USA Rugby


USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to serve as "the national governing body charged with achieving and maintaining high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby." USA Rugby is responsible for the promotion and development of the sport in the U.S. and promotion of U.S. international participation.
USA Rugby was founded in 1975 as the United States of America Rugby Football Union, and it organized the first U.S. national team match in 1976. Today, USA Rugby has over 130,000 memberships, the largest segment being college rugby with over 32,000 members. USA Rugby oversees 1,200 high school teams, 900 college teams, 700 senior club teams, and 400 youth teams. USA Rugby administers all United States national teams: senior men's and women's teams, sevens teams for both men and women, and under-20 national teams for both sexes. The organization also sponsors college rugby for both sexes, although since the 2010–11 academic year the NCAA has designated women's rugby an emerging varsity sport.
USA Rugby is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors and a 43-member Congress, and is led by CEO Ross Young. It is a member of World Rugby through membership with Rugby Americas North, and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The headquarters for USA Rugby is located in Lafayette, Colorado.

Recent achievements

• In 2014, the U.S. Women's Sevens finished 4th in the World Rugby Women's Sevens World Series, their highest finish to date.
• In 2017, the Women's U.S. National Team finished 4th at the Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland. Their second highest finish since winning the 1991 tournament.
• In 2018, the United States hosted its first ever Rugby World Cup event with the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco at AT&T Park. The event welcomed more than 100,000 in attendance, setting the mark for highest attended Rugby World Cup Sevens to date.

Governance and leadership

USA Rugby is governed by its board of directors and its congress. The board is composed of 9 members: 6 independent directors, 2 international athletes, and 1 representative from USA Rugby's Congress. Board members are:
The congress is composed of 43 members representing the community levels of rugby: Youth, College, Club and international athletes.
Gary Gold began his tenure as the head coach of the men's national team on January 1, 2018.
Mike Friday is the head coach of the men's national sevens team.
Rob Cain was appointed as the Women's Eagles head coach in May 2018 earning his first victory again Ireland on November 18. Chris Brown is the head coach of the Women's Sevens team, who are currently ranked 2nd in the world through the 2018-19 Women's World Rugby Sevens Series.

International representation

USA Rugby became a member of the International Rugby Football Board in 1987. The worldwide body would become the International Rugby Board in 1998 and World Rugby in 2014. USA Rugby does not hold a vote on WR's 28 member Executive Council—the majority of votes are held by the 8 founding nations—although NACRA members collectively hold one vote on the Executive Council. In December 2011, for the first time, USA Rugby placed a representative on the 10-man executive committee. Bob Latham, in his role as chair of Rugby Americas North, represents RAN on the executive committee.
USA Rugby also has relationships with international multi-sport organizations. USA Rugby is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and interacts with the International Olympic Committee. USA Rugby also interacts with the Pan American Sport Organization, and rugby has been a sport at the Pan Am Games since 2011.

