Now I wouldn’t count on that lasting very long once rugby is reinstated as an OLY sport

USA could surprise a few people yet.

By establishing the sport at the college level where the teams are already branded you tap a ready-made market for the sport. Interest in individual players will follow and help work towards professionalism. If the sport can gains NCAA status and kids could get college scholarships to play, then the world needs to look out.

I started playing rugby at Oregon State University and it was a fantastic experience. Hooked me for life!

Maybe slightly off topic but one samoa national rugby 7s player Apelu faaiuga was contracted to play for one year for one of the USA teams.. so yea he was being paid to play.. So i already thought they had a fully professional rugby comp in USA..

By ACRL
Mar 17, 2010 – 6:35:43 AM

A new league is being formed on the East Coast and is set to commence in the spring of 2011.

The Atlantic Coast Rugby League will feature nine of the 12 men’s teams from universities in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

For most teams, this change will mean fewer miles traveled during the season, but all teams will benefit from more competitive match-ups with traditional rivals.

The idea for this league is not new. Andy Richards and colleague Pat Kane co-founded the Atlantic Coast Invitational Tournament in 2008 for the same teams.

“We’ve been working on this new structure for some time. Each team had to decide what was best for them. Having nine of the 12 teams committed is a very exciting prospect,” Richards said.

The teams that will join the Atlantic Coast Rugby League will represent the following universities:
Clemson
Duke
Georgia Tech
NC State
Maryland
North Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

“While it would be tough for Miami and Boston College to be involved at this point, the door remains open to them as well as Florida State,” added Richards.

“If we can find a sponsor to help fund travel expenses for the teams, then perhaps at some point we can secure participation by all 12 teams.”

The major driving force behind the formation of this league is the prospect of a new collegiate Premier League for top teams looming large on the horizon.

“I think the College Premier League is a great thing, not just for the teams who are in it, but it also represents a chance for collegiate teams from schools within traditionally high-profile conferences like ours to capitalize on that recognized affiliation and build our programs both on and off the field by combining into new competitive leagues,” said Wake Forest head coach Pat Kane.

“This is not a breakaway league. Teams will remain with their Local and Territorial Unions and USA Rugby, continuing to be full members. We are merely changing the competitive league in which we play.

“The Ivy League took this big step last year and we are following in their footsteps.”

A major difference for participating teams is moving to a spring league schedule with all games held in March and April.

This season change will not allow teams the opportunity to advance to the Territorial Union and USA Rugby playoffs as they are currently structured, but Kane explains that such a situation is not unique in college athletics.

For example, the Ivy League does not send its football champion to the NCAA FCS playoffs. The tradeoff of not being able to compete for a national championship is that student-athletes in this league get to play their traditional rivals, compete for an ACRL championship, and do all of it in March and April.

While most teams understand that there is no pathway to a national championship in the short term, it is hoped that in the future, as the competitiveness of the league gets better, there may come the time that there is a pathway for the ACRL champion to re-enter the national rugby scene with promotion and relegation being a possible feature of the new premier league.

Virginia Tech has already announced that it will withdraw from the Mid-Atlantic Premier League this fall.

“The team feels its best interests lie with the Atlantic Coast Rugby League,” club president Cory McGillivray said.

“Now a spring league allows us to pick and choose our fall schedule. Football is king in the fall in Blacksburg; trying to manage a competitive league around it has always been a problem for us. This way, we can now work with it instead of against it.”

The Atlantic Coast Invitational Tournament will move to the fall, scheduled for September 11-12, 2010 in North Carolina, and will also move to a Sevens format.

Richards cited the selection of Sevens as a new Olympic sport as a major reason for the change in addition to the new league spring schedule.
http://www.americanrugbynews.com/artman/publish/college/New_Atlantic_Coast_League.shtml

From my understanding current College competitions are based around regionak Leagues. This wouldn’t change all that much. The difference would be that the top 32 ranked College’s would form the Premier League. As stated there will also be four geographical conference’s with promotion/relegation. I’d imagine that the Top team from each existing Regional League would then playoff to be promoted into the Premier League on a annual basis. At least intially. If and again its a ‘if’ the CPL got up and running I’d expect in quick time to see a 2nd and even 3rd Divisions to be established not long after similar to most College sports.

The more that emerging countries can challenge the old order, the better – and let’s not forget that 7′s is now an Olympic sport – you can’t underestimate the impact that that will have.

In the past yes but recently things have started to become a lot more serious.It may happen it may not but the big difference here is there not waiting for USARugby to set it up.