John Cullen to be New Air Force Academy Men's Coach
Former Eagle and recent captain of the USA Military team John Cullen is about to be named the new Head Coach for the US Air Force Academy men's rugby team.
Air Force is making some changes in the program to elevate its funding and organization and this is all part of the plan.
We hired John Cullen and are finalizing the details with USAFA now. Here is some information below. We just announced to donors yesterday so you are the first outside that group to have the news.
"Coach Cullen brings an exceptional blend of military discipline, collegiate athletic experience, and rugby excellence to the position," said AFA DOR Jeff Burrows. "A U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, he is committed to instilling the warrior mindset, teamwork, and discipline required both on the rugby pitch and in military service."
CRAA Names D1A All Americans
The College Rugby Association of America announced its 2024–2025 D1A All-American selections, recognizing the top collegiate rugby players from across the nation.
This year’s list features standout athletes from 25 universities, with Life University leading the way with 15 All-American honorees.
The All-American designation celebrates excellence in athletic performance, leadership, and sportsmanship throughout the D1A collegiate rugby season. These athletes have demonstrated exceptional skill and commitment, earning their place among the nation’s elite.
CRAA East and West All American Teams Assemble in Charlotte
Charlotte, NC – The Collegiate Rugby Association of America (CRAA), in collaboration with USA Rugby’s Men’s High Performance Pathways, has announced the squads for the 2025 CRAA All-American East vs. West match.
This event, funded entirely by sponsors and patrons of the sport, highlights the top players in CRAA and serves as a critical evaluation platform for U23 and senior national team consideration.
Following an extensive national review and nomination process, CRAA received 189 nominations from programs across the country. After careful vetting and selection by regional coaching staffs and national selectors, 84 athletes were named to the extended player pool, from which the final 58 players have been selected to the traveling squads representing the East and West.
Final Week of Rankings for 2025 D1A
So we finally finish up our D1A rankings.
We don't have a lot of changes—an obvious one at the top, but not much more.
Not that we didn't think about it. There's just so much parity in the division right now that you could argue a ranking of almost any combination. Navy beat Cal, remember.
In fact, let's take a look at it. The Top 10 teams against the Top 10 (close losses listed in the losses total and also separated into parentheses).
Cal 8-1
Life 5-1
Lindenwood 1-2 (1)
Navy 2-2 (2)
Saint Mary's 6-3 (2)
CWU 3-2 (1)
Army 1-4 (3)
UCLA 1-6 (3)
Arizona 1-6 (4)
Cal Poly 2-3 (2)
Based on this you could argue that Cal Poly is too low, or Central Washington, or Saint Mary's.
Cal Wins High-Scoring Thriller D1A Final
In a game that saw nine lead changes, the California Golden bears rode three late tries and the adventurous approach to their game that they had pursued all season to defeated Life University 55-38 Saturday night in the D1A final in Indianapolis.
Held at Kuntz Stadium, the new rugby facility in Indianapolis, the championship match was a spectacle. With a boisterous crowd supporting both teams, the game provided plenty for both to cheer about.
Cal opened up the scoring with a Filip Edstrom penalty goal. But Life answered by getting close to the Cal line and then sending it wide for wing James Rose to dive over in the corner. Bradley Crane hit the touchline conversion for the 7-3 lead. Cal worked their way down to the Life tryline to answer and powered Dom Paga over for a 10-7 lead.
CRAA Championships Set for This Weekend in Indy
The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) caps off its season (with one exception) this coming weekend at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis.
The weekend will be three days of rugby, with men's 15s championship games plus two women's 7s tournaments. Here's what's up:
Women's 7s
The CRAA Women's 7s was a massive hit last year and produced some surprises as many expected Lindenwood and Life to dominate, and they didn't. Instead, Harvard took the championship.
This year, the Women's Premier 7s tournament was supposed to include 12 teams. However, since just a couple of weeks ago Central Washington learned that funding for rugby had been pulled by the University, the Wildcats had to pull out and it was too late to land a replacement. So there will be one pool of three teams and two pools of four. All of these teams are either in women's D1A or NIRA.
It's Cal vs Life for the D1A Final
Life University and Cal both impressed as they won D1A semifinals Saturday to set up a repeat of the championship matchups from 2018 and 2019.
Cal and Saint Mary’s saw almost 100 points scored between them the last time they played. This time it was different. Cal took the lead 12 minutes in, capping off a long period knocking on the door with lock Huge Schreuder picking up and stretching over.
Saint Mary’s answered with a penalty goal from Ollie Cline. But Cal came back, punishing a penalty and working a maul off the lineout. Saint Mary’s stopped the drive but scrumhalf Solomon Williams ran a switch move with wing Joe Karsten, and Karsten raced through the gap Williams had created. Now it was 14-3.
Familiar Rivals Highlight D1A Semis
The D1A semifinals are here.
For the first time since 2019 we don't have a Service Academy in the semis. OK, that's a little bit of a misleading stat since COVID kiboshed the playoffs in 2020 and 2021. Still, despite the fact that the names in the final four are probably the four teams you immediately think of when you think of elite-level collegiate rugby, there has been a little bit of a change.