Financials

USA Rugby generally earns between $8 million to $16 million in annual revenues, with the majority of the revenue coming from membership dues, event revenue, grants, and sponsorship. Their principal expenses are High Performance, Men's National Team, and Marketing and Fundraising. In 2010, USA Rugby paid over $200,000 each to its CEO Nigel Melville and its then head coach Eddie O'Sullivan. As of 2012, Nigel Melville's compensation was $250,000. USA Rugby experienced a financial crunch in 2016–2017, due to the bankruptcy of kit sponsor BLK and currency exchange rates that affect grants received from World Rugby.
USA Rugby lost more than $4.4 million in 2017 and $4.2 million in 2018. Most of the losses were attributed to USA Rugby Partners, formerly known as Rugby International Marketing, which was the majority owner of The Rugby Channel which was sold in 2018 to FloSports. In early 2020, with the outbreak of coronavirus, USA Rugby filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to develop a financial restructuring plan.
USA Rugby annual revenues are below, along with the components that generated the majority of revenue:
YearTotal
Revenues		Member
dues		GrantsSponsorsEvent
revenue		International comparisons
2018$27.4m$5.2m$2.7m$1.9m$2.8m
2017$14.0m$5.0m$2.0m$1.9m$2.1m
2016$14.7m$4.8m$2.0m$2.3m$2.7mScotland, Ireland, Wales
2015$14.6m$4.7m$2.4m$2.5m$2.1mWales ; Scotland.
2014$16.4m$4.5m$2.0m$2.2m$5.4mWales, Scotland.
2013$12.2m$4.3m$1.7m$1.9m$1.8mWales, New Zealand, Scotland.
2012$10.2m$4.3m$1.7m$1.6m$1.1mScotland.
2011$7.5m$3.2m$1.7m$1.5m$0.2mScotland ; Canada.
2010$6.4m$2.8m$1.4m$1.0m$0.2mScotland
2009$8.1m$2.7m$1.3m$2.4m$0.8m
2008$8.0m$2.0m$1.4m$2.7m$0.9m
2007$6.7m$2.2m$1.7m$0.9m$1.0m
2006$5.3m$2.0m$1.3m$0.2m$0.7m

Notes:
The U.S. men's national team, the Eagles, won the Gold Medal in Olympic rugby in 1920 and 1924. After that time, rugby in the U.S. stagnated while continuing to grow in other parts of the world.
Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s, the sport of rugby union enjoyed a renaissance in the USA. This created the need for a national governing body to represent the United States. On June 7, 1975, four territorial organizations gathered in Chicago, Illinois and formed the United States of America Rugby Football Union. USA Rugby then fielded its first national team on January 31, 1976 in a match against Australia in Anaheim, California, which Australia won 24–12.
In 1993, the Southern California RFU, a local area union of the Pacific Coast RFU, applied to become a separate territory. This was an impetus for others around the country to do the same, changing the make-up of USA Rugby, which now has seven territories.
USA Rugby lobbied for several years for participation in the IRB Sevens World Series. It was finally was awarded the annual USA Sevens tournament, beginning in 2004 with Los Angeles as the venue for the initial USA Sevens tournaments. In the summer of 2006, the tournament was moved to Petco Park in San Diego. Since 2010, the tournament has been held every year at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas and has been broadcast live on NBC.
USA Rugby is a Founding Sports Partner of the Sports Museum of America, joining more than 50 other single-sport Halls of Fame, national governing bodies, museums and other organizations across North America, to richly celebrate the history, grandeur and significance of sports in American culture. Opened in New York City on May 7, 2008, the Sports Museum of America showcases USA Rugby in its Hall of Halls Gallery, in return for their support of the creation of the Nation's first all-sports museum experience.
In 2014, USA Rugby created Rugby International Marketing, a for-profit company that is responsible for promoting the sport of rugby.

Board performance issues and turnover

In a February 2017 assembly, the Board Chair Will Chang called for a vote of confidence in the Board from USA Rugby's Congress, which passed by a vote of 43–1. The sole Congress member, Steve Lewis, who voted no confidence in the Board, cited three issues — RIM's performance, the sanctioning of the PRO Rugby competition, and overspending by the high performance department. With RIM's financial performance continuing to deteriorate, in August 2017, Lewis proposed what was effectively a vote of no confidence in the Board, this time getting seven votes and a similar number of abstentions.
RIM's product “The Rugby Channel” which was supposed to be a money maker for USA Rugby, finished 2017 with $4.2 million in losses for the year.

