BYU 26 Life 20 (Ht: BYU 26-5)

(Marietta, GA) Tenacious defense and two first-half tries from BYU center Paul Lasike were enough to hold off a furious Life comeback, as the visiting Cougars escaped 26-20 to advance to their seventh straight national title match.

BYU kicked off to Life and drew first blood: prop Ray Forrester opened the scoring with a 4th minute try, as scrumhalf Shaun Davies slotted a difficult conversion for a 7-0 lead. Just minutes later, center Calvin Nell gathered his own kick and set up scrumhalf Cornelius Dirksen for Life's first try of the match, though a missed conversion meant the Running Eagles lagged at 7-5. BYU flyhalf Dylan Lubbe responded by snatching up an errant pass for a 60-meter run to the house, dotting the posts and bringing the score to 14-5. 

Life held superior possession and field position for most of the match - but even playing in their own half, BYU's playmakers were irrepressible. In the 37th minute, center Paul Lasike found a gap in Life's defense and shot through for a try, setting up Davies' third conversion of the day. Three minutes later, Lasike exploited a Running Eagles turnover to break away for his second try, closing the half at 26-5.

The second half began with Life kicking off to BYU. Cowley booted the ball deep into touch, triggering a Life lineout inside of BYU's 22-meter. All-American no. 8 Cam Dolan made good use of the offensive platform to touch down for a try in the corner, bringing the score to 26-10 after a failed conversion. Soon after, the Running Eagles wheeled the Cougars' scrum on their own 5-meter to claim a turnover and the all-important feed. Life won the scrum and Dolan broke off to the blindside - an offload to flanker Andrew McNeil led to another try, narrowing the gap to 26-17.

Cowley, the leading scorer in D1-A (185 points in the regular season), nailed a 60th minute penalty kick to put his squad within a converted try of their first lead. Unfortunately for Life, it was to be the capstone of their resurgent second half - BYU's fitness and tenacity paid dividends as the Cougars kept ball in hand to contain the Running Eagles, 26-20.

BYU, perennial contenders, will take on upstart Arkansas State in the Red Wolves' first-ever appearance in the finals. ASU had two last-minute tries in their semifinal matchup against St. Mary's to win 31-17. (Life defeated ASU twice during the regular season: 30-14 in Week 5 and 17-13 in Week 10.)

The D1-A National Championship game will be held at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT on May 19th.

With their fifteens season over, Life has three weeks to shift gears before the CRC 7s in Philadelphia, June 2-3rd. The Running Eagles, victors of the 2012 CRC Qualifier, will compete in Pool A alongside Penn State, Wisconsin and Temple.

BYU Cougars

Tries: Ray Forrester, Dylan Lubbe, Paul Lasike (2)
Conversions: Shaun Davies (3/4)
Penalties: Shaun Davies (0/1)

Tua Laei, Will Taylor, Paul Lasike (Chris Wernli), Seki Kofe, Malosi Te'o; Dylan Lubbe, Shaun Davies; Mikey Su'a, Ishmael Tilialo, Ray Forrester (Joey Mount), TJ Allred, Kyle Sumsion, Kumi Tua'one (Chad Harker), Hynie Leaatoa, Ryan Roundy ©.

Life Running Eagles

Tries: Cornelius Dirksen, Cam Dolan, Andrew McNeil
Conversions: Joe Cowley (1/3)
Penalties: Joe Cowley (1/3)

*Joe Cowley, Kyle Grossheider (Takura Tela), Darrian Woodson, Colton Cariaga ©, Calvin Nell; Jake McFadden, Cornelius Dirksen; OJ Auimatagi, Glen Maricelli, Zach Walker, Tyler Salamon, Jimmy Lynch, Andrew McNeil (Paris Hollis), Paul Bester, Cam Dolan.*

Referee: Unavailable
Attendance: 1,240 (official)

Comments

[Joke]

Kurt

Thanks for posting this story on your blog. It is good to read an account of at least one of the major college matches played yesterday. RugbyMag also published match reports, but I could not believe how tardy they were in getting anything other than the score up. RM is supposed to be a news site, but they almost run the publication as a sleepy blog. Whatever happened to sport writers having a deadline? This is what happens when there is no competition and no editorial pride. RM offers a many hours late match report. Joke.

What we learned was St Mary's coach Tim O'Brien was none too happy with his sidelines and how they "honored the game and represented the school". This has been going on for some time at St Mary's, good to hear the head coach has finally had enough. Joke.

Also really taken back by only 1240 in attendance at Life. Life hosted an important RSL match and a college national championship semifinal and couldn't muster 25% of the attendance of a lowly high school football game. Joke.

[Bruce McLane]

I was at the Life v BYU game and the atmosphere was great. The crowd was into it and both sides played spirited, entertaining, rugby.

[Playoff Observer]

As I posted here a couple of weeks ago, the REAL national championship match happened yesterday (12 May) in Marietta in front of twice the crowd that I had forecast. What makes a championship match unforgettable is that there is great rugby talent present, a host of good (and some bad) decision-making happens, teams are relatively evenly matched and THE OUTCOME IS IN DOUBT. That was all on display yesterday at Life U.

Sadly, it was also the WORST camera work I have ever seen in any broadcast in any sport. How does the cameraman get chosen? Is he the player who is injured and can't get onto the field today? A teenager rounded up at the last minute from bystanders? And who made the decision to shoot from a platform with critical angles blocked by the scaffolding itself? Other folks either have a dedicated camera platform or RENT a scissor lift for the afternoon. After all, they had two top-level matches to broadcast, and somehow they used that absolutely awful perch manned by someone who had no idea how to shoot a rugby match. Unforgivable. To have such an important match with such haphazard broadcast standards denigrates the whole competition. Tell me I'm wrong. My teenage son could easily do (and has done) a far better job than was done by Life yesterday.

