelo Smarto will be candidates for those new positions.
Member Services
Eligibility Manager Kelsea Thompson will add on event-planning responsibilities. Kayla Dustin worked in member services on a seasonal basis; her position is now year-round.
Building a College Rugby Media Hub
Pat Clifton was the 7s Director and also did media for NCR. He will now be NCR’s Content Director, overseeing all journalism, content strategy, and production of The College Rugby Show. Zach Lanning and Darian Lovelace will continue in their analyst roles on The College Rugby Show, with Lanning also taking on other content tasks.
Finance Team Growth
NCR will hire a part-time Finance Manager responsible for managing financial transactions and reporting. This will allow Board Treasurer Kyle Smith to concentrate on strategic financial planning and oversight.
Overall Shift in Emphasis
NCR's changes indicate more effort put into building events and building their own media content. While NCR began as a small-college organization, it has shifted to one that caters to, and deals with D1 and D1AA teams more often. Does that mean that D3 and D2 are more on auto-pilot because they are straightforward on how their competitions are run? It could well be.
NCR is also looking more closely at their events—their championship weekends bring in some revenue but are certainly not in the black, or close to it. The CRC is more of a revenue producer and is a huge event that needs close attention.