Bankruptcy

On March 31, 2020 the board of USA Rugby voted to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a result of "insurmountable financial constraints" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

National teams: The Eagles

USA Rugby is responsible for organizing the various US national teams:

Men's teams

The Professional Rugby Organization, known as PRO Rugby, was a USA Rugby sanctioned American professional rugby union competition that played in 2016. This was the first professional rugby competition in North America. PRO played only the 2016 season, before it ceased operations as of January 2017.
Major League Rugby, another professional competition, was founded in late 2017. It began play in 2018 with seven teams, all in the U.S., and expanded to nine teams for the 2019 season, with one of the new teams in Canada. 2020 is expected to see 12 teams with East and West divisions.
While not yet professional, the top domestic competition for women's rugby in the US is the Women's Premier league with 10 teams. The league just completed its 10th season.

Club competitions

USA Rugby hosts two national championships in the club space. The Club National Championships in early June along with the Club 7s National Championship in mid August.
Rugby Super League, organized and sanctioned by USA Rugby, was the premier national level of men's club competition in the USA. It was founded in 1996, but ended play as of 2012 following the Great Recession. Following the demise of the Super League, the Pacific Rugby Premiership was formed in 2013, and began play in 2014 as the top level of men's club competition in the U.S.
The USA Rugby club structure sees the United States divided into two leagues: West and East.
Within each league there are four conferences, with the winners of each conference's division advancing to the league semifinals, and the two league champions competing in the national championship.
East: Atlantic North, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southern
West: Pacific North, Pacific South, Frontier, Red River

College rugby

USA Rugby hosts 5 total championship competitions annually. The Men's Division 1-A, Women's D1 Elite, Spring College, Fall College and College 7s Championships.
The Collegiate Rugby Championship is a rugby sevens competition that has been held every year in June since 2010. The tournament is the highest profile college rugby tournament in the U.S., and is broadcast live on NBC every year from PPL Park in Philadelphia. Every year, the number of spectators increase, and in 2015 the College Rugby Championship broke an attendance record at over 24,000 spectators, which shows how the popularity of the sport is expanding.

State rugby organizations

State Rugby Organizations are responsible for developing an administrative structure with the objective of promoting the development of youth rugby within their state. They are also responsible for day-to-day governance, including organizing league structures, collecting dues, implementing a state championship, and conducting rugby outreach. USA Rugby has 44 state rugby organizations.

Hall of Fame

World Rugby Hall of Fame

The following have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame:
InducteeYear
Inducted		Accomplishments
1920 U.S. Olympic rugby team2012Won the gold medal.
1924 U.S. Olympic rugby team2012Won the gold medal.
Patty Jervey2014Played in five Women's World Cups.
Daniel Carroll2016A member of the 1920 Olympic team
Phaidra Knight2017Won All-World Team honors in 2002, 2006