[american welshman]

I am wondering if anyone is disappointed at the referee's decion's in the Life v BYU match. 2 Blatant knock ons and no call from the ref or the line judge by BYU both at crucial moments in the game in my opinion.

Not to take away from the match,Life were making all the effort to get back in to the match and the ref was no help.

When the BYU 8man picked at base of scrum at 2:49 left in the match in Life's end and he gets hit,drops the ball and falls on it simultaneously and no call? Line judge had to have seen it..everyone else did. I was shocked- such is life-no pun intended.

[Ragby]

The life broadcast was shameful. The scaffolding in the way is one thing. This is rugby, I have come to expect bush league. But an inability to keep the camera on the action was pathetic.

[Pat_Clifton]

Joke...When you actually attend games in person and are tasked with doing color for the webcast, it takes a little longer to work up a report than when watching from home.

Not to mention, press boxes in American rugby are pretty much non-existent, so internet access at the field is dependent upon hot spots, phones, etc. Not the best environment for churning out quick copy.

Glad you're still reading our reports, though, however tardy they are.

[Ref]

I didn't see the game, but it's worth noting that balls that are knocked forward because a defender knocked them out are no longer considered knock-ons by the attacking player. This was the only notable change in law last year.

[benito]

I got about what I expected out of this Life-BYU match. And people will probably say how more people come to BYU's field or maybe Cal's field. But to have 1,240 people, especially at a rugby event in the South is pretty darn good. I believe the thing about Life is people are so focused on what they lack now, as far as an official stadium, they have a nice pitch, but not really a stadium. And the video quality is admittedly dreadful. But the big problem is that even having a live webcast is much better than most college rugby teams.

So, hopefully Life will figure something out for the next season with two cameras and an improved placement of the cameras. Every team needs to take notice. It's like anything you do, if you are going to do it, you need to do it right. Like having a website, if you're website is trash it could do more harm than good.

Cheers to BYU. Hope you face as tough a match in the final.

[Bruce McLane]

The only exception on a knock on is a charge down.

[Can't have your cake and eat it too....]

Camera work on those webcasts are always bad, visa via the angles and scaffold, but at least you can watch 95% of the action. I don't quite understand why the people doing the commentary on the webcast kept calling the Ref "the Sir"? That's bush league.

[MattD]

Anyone who is interested, if you'd like to have a little bit better quality on your video, you might want to try contacting your local news stations to see if any camera men run their own side business. You should be on a first name basis with your local sports anchors anyway. You should easily be able to get a professional camera guy shooting your games in HD, on a 4G connection for $300 to $500 a game. Obviously a LAN connection would be preferred, but 4G should get you through the live feed without too many interruptions.

We did a 4G connection all spring at Ohio State and the company we used did a really great job on the shoot as well. However, we also ran into a few obstructions on camera when we had to play on the turf field instead of our rugby fields. But you can get around those bad angles with a single leg stand instead of a tripod. Either way, I really thought the quality of video we shot was top notch for our level. Its well worth the extra couple hundred bucks.

PLUS if you get a great video, and you broadcast live, that's one additional thing you have to sell to a sponsor. You can probably get a sponsor to cover the cost of the film if you sell it far enough in advance. Life Rugby, brought to you by Company X... couple of additional sponsor plugs, and you're covered. You're not going to make a ton of money off of it, because lets face it your not going to get thousands watching it live, Lord knows we didnt, but what you can get is, higher numbers when you rebroadcast it on vimeo and you send the stream out to your thousand plus alumni, and the other teams alumni.

Anyway, just my thoughts on it. Well worth the investment if you're a D1A or Super League team in my opinion.

[Having cake, trying to eat it]

@Cake - I didn't see the video, but that is one expression that makes my skin crawl. Even worse when the word is used as a verb ("I'm going to be sirring at that tournament next week.")

I don't know if it's bush league; it's just an idiomatic expression. But *ugh* it's an awful one.

[college fan]

@Bruce

The fact you defend 1240 fans at the RSL match is your problem. This acceptance is why the RS league has never caught on. However you defending 1240 at a semifinal national championship is off base. All the talk about people driving in from all over the south turned out to be BS. I agree with the comment on a different thread that US rugby is lucky BYU won. Life would have destroyed the attendance at the championships.

[3 1/2 hours late]

Pat Clifton I only read RM because its the only option. Better, more insightful and professional rugby scribes and publications are truly needed. No doubt you could also raise your game and get improve work published an hour after the match with some good old competition.

[College Lax]

There were 2200 fans in attendance at the Maryland vs Lehigh D1 men's lacrosse Round of 16 game last night. The game was also on ESPNU. So the attendance at Life for this semifinal match demonstrates that the audience for college lacrosse is probably a little greater than for college rugby, although not by much. Had this game been at BYU, there would have been over 3,000 fans I am guessing, putting a college rugby national semi at least ahead of a college lax Round of 16 game. The fact that it was only webstreamed (and by Life, not USAR) hurts, when last year's semifinals were at least live on ESPN3 and then same day tape delay broadcast on ESPNU. So in that respect we've gone backwards considerably. That said, I watched the UVA-Princeton game on ESPN this weekend and there were advertisements from Brine, Warrior, STX. It certainly helps when you have competing equipment manufacturers willing to shoulder part of the production cost of a broadcast. Rugby has failed to find that sort of sponsorship in this country.

