Walsh University will announce tomorrow on the campus of Notre Dame College that the NDC men’s and women’s rugby teams will be able to transfer to Walsh.

Walsh is a small (2,500 students) Catholic university in North Canton, Ohio. It currently has no rugby team but has been expanding its athletic department and has two large grass fields donated by the Hoover Corporation, along with a refurbished football stadium. Walsh has a package of majors that are very similar to NDC’s, but the school states that it is in a strong financial position, in contrast to NDC, which is closing this spring.

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A campaign from NDC Director of Rugby Jason Fox to find a home for the rugby team, instead of distributing the players around to various colleges, was afoot even before NDC announced it was closing. In the end Walsh was easily the most receptive. The players were bused into Walsh in March and given a tour and a welcome from the President and the administration, including a [lan to honor the NDC team’s mascot, the Falcon, despite the fact that Walsh is the Cavaliers and they have a sword-themed logo.

On the way home the players were asked to write pros and cons about the visit and they decided not to do that and simply told Fox that Walsh had impressed them so much that they would just as soon join Walsh.

Players have been asked to apply to Walsh and as of a recent check with the school most of the men’s team and a significant portion of the women’s team have applied, with their financial packages expected to be replicated.

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Walsh’s VP of Marketing told GRR that the university had been monitoring the NDC fallout and she added that Walsh has been working on a plan to maintain financial strength. The addition of a championship rugby program (NDC won NCR’s Men’s D1 and were 2nd in NCR’s Women’s D1 the last two years).