U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame

To date, 68 individuals and three teams who have made a lasting impression on rugby in the United States, have been inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame. For full bios of all the inductees and for more information about the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, visit: usrugbyhalloffame.org.
InducteeYear
Inducted		Accomplishments
1920 U.S. Olympic rugby team2011Won the 1920 Olympic gold medal.
1924 U.S. Olympic rugby team2011Won the 1924 Olympic gold medal.
Patrick Vincent2011Co-founder of USA Rugby. Governor of the U.S. Union.
Dennis Storer2011First head coach of the U.S. national team.
Keith Seaber2011Served for 15 years on the U.S. Union's board of directors.
Managed the first Eagles team in 1976.
Miles "Doc" Hudson2011Head coach of the Cal Golden Bears for 36 seasons ;
339 wins, 84 losses and 23 ties; most wins by a coach in U.S. college rugby.
Kevin Higgins2012Played in 28 test matches for the Eagles and was captain in three.
Played for the United States in the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups.
Robinson Bordley2012Captained the United States in the first two tests they played in the 1970s.
Harry Langenberg2012Co-founded the Missouri Rugby Football Union in 1933; Secretary from 1933–1983.
Ed Lee2012Founding member of the USA Rugby Football Union.
Colby "Babe" Slater2012Captain of the 1924 U.S. team than won Olympic gold.
Craig Sweeney2012Played in the first four tests for the United States Eagles.
Captained the team in the third and fourth tests.
Victor Hilarov2013Founding member and first President of U.S. Rugby Football Union in 1975.
Ray Cornbill2013Head coach for the USA Eagles for eight test matches during the 1970 and 1980s.
Edward Hagerty2013Editor in Chief of Rugby Magazine from 1977 to 2009.
Ian Nixon2013USARFU's 6th president from 1991–1995. Refereed several test matches.
Jon Prusmack2013Founded Rugby Magazine in 1968.
Purchased the USA Sevens tournament in 2005.
Created the Collegiate Rugby Championship in 2010 in partnership with NBC.
Dick Smith2013Founding member and Director of the U.S. Rugby Football Union in 1975.
Jack Clark2014Former U.S. national team player, former head coach of the U.S. national team, and the current head coach at the University of California, Berkeley, where he became the sixth coach in team history in 1984.
Kevin R. Swords2014Former U.S. national team player and captain who represented the U.S. at the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups.
Jay Hanson2014Earned seven caps for the U.S. national team and toured with the Eagles on their first three international tours to England, Australia and Japan.
Tom Selfridge2014Played in the first three matches for the United States in the Modern Era: Australia, France and Canada. Is a past president of the Eastern Rugby Union.
Richard Aldo Donelli2014Had a profound influence on the game as a leader, innovator, coach and administrator, and was one of the best players of his era.
Terry Fleener2014First president of the Eastern Rockies Rugby Football Union and a former president of the United States RFU.
Ron Mayes2014Coached the Old Blues to the first five National Club Championship titles. Coached the U.S. National team from 1972 thru the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987.
Anne Barry2014Served USA Rugby as its president from 1998-2002 and as treasurer from 1990-1998. She continued serving on the USA Rugby Board until 2005.
Mickey Ording2015Started at tighthead prop for the United States against Australia in the first game of the Modern Era. He went onto play in three of the next four U.S. matches.
Don Morrison2015Was an international referee from 1981-1990. Was Chairman of USA Rugby’s Referees and Laws Committee from 1990-1998 and concurrently, was Chairman of the Evaluation Committee from 1990-2002.
Dick Poulson2015Former president of the Washington Rugby Club. Founded the Washington 7s and Cherry Blossom tournaments; and later, the Potomac Rugby Union and the Potomac Referee’s Society.
Jeff Lombard2015Became the first person in U.S. rugby history to play and manage the U.S. national team when he managed the Eagles at the 1987 Rugby World Cup.
Bill Fraumann2015Was a reserve for the United States against Australia in the first match of the Modern Era. Scored the first two tries for the U.S. in their next match against France.
Mike Purcell2015Played for the United States at the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987 and scored the first try for the United States in RWC history. Captained the U.S. 7s team to the Plate Championship in 1986.
Bob Watkins2015Founding Director of the United States of America Rugby Football Union in 1975 and was a three-term president of USA Rugby. Was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Rugby Super League and served as its chairman for the first five years.
Tom Billups2015Played for both the United States 15s and 7s teams, and was head coach of the U.S. 15s team and 7s team.
Patty Jervey2015Scored 38 tries during her 40-test match career for the United States national team. Played in five Rugby World Cups for the U.S., including the 1991 victorious team.
Emil Signes2015Was a successful club and representative side before being named coach of both the United States national men’s and women’s 7s teams.
Rudy Scholz2015Was heavily involved as a player and administrator on both the 1920 and 1924 U.S. Olympic Gold Medal winning rugby teams. Played his last game of rugby in 1979 at age 83.
Ed Burlingham2015Was captain for the United States at the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987. Was an assistant coach for the U.S. at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
Steve Gray2016Was part of the U.S. men’s national team that played the first match of the Modern Era in 1976. Was capped for the U.S. in both 7s and 15s and went onto coach the U.S. Men’s 7s team.