Also, a snapshot of attendance figures from some other lax Round of 16 games:

Stony Brook @ Johns Hopkins: 1,676
Princeton @ Virginia: 2,612
Yale @ Notre Dame: 1,503
Denver @ North Carolina: 1,344
Syracuse @ Duke: 3,672
Canisius @ Loyola: 2,018

I also wonder what Arkansas State's total travel costs will wind up being at the end of this. Trip to West Point, trip to Moraga, then trip to SLC. Since I know some D1-AA teams are paying over $25,000 to get to SLC, my guess is that ASU's total tally will be close to $100,000 in playoff travel expenses. That's 10 years' worth of annual budgets for many college rugby teams. Ouch.

[MattD]

College Lax - good info on Lacrosse numbers. I don't think those attendance numbers are THAT insurmountable. Granted its far more than what most get in college rugby, but I think those numbers are attainable if our games are played in proper stadiums. It just brings a level of legitimacy to it.

The point is, its hard for people (average college sporting fans) to take us seriously when we play in parks and not stadiums. We'll get about 250 to 300 people at our home games (when we're not on spring break mind you) and we play on a beautiful rugby field that was built for us by the university, but its still in a park, with no stands... Our fans, alumni and family have to sit on a hill... Which doesn't help us attracted to new fans.

I'm pretty sure the Minn vs Wisconsin game last fall had over 3,000 people at the game when they played in the football stadium. so I have no doubt, fans will come, you just need to make sure they have a seat when they get there.

[Bruce McLane]

I think life did a good job on the game. RSL doesn't get money or anything from USA rugby. They do a good job too.

Eagles may get 3-5k at a game, but they lose money on events.

We all want it to be better but given our resources we do what we can.

[Sergeant Hulka]

LAX: I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but College Lacrosse is an official NCAA sanctioned sport while college rugby is a club sport either lightly supported by the university or not at all supported (sarcasm intended). Usually rugby clubs are run by the players themselves. The fact that there is even mention of a club sport getting 1,000+ in attendance and some TV time is impressive. The Women's College Championship in Stanford played to a packed house on Saturday and it was probably the most exciting match of the weekend. BTW, Penn St. beat Stanford 32-12. Halftime score was PSU 10 Stanford 12.

[College Lax]

Hulka-
Not sure what your point is. I'm pretty sure anyone with basic reading comprehension skills could tell that my post was insinuating that college rugby is not that far off of college lacrosse numbers in terms of attendance, which is a good thing given the NCAA/club sport distinction. But thanks for updating me on the women's final. I was especially curious what the halftime score was.

[Sergeant Hulka]

Could be your negative tone (Rugby has gone backwards, comparing round of 16 attendance to semi-finals, poor sponsorship opportunities for college rugby, loss of ESPN viewing).

[Having cake, trying to eat it]

I read it as a positive (both in tone and content) as well...that we're not that far behind. And considering that at least more than half of the sweet 16 games were at schools several orders of magnitude larger than Life, that supports his claim that the attendance difference is not unsurmountable.

The fact that last year the rugby semis were on TV and this year they are not IS a negative and a step backwards.

[college fan]

Bruce, why do you always mention RSL doesn't get anything from USAR?

No one gets anything from USAR, accept the Eagles and the paid staff in Boulder. We all just pay dues, for nothing in return.

The colleges pay dues for the right to provide USAR with a top product.

[bruce mclane]

i am not sure but i think D1a got 250k. which is a good thing.

we pay a ref bill every year (but we get the top refs for it)

i am not complaining, it is just that perhaps the commercial expectations that people have for RSL clubs are unrealistic. the only people who really watch rugby are players and former players.

most people play on saturday, so they have things they'd rather do with their clubs.

hopefully youth rugby grows as it has in some locales (like union NJ and morris NJ and some inner city locations in NY) and we can tie it all in.

the reality is most RSL clubs are run by similar guys who run clubs at all levels.

i'm just saying its not as easy as people make it out to be. it is expensive, but on par with D1 and D2 and D1a college as far as expenses etc.

top college games are a blast to watch as are top RSL games as was shown at Life this weekend, my team was excited to see the semifinal and we weren't disappointed.

I only say it because people assume we get money when we don't.

[College Lax]

Hulka is such an apologist that he/she even is able to find negative tone in comments meant to be positive. 1. The attendance gap is not that bad amd could be overcome. I specifically stated that the attendance would have EXCEEDED that of the lax playoffs if it had been held at BYU. 2. In addition to being an NCAA sport (which means that the NCAA takes money from its ridiculous men's college basketball tournament deal with CBS and spends it on televising non-revenue college sports like lax), lacrosse also has specialized equipment and equipment manufacturers that are willing to put money towards broadcasts. If scrumcaps were as vital to the sport of rugby as sticks are to lax, maybe rugby could get the same sponsorships. But they are not. The inexpensive nature of the game of rugby and lack of specialized equipment is what also, unfotunately, means a lack of companies jumping to sponsor college rugby broadcasts. 3. ESPNU for both semifinals last year to webcast for the Life-BYU game and no webcast (that I am aware of) for the ASU-SMC game this year is, in fact, a step backwards. Facts are facts, whether you like them or not.

And your NCAA to club argument ian't too compelling, because men's collegiate club lacrosse is ahead of men's collegiate club rugby too. http://mcla.us/

[Sergeant Hulka]

Wow, agro. My only point is that rugby is a club sport and it is unheard of that a club sport would garner as much sponsorship or attendance than an NCAA sport such as lacrosse. I'm excited that the attendance at the college rugby playoffs is what it is (as I've stated in older topic posts), as well as at the women's college rugby championship. I don't know what the seating capacity is as Stanford, but it must have been 90% full. You're welcome for the halftime score.

