Welcome !
Organizing and recruiting are now underway to start a Rugby Club at CSUSM.
Across the country there are over six hundred rugby clubs at colleges and universities, (the U.S., as a whole, has more that 150,000 players in over 1200 various clubs). Here in San Diego County there are several clubs, and collegiate teams; including rugby teams from our neighboring schools at SDSU, UCSD, and USD. There are already several Rugby clubs within the California State University system, on campuses such as CSU Long Beach, CSU Fullerton, CSU Sacramento, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CSU Humbolt, CSU Chico, Cal Poly Pomona, CSU San Bernadino, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU Los Angeles.
Rugby, next to soccer, is probably the most widely played sport in the world. The game is not new to the U.S. or California, it is actually the father of American Football, and has been played in the U.S. since the 1870's. The U.S. Rugby team won the Olympics in 1920 and 1924, with members from the Stanford Rugby team. Since the 1970’s rugby has been growing in the U.S. and the world (China just last year introduced the game to 13,000 of its universities and colleges).
We are working cooperatively with the nearby Escondido/San Marcos Rugby Football Club (Est. 1976) with them acting as a big brother, sharing their practice field, lights, and coaching resources. This is an excellent opportunity to get our new CSU club started, particularly until the University has its own athletic fields and facilities in place. It also provides a team for alumni of CSUSM to continue to participate in the sport for many years after graduation.
Practice will be every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7:15 - 9:00 PM at the San Marcos Middle School Fields, on Mission Rd. (this is within one mile of the CSUSM campus). Games are typically on Saturdays, with half of the games played locally, and the others played away in neighboring cities and counties.
The CSUSM Rugby Club is open to students , all are welcome (part-time and full-time), faculty, and staff. Rugby is a game that actively and intensely involves all players. There are fifteen players on each rugby side and given the many different positions, there is a position for every size of player.
Clayton Bower, has been named as the Rugby Club advisor. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact him. He can be reached at 750-4776, and cbower@csusm.edu, and in the office on campus in Craven 1327. Information and literature is also available at the Associated Students office.