Dan Lyle2016Former captain of the U.S. men’s national team who starred in both 7s and the 15s for the United States. Following his playing career, he has working as a rugby broadcaster and is currently the Director of Rugby for AEG Worldwide.
Dave Sitton2016For many years, was the voice of rugby in the United States. He also coached the University of Arizona for over 35 years and mentored over 1,600 student athletes through the years.
Brian Vizard2016Played for both the U.S. national 7s and 15s teams. He played in the first two 15s Rugby World Cup and the first 7s RWC. He is the current president of the United States Rugby Foundation.
Brad Andrews2016Played for the United States national team from 1977-1979 and captained the team in 1979. He was on the U.S. team that won their first international in the Modern Era.
Jay Berwanger2016In 1935, became the first winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy. He started playing rugby in 1939 and starred on a Chicago team that won 19 straight matches, including a victory over New York in front of 10,000 spectators at Soldier Field.
George Betzler2016Former head coach and assistant coach of the United States national team. He also held many other head coaching positions, including with the Eastern Penn All Stars, USA East, Marine Corps All Service Team and the USA Maccabi Team.
Kathy Flores2016Former U.S. national team player and a member of the victorious 1991 Rugby World Cup U.S. team. She also coached the United States Women’s national team from 2002-2010 and coached the Eagles at the 2006 and 2010 RWC.
Jim Russell2017After a long playing career, made his mark in U.S. rugby as a referee. During his 26 years as a referee: was an A Panel ref, earned an appointment at the 1987 Rugby World Cup and the 1990 Hong Kong 7s, and more recently, served as a World Rugby Judicial and Appeal Officer.
Ed Schram Sr.2017Former chairman of the National Team Selection Committee from 1986-1991. Was also named U.S. National Team Manager and served in that role in 33 test matches, including at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
Tommy Smith2017Named to the All-Time, All-World 20th anniversary team for the Hong Kong Sevens Tournament. Won the Best and Fairest Award at the 1986 Hong Kong Sevens, the only American to win the award.
Jay Waldron2017Has played on various representative sides, and served in various coaching and administrative positions with different clubs and unions throughout the country for over 50 years.
1991 USA Women's Team20171991 Women's Rugby World Cup Champions
Steve Finkel2017Played on the first U.S. Men’s Rugby World Cup team in 1987. Also played for several years on the U.S. 7s team and would later head coach the U.S. Men’s 7s team, including at the first ever 7s Rugby World Cup in 1993.
Dave Hodges2017Earned 53 caps over an eight year career with the U.S. Men’s national team and was captain of the team in more than half of those matches. He held many positions with USA Rugby and was general manager of the U.S. men’s national team at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Dr. Lyle Micheli2017Was a prop for over 40 years for several clubs in the East and Midwest before finally hanging up his boots his boots at 60 years of age. He was Chairman of USA Rugby’s Medical and Risk Management Committee and was inducted into the USA Rugby Sports Medicine Hall of Fame in 2013.
Tim O'Brien2017Represented the United States in both 15s and 7s. Won national championships as a player for both Cal and the Old Blues, and as a head coach at St. Mary’s College of California.
Candi Orsini2017Former U.S. national team player and a member of the victorious 1991 Rugby World Cup U.S. team. She also played on the 1994 and 1998 U.S. Women’s RWC teams and was an assistant coach for the USA women’s team at the 2006 and 2010 RWC.
Mike Saunders2018Captained OMBAC to four national championship titles. Was a former captain of the United States national team and played in the first ever Rugby World Cup. Played and coached the U.S. men’s 7s team and coached the Snake River Rugby Club for over 20 years.
Denis Shanagher Sr.2018The pioneering referee in Northern California, the Pacific Coast and the USA from 1957-1987.He was the first referee to handle an international match, refereeing the U.S.-Canada match in 1977.
Alexandra Williams2018Played 11 years for the United States women’s national team and played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Rugby World Cups. A brilliant leader by example, she captained every rugby team she played on.
Dr. John Chase2018Served as the U.S. Men’s National Team’s on the team’s first international tour of the Modern Era in 1977, the first time a medical specialist traveled with an international team. Subsequently, all international teams traveled with their own physician.
Reldon "Bing" Dawson2018Was one of the premier props in the country during his playing days. Coached OMBAC to six National Club titles and one Rugby Super League crown, and the Pacific Coast Grizzlies to numerous territorial titles. Was an assistant coach for the U.S. at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
Don Haider2018Started his rugby career at Stanford University and played his last game, for the Stanford Alumni in 2014. In between, he played and served for several East Coast based teams. He is a Founding member of the U.S. Rugby Foundation.
Gary Lambert2018Starred for the United States in both 7s and 15s. Was capped 18 times in 15s, played in the first Rugby World Cup and was selected for two World XVs teams. He played for the U.S. 7s team from 1982-1991 and played in the Hong Kong Sevens on eight occasions.
Vaea Anitoni2019
Bob Causey2019
Jen Crawford2019
John Decker2019
Luke Gross2019
Shawn Lipman2019
J. Tyke Nollman2019
Don Reordan2019