[Realist]

Games need to be played in stadiums or in places with stands, period. I remember being a very enthusiastic high school kid and going over from Sacramento to watch SFGG play a SL game and being really disappointed with the overall experience and never going back. If you can't retain an enthusiastic kid obsessed with rugby, how can you expect to get anyone else to show up other than friends and family of the players? The only experience I've ever been to that actually would get me going back at a club rugby game in America is Glendale.

[Ref]

Bruce, you don't know the law as well as you think you do.

IRB Clarification: Law 12 – A knock-on occurs http://www.scrrs.net/irb-rulings/irb-clarification-law-12-a-knock-on-occurs/

[just sayin...]

Realist- Let us know if you find another city government to support and fund a local rugby club.SFGG is a more realistic and attainable model to follow.

[Desperate D1-A]

Look what D1-AA coaches are getting in their inbox today from USA Rugby.
----------------------------------
Division 1A competition to broaden

The top level of collegiate competition in the U.S. is looking to potentially add new members. The Division 1A level of men’s College Rugby finished the 2012 regular season with 25 member teams. Since the regular season finale, a number of teams have opted to depart from the competition, primarily for administrative reasons, leaving the door open for teams who may wish to try their hand at the highest level.

“There seems to be this idea out there that this was some sort of a closed off competition that only the teams that are in have access to,” said USA Rugby Director of Rugby Operations Jim Snyder. “That isn’t the case. The competition started as a combined effort of all the teams involved to play at a higher level, so in keeping with that spirit, any team that is looking to position themselves in an arena that will challenge their program to improve is potentially a viable candidate for inclusion.”

In D1A, there is increased access to resources that can be used to improve a program’s performance, a higher standard of refereeing, and a higher level of visibility for the D1A programs through national broadcasts and the dedicated competition website (http://www.d1arugby.com).

In addition, there are some very tangible benefits from some of the D1A sponsors including the United States Marine Corps, Gilbert Rugby Balls, World Rugby Shop, and Veloce performance equipment.

If your college Rugby program may be interested in playing up at the highest level please contact Jim Snyder (jsnyder@usarugby.org).

[lv_rugger]

D1A Final will be on ESPNU via tape delay Tuesday at 4:00PM PST.

[Realist]

Just sayin,

You mean the model of being located in the best region for rugby in the US? I could make a team of Norcal-born and raised players that would beat the Uruguays and Chiles of the world and that's down to the strength of high school and college rugby in Norcal rather than SFGG.

I'd say taking a professional approach overall, playing in a stadium, having games on TV and highlights on Youtube is a much better approach than being the only SL team in American rugby's strongest region.

[hey kid want some money, become a premier team.]

When 6 more legit D1a program drop, there will be more D1a standard teams in the D1aa than in D1a.

Jim Snyder is a fool to think the plan for college rugby going forward is to promote under achievers to the top level comp just to make up the numbers. What a classic example of USAR management.

Now to make matter worse, Snyder and his bosses are trying to lure teams to promote with cash. What a great use of funds, to resource frat teams with HP dollars!

How about this for a plan. Quit charging dues to pay for the Eagles and this lame Boulder staff and leave the money for the teams to invest locally, team by team. Use the HP grants from the IRB for real HP plans like the AA's and Jr teams.

[Playoff Observer]

To those who say that D1A has regressed from last year probably didn't attend last year's semis at Glendale. I did. There were perhaps 200 people in attendance and zilch enthusiasm. At least the semis were held in environments that had some passionate fans in attendance.

While there were only some tiny bleachers at the SMC/ASU match on Saturday and no admission control (no proceeds from the match), it was certainly a passionate crowd.

Good on ASU for beating both the East and Pacific conference champions on each team's home turf. It's an amazing accomplishment.

The current system, however, has failed to put the two best teams in the competition in the final (Life vs BYU) and should thus be fixed. It's just criminal to have that wonderful contest from last week NOT be for the national championship.

There would have been 3000 fans at South Field, and will likely be next year when it's the West's turn to host the semis (should BYU be fortunate enough to win the conference again). I'm sure BYU will have a multi-camera shoot with play-by-play and color comentators as well.

[bruce mclane]

ref
http://www.irblaws.com/downloads/EN/Law_12_EN.pdf
just using the main source. i hear what you say

"it's worth noting that balls that are knocked forward because a defender knocked them out are no longer considered knock-ons by the attacking player"

your language suggests a tackle can't cause a knock.
ripping a ball is not what was said.

trust me, i am very up on the laws.

[NYC Blowhards Suck]

Big Bad Bruce knows the laws! STFU blowhard.

[bruce mclane]

touche' you're right i should have just let it go

[College #4]

It's like the last thrash of a dying animal!
The Cpd/d1aa is done Jim, let it die peacefully

[CPDud]

CPD was DOA. From the very beginning I said that the way forward was to settle on 8 to 12 teams that have the finances, facilities, university support and the quality to compete. Name the teams in January with the plan to start play the following year. So, January 2011 announce the competition and play the inaugural game in Spring 2012. In Spring 2010 you make sure you have some friendlies to sell the game to broadcasters and sponsors. Cal vs. BYU in SLC, Cal vs. St. Mary's in Nor Cal, Army vs. Navy at Westpoint, etc. If the sponsors and broadcasters don't bite, and if you know as the national governing body you did your very best to sell the game, then there is no shame in the try.

Instead you had clowns from joke programs (Claremont) selling their team's inclusion based on an alumni being a part owner of a NBA franchise. Others just had to go where Jack was going. Throw the whole thing on Todd Bell's lap and SURPRISE it is a mess within a year.

[CPDud]

TYPO - Spring 2011 just after the announcement.

