Kutztown Rugby

Kutztown Nation,

The time for change has arrived. The Golden Bears have opted into the National Collegiate Premier League. This is the most respected level of collegiate rugby in America.  The CPL is comprised of the 32 best collegiate rugby programs in the country. These teams have been divided into four conferences: the North East, South , Midwest and West.  The CPL will commence in the spring of 2011. The members of the Northeast CPL Conference are Kutztown, Army, Navy, Penn State, Ohio State, Delaware, Rutgers and Dartmouth.

The fall season of 2010 will be a developmental structure, designed as a pre-season conditioning period for our senior-level players.  Our developmental players will represent the University during the season, and our Club’s 2nd and 3rd sides will play the scheduled matches on Saturday. The last four weeks of the season will see our 1st side compete in “friendlies” against UVA, Delaware, Penn State and Rutgers along with our developmental sides. 

The Kutztown coaching staff is very excited about the proposed structure. The senior players will practice less often during the week but will concentrate daily on extensive conditioning programs designed to prepare them for the grueling competition that lies ahead in the spring. At the same time, the junior players will practice on a near daily basis and enjoy the fruits of their labor every Saturday. In the spring, just the opposite will occur and we will send the first side into the fray with daily practices and matches.  At the same time, the developmental players will cut back on their practice schedule and play tournaments throughout the spring season as they train hard to build their bodies for the fall season. The theory is that of developing players, growing and expanding their skills and discipline, while giving them a down season to heal and develop for their assigned competition level.

The CPL will play in the spring, even though weather will be a factor, the CPL does not want to compete with college football. The CPL was organized and structured by the thirty two coaches involved in this ground breaking endeavor to bring college rugby into the living rooms of America. The first season will have the playoffs televised live and prime time by NBC. There are major corporate sponsors scheduled to come on board and the CPL has been structured to allow revenue sharing amongst all 32 league members. The 2011 season will kick off for Kutztown on March 19th when Penn State comes to Luckenbill Ave. The season will end with the CPL national championship on May 21,2011.

All of the universities involved in the CPL have been verified by participation agreements. The top university officials from each league participant had to sign those agreements.  The participation agreement has acknowledged the commitment of each university to the league and finally bridged the gap of legitimacy between college rugby and the mainstream media. This is and will be, exactly what it is advertised to be, the very best collegiate rugby in America. Kutztown is excited and proud to be in the forefront of this historic and dynamic step in the continuing globalization of the sport.

2010 Fall Schedule