Lindenwood visits Life after having lost to the Running Eagles 28-24 earlier in the season. Is this a different Lindenwood team, or a different Life team? Possibly. Lindenwood might be in a position to win their first semifinal ever. Eight semifinals, and they haven't won one yet. Many felt the 2021 Lions side was possibly positioned to win a national title. But ... as we said ... COVID.
A Wild, Back-And-Forth Game Sees Saint Marys Past CWU
Saint Mary’s rode the rollercoaster once more Saturday, before surviving an enormously talented Central Washington team 53-48.
This game was non-stop.
Central Washington took the early lead on a weakside move to wing Oscar Treacy, who kicked ahead and regathered when the ball bounced awkwardly for Saint Mary’s fullback Mario Storti. Jac Tregoning converted from the touchline and we were off.
Right off the restart Saint Mary’s charged down a Wildcats clearance kick. The ball was knocked past the dead-ball-line by a CWU player, but no penalty try was called likely because there was reasonable doubt at to whether the player was trying to touch the ball down or grab it.
Saint Mary’s got a scrum at the five-meter, but Centra stopped them thanks in part to a superb one-on-one tackle from Tregoning on wing Siale Ofa.
D1A Quarterfinal Latest
Lindenwood beat Navy 10-3.
Scholz Award Nominee Duncan Krige blocked a kick and chased it down to score the only try of the game. Both teams had other chances but Lindenwood’s ability to stop Navy’s maul was the difference.
Life beat Army 18-17 on a late penalty goal from Bradley Crane. Neither team scored until past the first 20 minutes. Fullback Nahuel Wingard fought his way over from a scrum play. Nate Gould set up Luke Lentfer for a try for Army midway through the second half to give Army a 10-8 lead. Jordan Vassel cut through and then found Seth Kramlich for a clutch try and a 15-10 lead. But Army answered with an interception try from Chance Loudenback. Howard Heller's conversion made it 17-15.
But late in the game Crane had the chance to be the hero.
D1A Quarterfinal Weekend: Stream Links and Preview Notes
Suddenly we’re down to four games.
After about 216 D1A games, we’re at the national quarterfinals. Including the Challenger Cup, D1A teams have 10 more games left.
Arizona at Cal
It seems like half the tries Cal scores are breaks up the right side of the field that end up with the ball being passed back inside to finish it off.
That’s a gross generalization, but at the same time it seems like half the tries Arizona scores is when a powerful back finds that perfect line up the middle.
One Road Win in D1A Western Bracket
Higher seeded teams won through in the Western Bracket of the D1A playoffs, with one exception.
Cal vs Colorado State
A heavy underdog, CSU traveled to Berkeley and the Rams were "buzzing" to play, said Head Coach Joe Rusert-Cuddy before the game. "We had a really good lead-up and I know they are going to give Cal their all."
This they did, but it was a tough ask, for sure, and Cal scored relatively early, punishing a couple of penalties by CSU and then Talan Jones getting a nice tips pass to go over. But CSU was up for it and knew they had to be physical and quick on defense. Quick they were as wing Eli Eagle raced in to pick off a pass just inside the Cal 22 and go in under the posts. Seven minutes in and it was 7-7.
D1A East Bracket: Who Made it Through?
The home teams held on to advance in the Eastern Bracket of the D1A playoffs and defense was part of the story.
Winning teams held their opponents to a total of five tries. That doesn't mean the games weren't competitive. One was a major runaway, but for the most part the lower seeds provided a tough challenge.
Army vs Mount St. Mary's
GRR called this game the potential upset game and indeed it was the closest of the Eastern playoff games. On a rainy afternoon in West Point, Howie Heller's early penalty goal gave Army a 3-0 advantage. After that the Mount spent a good portion of the seven minutes inside the West Point half. They finally came away with an Evan Corbett penalty, but overall Army weathered the storm.
Then it was Army's turn to put pressure on in the opposing half. MSM defended well, and a Heller attempt at goal drifted wide.
Challenger Cup Offers Special Opportunity for Non-Playoff D1A Teams
The new plan from CRAA to have the Challenger Cup is kicking off this weekend.
Four teams will play in the quarterfinals with two teams, Mary Washington and Grand Canyon, getting a bye to the semifinals on April 19.
The final will be played May 3 as part of the CRAA's championship weekend in Indianapolis.
Air Force vs Ohio State
After a successful Bowl Series win in December, Air Force played UTEP and Colorado this spring as well as two teams while on tour in Italy. They won all four. The trip to Italy was part of their bi-annual Rugby Leadership Initiative.
Now finishing up the season with a playoff is welcomed by the Zoomies.
D1A Championship and Challenger Brackets Decided
College Rugby Association of America has announced its Men's D1A Championship bracket and also its new Challenger Cup bracket.
The Challenger Cup has been introduced this year to offer a postseason for teams that don't quite make the Championship tournament. This year, six teams will participate but there is certainly room for expansion.
Championship Bracket
the seeds for the D1A Championship are created using coaching votes, GRR Rankings, and a mathematical formula that takes into account record and strength of schedule. So you will see a disparity between the GRR Rankings and the seedings, and strength of schedule had a huge influence on that disparity.