[See Pee Dood]

TYPO - an alumnus (there was only one)

[Grant Cole]

Allied Rugby Conference
http://www.t5andahalf.com/files/51713408.pdf

[D1AA to be run by secret organization]

Most of you talk about teams dropping from D1A and going back to D1AA like you're sticking a sword in the heart of some mighty dragon and that the collapse of D1A will change everything. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they are both still run by the same governing body no...? did USA Rugby drop the D1AA and not tell anybody? ... NO, I don't think so. .

I know one of JC's main reasons for leaving the D1A was scheduling and getting his kids to walk during graduation, but another more valid reason was that he never received any of the gate from last year's National championship game. Well do people now think that because teams are now in D1AA that's going to change? Its still USA Rugby you're dealing with people. And unless he and other schools plan to secede from USA Rugby, then these moves were all for not, because nothing is going to change simply by dropping to D1AA.

The D1AA teams will still need to travel overnight for playoffs, and the National championship. If you want to play brand name teams and form a conference like in the SEC, or Big Ten or ACC, you'd still need to travel across across multiple state lines. So instead of playing a handful of elite teams and a bunch of average to above average programs in D1A, If it folds you'll go to D1AA and play those same teams except you'll also add in about 50 more average teams and about 50 more garbage D1AA teams that we're forced into D1 because of their football program... Oh and you'll have less high performance funding from USA Rugby and even less tv time. So keep patting yourselves on the backs fellas, its well deserved.

[Sergeant Hulka]

Meanwhile, hidden in plain site:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/13/SPB51OH1MQ.DTL

[Secret Organization Leader]

The invention of CPL/CPD/D1A was the catalyst for the restructure of D1-AA into the conference system. Without the top teams moving to the CPL, that wouldn't have happened. The problem is, that D1-AA, although technically run by USAR, has alot more autonomy and quickly became a more appealing option for certain teams who had committed to the CPL. D1-AA becomes less appealing when you absorb all of the D1A teams that are dropping down, but it is still more appealing than D1A and more autonomous. You mention the big elephant in the room-secession from USAR. Which conference will be the first to take that bold step? My money is on the PAC-12 if that gets created. Otherwise, I would guess maybe the ACRL. Before the restructure, the ACRL had already formed and was planning to play just a conference schedule with no intention of participating in national playoffs.

[D1AA to be run by secret organization]

Sergeant Hulka - This is my favorite part of the article; "The Bears withdrew from Division I-A because of dissatisfaction with how the 31-team league was structured and the cost of travel, coach Jack Clark said."

Jack Clark helped structure the very D1A league he was dissatisfied with and if he forms his PAC12 conference and plays in Sevens tournaments in the fall he will travel further now more than ever. The PAC 12 conference stretches out over a third of the U.S. land mass, from California, to Oregon to Arizona, to now Utah and Colorado... The hypocrisy dripping from his mouth is delicious.

He needs to just come out and say the following, "I, Jack Clark made a freaking mistake. I'm sorry. Now let's move forward"

[CPDud]

JC spins Cal fleeing the premier division of collegiate rugby after winning 26 national championships as "joining 5 other schools" and "Those five rings give us that credibility we need." What a load of CRAP! He fled because he didn't get a cut of the gate from the final and his team was in a rebuilding year. If he had the horses, he would have stayed in the CPD/D1-A to win #27.

JC is also up to his old tricks dropping the name of the PAC-12 commissioner Larry Scott and linking it to rugby when there is no connection. These not existent associations is what he did to stir everyone up about getting in the CPD. Remember all the talk about the amount of commercial viability rugby has as a spring field sport that can compete or exceed the commercial vitality of LAX?

The guy has all the resources you could ever want as a rugby program, yet plays more politics than any other team.

[News Bulletin]

Breaking News:

Jack dropped out of D1-A cause his team was shite and would have lost every semifinalist this year.

Full stop.

Sincerely,

BYU, Arkansas State, Life, St. Mary's and almost Utah.

[Anon]

If the "Secret Organization Leader" is Pat Kane, may God have mercy on college rugby's soul.

[Playoff Observer]

Soooo...
If Jack gets his way (and he usually does), the PAC12 will have a rugby competition. And, miracle of miracles, if it includes BYU (but not St. Mary's? because Jack doesn't want them) AND the Rugby East forms a super conference with Army, Navy, Penn State, Ktown, Notre Dame, Life?, ASU, et. al., each with a spring 15s competition. Then, you have a 3-game series, with East #1 playing Pac12 #2, and vice versa, with the championship at a site that has the most attractive financial proposition (4-year bid cycle to build momentum with the locals), likely in a MSL stadium or, even better, in an NFL stadium.

Call it the (fill in sponsor name here) College Rugby Bowl and use the proceeds to, 1) fund travel in the playoffs, 2) underwrite high-quality live broadcast, and 3) underwrite autonomous staff to administer each league.

I'll be glad to help make this happen. Anybody wanna join me?

[CPDud]

@PO

BYU or St Mary's will not be in a PAC-12 conference. I have heard JC speak about a PAC12 vision for rugby and it has a lot to do with providing content for the PAC12 Network that PAC12 commissioner Larry Scott has been the visionary and deal maker to make it happen. The addition of non-PAC12 teams will not help rugby get on this new network. The PAC12 network is where JC sees all the potential dollars for his program, which is all JC is about by the way.

