USA Rugby has released its Women's College playoff dates for 2016-17.

This will be a second stab at a split playoff system, with a fall playoff and a spring playoff, culminating in a clash between the fall and spring winners in a final (potentially) in May.

Last season, this system had a few hiccups. The DI fall winner, UConn, opted not to compete against the spring winners in May, earning some criticism, but also jump-starting a very real conversation about the costs involved in playing playoff rugby. UConn did come under criticism for saying they couldn't afford the May trip to California, but mostly because they had successfully fundraised for a tour to Scotland. (See more on that story here.)

In the end, there was only a DI Spring final on May 5, with UC Davis beating Virginia on the final play of the game, 30-25.

The DII championship also had trouble. This time, the fall playoff winner, Davenport, had no trouble showing up for the spring championship, but the spring playoff winners, Tulane, couldn't make it. An essentially new program, Tulane was financially tapped out by the time the final came around - again the issue of paying for playoffs - and so USC made the trip, and were thoroughly beaten by an excellent Davenport team.

USA Rugby's new schedule doesn't assume a Fall v Spring final. They just hope there's one. It could be there will be just a Fall Champion and a Spring Champion. 

So, the playoff dates are now as follows:

Fall Championships

Women's DI and Women's DII Play-in Rounds - Nov. 12

Women's DI and Women's DII Regionals - Nov. 19-20

Women's DI and Women's DII Semifinals and Finals - Dec. 3-4, 2016 (location TBC)

Spring Championships

Women's DI and Women's DII Play-in Rounds (if necessary) April 1-2, 2017

Women's DI and Women's DII Regionals - April 8-9, 2017

Women's DI and Women's DII Semifinals and Finals - April 22-23, 2017

Women's DI Elite Final May 6, 2017

Women's DI and DII Spring v Fall Championships may be played also, but those games are not confirmed.