Coaching

USA Rugby oversees the coaching of the game. USA Rugby requires coaches to register and complete a certification course.

Geographical unions

USA Rugby organizes amateur registered rugby teams into thirteen geographical unions at the senior club level. High school and youth teams affiliate with State Rugby Organizations while college teams register with either Geographical Unions or College Conferences.
The current Geographical Unions are:
The following states are not currently covered by a geographic union:

Elected governance history

In June 1987, the position of Chairman of the Board was added to the executive committee, and Bob Watkins was named to that position. Effective June 1989, that position was retitled Post of Past President, and remained an appointed post until the position was dropped in 1996.
Effective January 1996, an executive vice president was added.
Election DatePresidentExecutive Vice-PresidentVice-PresidentTreasurerSecretary
January 1996Gene RobertsTony SkillbeckNeal BrendelAnne BarryReyn Kinzey
January 1998Anne BarryNeal BrendelTristan LewisBarbara FugatePat O’Connor

Effective March 2000, the Vice President was replaced with Athlete Vice President.
Election DatePresidentExecutive Vice-PresidentAthlete Vice-PresidentTreasurerSecretary
March 2000Anne BarryNeal BrendelMary DixeyFred Roedel IIIPat O’Connor
March 2002Neal BrendelRobert LathamJen CrawfordFred Roedel IIIPat O’Connor

Effective April 2004, the President title was replace with Chairman, and an USARRA Representative was added.
Election DateChairmanVice ChairmanAthlete Vice ChairmanTreasurerSecretaryUSARRA Rep
April 2004Neal BrendelRobert LathamDon JamesFred Roedel IIIDavid PeltonBuzz McClain
March 2006Robert LathamFrank MerrillAlex MaglebyThomas SchmidtDavid PeltonJohn McConnell

Effective July 14, 2006 the governance was changed to a model with a board of directors nominated and approved by a congress.

National office

The governing body of USA Rugby opened a national office on June 3, 1988. The office has been headed by:
NameTitleStart DateEnd Date
Kirk MilesExecutive DirectorMay 2, 1988December 20, 1989
Roger NepplExecutive DirectorMay 1, 1995September 6, 1995
Paul MontvilleExecutive DirectorNovember 24, 1997April 1999
Terry FleenerInterim DirectorApril 1999June 21, 1999
Mark RudolphExecutive DirectorJune 21, 1999November 9, 2001
Dean HahnNovember 9, 2001
Doug ArnotCEODecember 1, 2002July 14, 2006
Steve Griffiths
Nigel MelvilleCEO and President of Rugby OperationsOctober 11, 2006June 25, 2016
Jim SnyderInterim CEOJune 27, 2016July 31, 2016
Dan PayneCEOAugust 1, 2016-
Ross YoungCEOApril 30, 2018