The PAC12 Network will consist of seven new cable network channels: six regional channels and one national. That is one regional channel for each of the 6 regions with PAC12 teams: Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California, Arizona and Mountain. The PAC12 Network will air 850 live events. Of those, 350 events—including all football and basketball games—will be seen on both the national channel and regional versions of the network. The PAC12 Network will air approximately 100 Olympic events on the six regional networks. That focus will be on events that do not always get coverage on the major networks and will highlight PAC12 schools and athletes in each region. Other programming will include coaches shows and other local features. In February 2012 they broke ground on construction of studios in San Francisco. The cable operators are players in this adventure, too. Signed up so far are the country's four biggest cable companies: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House. In PAC12 states, the national and/or appropriate regional network will be available on basic cable from day one. The national network will be available on those companies digital sports tiers in other parts of the country. DirecTV, Dish and telephone companies have not been announced, but the conference has said that they are working on it. From day one, the PAC12 TV Networks will be available to 40 million homes across the country—many more potential viewers than other TV deals like the Big 10 and Longhorn networks, and PAC12 retains full ownership of the networks. Hired last fall to run the overall venture that has been named Pac-12 Enterprises, president Gary Stevenson is also a major player and will be the "buck-stops-here" guy regarding the ultimate success of the startup. Stevenson helped launch the highly successful Golf Channel in the mid-'90s. Don't have a TV? No problem, everything that's on the Pac-12 Network, from day one, is going to be available on your iPad or on any mobile device. It has also been promised that the networks will have all available technological bells and whistles viewers could want. The venture is named PAC12 Enterprises, will be HQ'd in San Francisco and include the TV networks, a conference digital network and a sponsorship department. In less than one year, the go-go start-up has hired Stevenson, acquired a headquarters location, hired an executive team and is on its way to adding approximately 125 total employees prior to launch day, which is August 15, 2012

Did JC know this was all going to be in the cards for rugby at Cal when he trumped up a CPD in the winter of 2010? I think so. Why did he trump up a CPD? Probably helped him with his troubles with rugby being bounced out of their varsity status. Will rugby as a product be attractive to the PAC12 Networks? Probably 7s to start and perhaps 15s in the future. I think the biggest challenge for JC to make money on PAC12 Networks is will the other PAC12 rugby programs allow him to put a good product together for the network. Cal destroying UCLA, ASU, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Washington & Oregon State, Colorado and Stanford by 100+ and USC by 200+ isn't going to do the trick. The only marketable game within the next year or two is Cal vs. Utah.

[Playoff Observer]

@CPDud
So what you're telling me is that NO games where one of the competitors isn't a member of the PAC12 will be broadcast on the network?

[hey girl]

A couple of you guys sound like unpopular teenage girls talking about the popular girls.

[Ragby]

JC being all about the money for his program is understandable considering they have to fund 2 women's teams just to keep their varsity status. You make it sound like a bad thing. Or are you implying he is all about the money in terms of money for himself? That cant be true or else he would have taken the Bath job when it was offered years back.

[Sergeant Hulka]

Cal rugby's reinstatement to campus meant they have to bankroll 2 women's sports. Definitely they were hoping the CPD would add to their coffers to help with this, especially since they are getting no gate revenue during the sports complex/stadium reconstruction. Since they got nothing (same as all schools), I'm not surprised that Jack and Co. are looking for other revenue streams. I think it's a crappy thing to do, but I'm not surprised at all.

[CPDud]

@PO

What I am saying is that a BYU or St Mary v. Cal game is not going to get JC airtime on the new network. A robust and vibrant PAC12 rugby conference would tick the boxes for the network to provide content across their 7 network channels. A one off against a non-conference team is one game on one regional channel. Not really going to get the show schedulers or the sponsorship department very excited.

[CPDud]

@hey girl

Make a relevant point or STFU.

[college fan]

Cal dropped for reasons similar to the other 10 teams that have dropped, the only difference being they won the competition then dropped. This and JC thought it was a good idea before he thought it a bad idea. But hell people change their mind.

[Realist]

The Pac 12 has plenty of sports with associate members:

Wrestling: Boise St, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly
Swimming and Diving: UCSB, Cal Poly
Soccer: Cal State Bakersfield, SDSU

The only difference I see with those is that they are all public, secular schools whereas St Mary's and BYU are religious schools. BYU was rejected by the Pac 12 as a full member because of this so it could be an obstacle.

[D1a coach]

Hate to ruin the JC/Cal are greedy theme, but it came to light in the 2011 CPD post season meeting that 3 of 4 semifinalist took travel grants to Glendale. The one team that didn't was Cal. Clark said the deal between the CPD teams and USAR was 31 equal shares on all available funds. Therefore Cal declined their travel grants, because my team and other weren't going to receive any funds..

The point was made that not only did BYU and Cal not receive funds for participating in a final with 12.000 fans. None of the CPD teams received anything. JC thought all the teams had a check for a little coming their way. Nigel Melville, said the funds were his. Case closed and the CPD is one its last legs.

[CPDud]

@Realist

Those are NCAA sports with a long Olympic history. Nothing to do with religion.

[Foster Grants?]

Grants from who?

[Bias]

@CPDud

So how does SDSU being in the Pac12 for soccer lift their conference brand? They just going to black out SDSU games? How about Boise State, Cal-Poly SLO & Cal-State Bakersfield in wrestling? Or UCSB in swimming & diving?

JC won't include a BYU or a SMC for only one reason: he doesn't want to lose.

The Pac12 isn't as biased like JC and they see the value in adding top flight competition no matter the school/brand.

[Walter Cronkite]

To follow up on D1A Coach's point, it became very clear to many that there would never be any distribution back to the 31 teams after the final. The travel grant to the three teams by USAR was done under the table and never disclosed to CPD teams.

CPD will continue to struggle until those coaches seize control of the competition and run it themselves. But,we know that's not going to happen.

[Realist]

CPDud,

My point is that there is already a precedent for the Pac 12 having non-member schools compete in Pac 12 sports as associate members. Given that BYU and St Mary's are top 5 overall programs in the country and are among the few schools that have competitive matches with Cal, the Pac 12 would be insane not to include them if this ever happens. Additionally, those two schools are big draws and matches between Cal and those two teams would sell more tickets than any other games Cal plays all year, including UBC.

