Santa Clara, CA – The College Rugby Association of America has released the first slate of spring playoff brackets for the upcoming 2022 Championships at Aveva Stadium in Houston, TX on April 30. Men’s D1A, Women’s D1 Elite and Women’s D1 have elected playoff standings, with Women’s D2 expected to finalize brackets shortly.
CRAA has partnered with The Rugby Network (TRN) to provide free online streaming of the CRAA D1 Women’s Spring Championship with professional broadcast production. TRN provides full 1080p HD streams with replays and highlights of every single MLR match. They also produce weekly rugby shows, documentaries, and latest news from the MLR.
“Our goal is to provide the student-athletes with a professional experience and deliver broadcasts to all fans and spectators of the participating institutions,” said Paul Keeler, CRAA Chairperson, “Partnering with the Houston Sabercats and The Rugby Network is helping us achieve our goal and create great student athlete and fan experiences.
D1 Women have elected an eight team bracket with playoffs commencing on April 15, 2022. The West Coast Regional will be held at Stanford University with the Pacific Mountain #1 (TBD) versus Pacific Desert #2 (TBD) at 1PM PDT. BYU will face the University of Washington at 3PM PDT. The winners will meet in the semifinal on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 1PM PDT.
The East Coast Regional will be held at the United States Naval Academy on Friday, April 15, 2022 with the University of Virginia versus At-Large (TBD) at 1PM EDT and the University of Central Florida versus Virginia Tech at 3PM EDT. The winners will meet in the semifinal on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 1PM EDT.
“We are excited for the opportunity to have women’s and men’s competitions at the highest levels compete in the 8×8 Sports Championship Weekend,” said Olivia Benzan-Daniel, CRAA Women’s President, “Providing a professional environment for these championship matches creates a fantastic student-athlete and fan experience for college rugby.”
D1 Elite Women have elected a four team bracket with playoffs commencing on April 16, 2022 with 2021 National Champion and #1 seed Lindenwood hosting #4 Penn State in St. Charles, Missouri at 2:30PM EDT. #2 Life will play host to #3 Central Washington in Marietta, Georgia at 2:00PM EDT.
D1A Men have elected a twelve team bracket with playoffs commencing on April 9, 2022. In the west bracket, #3 BYU will host #6 Arizona and #4 Central Washington will host #5 Cal Poly. The winners will face #1 Cal and #2 St. Mary’s in the quarterfinals of the west. In the east, #3 Texas A&M will host #6 Arkansas State, while #4 Life will host #5 Navy. The winners will face #1 Army and #2 Lindenwood in the quarterfinals of the east.
The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) is a USA Rugby sanctioned competition that includes premier divisions within Men’s and Women’s Collegiate rugby. The competition includes Men’s D1A, Women’s D1 Elite, Women’s D1 and Women’s D2. CRAA is committed to creating the best possible experience for student athletes, keeping commercial resources in the collegiate game, and creating experiences for our members to engage their academic institutions and alumni.
AIG, Pearland Convention and Visitors Bureau and 8×8 Sports have also stepped up to partner the CRAA Championship Weekend. 8×8 Sports, an American rugby apparel company, is the “naming partner” of the overall event and has also sponsored the CRAA Fall Classic in Charlotte, NC. AIG and Pearland are “event partners” for the event, who have provided resources to benefit the championship participants. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event.