Saying that including those schools wouldn't help get rugby on the P12N is patently false.

[Sergeant Hulka]

Participating teams in the Pac12 for each sport. Men's rowing has 4 Pac12 teams that are club sports.
http://www.pac-12.org/ABOUT/ParticipatingTeams.aspx

[CPDud]

@Bias

All 12 PAC12 schools are in the same conference in women's soccer. For PAC12 men's soccer there are 5 PAC12 teams and SDSU to make up the 6 team conference:

California
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
Washington
San Diego State (affiliate)

SDSU is out of the PAC12 for men's soccer starting Fall 2015. Arizona, ASU, USC, Washington State, Oregon, Utah and Colorado do not have varsity men's soccer programs.

Ditto on the other sports where all members don't have a program. They either form a conference with the number of PAC12 programs available, let other university programs into a PAC12 dominated conference to meet NCAA regulations for the conference, or join the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), which has 11 sports, 41 institutions, 98 teams in 13 states competing in various sports in MPSF conferences all under the ruling of the NCAA like the PAC12 or any other conference.

There is no varsity wrestling at Cal, so not sure what you're going on about on that point. Below is the PAC12 wrestling programs with affiliates:

Arizona State
Oregon State
Stanford
CPSLO (affiliate)
Boise State (affiliate)
CS Bakersfield (affiliate)

Since all the PAC12 schools have rugby, the only thing that makes sense is for a conference with 12 teams.

[CPDud]

Of course only 1 of those 12 programs is a varsity sport. So, perhaps JC should be looking to form a conference with Davenport, Lindenwood(?), Jesuit Wheeling, and...hmmm...whoever and sell that to the PAC12 Networks.

[Realist]

Only 1 Pac 12 school "has" rugby. Your argument makes no sense.

[Anon]

The travel grants have been discussed on probably half of the conference calls since the CPD's founding. To say they were given out "under the table" is highly ingenuous.

Also, I've still been awaiting a response on how the CPD teams were planning on sharing negative revenue (i.e. losses) had the final this year been Life v. Arkansas State. If Cal and BYU want to play in Rio Tinto on their own and split the revenue, so be it. But I hardly think it's wrong for USAR to capture the revenues for a final when it's their national championship that they planned and organized.

[CPDud]

Cal is the only team in the PAC12 that has a varsity program. The other's are club sports with funding in the mid to low 4 digit range and zero to little access to athletic department resources.

[Realist]

Then why are you saying that there are 12 teams in the Pac 12 with rugby and that the only logical way to do it is to have all 12 be part of it with no associate members?

[CPDud]

Do I really have to explain the massively obvious sarcasm in my post about Cal being the only varsity program in the PAC12? Are you 12?

[Realist]

Perhaps you should try something constructive rather than barfing out your stream of consciousness musings.

[CPDud]

@Realist

I presented all the facts you need to know about the PAC12 Network and how JC and Cal would use the creation of this network to try to raise funds for their rugby program. You just ask dumb questions because you have the reading comprehension of a drunk 6 year old.

[Realist]

That would be fine and dandy except your "facts" were shown up by actual facts. Too much time in the Quake Shaker for you.

[CPDud]

You don't make sense. Keep hitting the sauce.

[college fan]

With the new Texas conf and the conference soon to be announced, isn't it silly Boulder USAR employee Jim Snyder is trying to entice D1aa teams to the D1a. This isn't a smaller better D1a, its a smaller competition of lesser quality. Dia still has some good teams, but it also has some poor teams. In fact I think a case can be may that D1aa is overall better.

Why isn't USAR's well paid employees out in front of this meltdown? Clearly D1a premier is going to go away. Something new has to be created or we are going to have too many teams in D1aa and more conference than playoff positions.

While this is going on Jim Snyder is offering open invitations to join the premier league. Melville's $300k in salary doesn't get us what it used to. What is Jim Snyder on, to leave early and coach the CU team? How about you boys work the weekend and figure this shit out?

A year ago all that was discussed was could Cal win in Utah against BYU. Now, there is not a mention of the game in 70 comments.

[College #4]

The power in collegiate rugby is in the hands of the conference commissioners. The better the commissioner, the better the conference. Select wisely!

[The Real Realist]

Last time I read anything about a conference commissioner in the rugby media it was a story about the commissioner playing kids not enrolled in he college he was coaching forcing him to resign from the coaching position and the commissioner position. OOPS!

My point is that the college commissioners are just volunteer coaches strapping on some extra hours of work. No different than the executive board for a LAU or TU. No big changes are going to happen, and the folks in Boulder know it. Expect a CIPP hike as the IRB is only going to spend 50M Pounds in development funds between now and the end of the next RWC compared to the 150M Pounds they spent between 2008 and 20012.

The IRB teet is getting dry and the membership numbers are growing. Do the math.

[College #4]

I said select wisely, did I not?
The better conferences are in control and will be a powerful force soon.
If they decide they don't need to spend all that money to go to nationals, they might just decide they don't need USAR!

[Realist]

CPDud,

Try reading again. I'll break it down for you since you seem a bit slow:

You: Pac 12 Network would have no interest in non Pac 12 schools being a part of Pac 12 rugby

Others: happens in other sports, why not rugby?

Then you descend into "sarcasm".

By the way, the Pac 12 rejected BYU in favor of Utah because of religion in the first place. BYU has a bigger fan base and a bigger share of the Utah market than the Utes. But schools like Stanford didn't like BYU's religious influence on its academics so Larry Scott went with Utah instead. Given that, I'm not sure the Pac 12 would want them as an associate member in rugby but it would be more palatable than as a full member in all sports. So yes, religion does have something to do with it.

[STFU]

Anon is the only person on this thread who has made any sense.

Poor Cal, didn't get any money from the gate. Wel should USAR have given some of the revenue to the HS teams who were there? Highland played that day, should they get some revenue? Who's left holding the bill when Life/Ark St sell a total of 2000 seats in Rio Tinto.

You all think you have the answers... your just a bunch of blowhard dip shits who like to hear yourself talk.

[CPDud]

@Realist

You're wrong and spreading rumors of religious intolerance is just plan shameful.

First, the reason why BYU wasn't included in the expanded PAC10 is because it owns a network with contractual obligations that would directly conflict with then planned PAC12 Enterprise venture I outlined above. The PAC12 Enterprises venture wanted to have all teams in the conference assign all media rights to the new venture so they could fully monitize the conference rights as they established their 7 networks and established conference sponsorship. If you are too dumb to recognize the massive conflict bringing BYU into the PAC12, then you should just step away from the keyboard and stop embarrassing yourself.

[CPDud]

@Realist

Second, a rugby pitch to the newly formed PAC12 Enterprises - probably the only pitch rugby will ever get because it is a brand new venture looking for programming - that is Cal and a half dozen non-PAC12 teams is a non-starter. I don't know what you do for living, but if your business acumen is so inept that you do not realize a complete PAC12 conference with games on campus varsity soccer facilities is probably going to get a serious look compared to the hodgepodge Cal vs. (insert non PAC12 conference team here) conference you have dreamed up, then you should just fill out an application at the local grocery store chain and stock shelves for the rest of your life.

[CPDud]

Third, the sarcasm was addressing the FACT that Cal is the only varsity rugby program in the PAC12 and one of the few in the country.

[anon/STFU are the same dude bumming his comment]

Sorry to get in the way with Dud and Realist's little bitch fight, but STFU has put a meaningful cap point on this whole discussion.

STFU who is most likely anon, agree with anon, that...the teams shouldn't get squat. That these are USAR championships and they deserve whatever profits are generated.

First when I read anon post, like many I'm sure it was transparent it was from a USAR employee or administration member. This blog, GL, has caught out Congress and Board members posting anon to better their favor several times.

The next thought was how badly this administration see their role.

We need to point out that the CPD teams paid 97% of all cost. Much like the D3, D2 D1aa college team have. The only real thing USAR has done is to charge dues.

To believe some portion of a 12,000 fan event shouldn't be returned to the teams to offset their investment is crazy. It is this type of thinking which has killed the CPD/D1a and will soon drive all of US college rugby away from USAR.

USAR is the only NGB which charges college players and teams dues to play their sport. This is remarkably sad. On top of this USAR expects the teams to pay 100% of the cost of national championship participation and if there is a profit leftover USAR assumes it is theirs. You can't make this stuff up.

You would think the administrators would stay quite and keep their little scam on the down low but they can't help themselves. They jump on GL and post, how dare the teams want a percentage of the profits to offset their expense, the money is ours, we own the championship. Note to dumb-shits, you own it today, but you won't own much going forward. That is unless a new administration is seated which is fair minded.

One third of the CPD teams have moved on. A dozen more to follow. Just keep posting,"we own it, its our money" and lets see where it gets you.

[Man, I was so high when I said that.]

"Dia still has some good teams, but it also has some poor teams. In fact I think a case can be may that D1aa is overall better."

Okay, I think it's time we established some ground rules about posting on Gainline while under the influence of hallucinogens.

[Realist]

Dud,

1. Here are some links in support of me:

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2011/09/22/actionreaction-pac-12-non-expansion-espns-conflict-and-byus-future/

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-27/sports/30327483_1_bronco-mendenhall-byu-pac-12

Your turn.

2. Your strawman is nice as far as strawmans go, but I never suggested such a thing and to my knowledge no one else did either. My suggestion was to add BYU and St Mary's to whichever other Pac 12 teams were participating (presumably the 6 Pac 12 teams in the 2011 edition of CPD) because they present quality opposition, geographically make sense and tend to have good crowds. Given the precedent in other sports, it's not an outrageous suggestion.

3. Acerbic.

[Realist]

A few more links:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700040824/BYU-football-Cougars-have-reputation-but-no-invite.html?pg=2

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2010/05/12/pac-10-expansion-revisiting-the-brigham-young-issue/

Notice that there is zero mention of BYU TV anywhere?

[STFU]

Nope. Pretty sure I don't post on here as other people, and pretty sure I don't work for USA Rugby. So nice work creating a conspiracy theory. I really shouldn't be surprised at all that regular posters on this stupid site came up with some whacko conspiracy theory, but that's beside the point.

I never said "It's our money, you can't have any!". It's a serious question. If the profit is split, who is left holding the bag when it loses money?

I agree that the teams competing should get a kick back to help cover cost, but again, what if the tournament loses money?! Just because Cal/BYU packed em in, does NOT mean Life/AKST, or St Mary's/UT, or whoever... will sell the same amount of tickets. Rugby is just not at that place in the US where we can guarantee ticket revenues at any event. You guys have delusions of grandeur.

[Playoff Observer]

@STFU
It's a good question about who owns the competition. Each university owns its own competition rights. When the group of coaches got together as university representatives in SLC in 2010, it was clear to all that they and not USAR were organizing a new competition and that, since USAR was interested in administering it, USAR was allowed to attempt to make it work for the universities.

If USAR decides to get hissy about its ownership of the competition, the schools will just vote with their feet and organize another league that better suits their needs . It's clear that USAR hasn't been able to monetize the competition as well as it claimed it could. Up til now, the schools eat all the costs and USAR gets all the revenue from revenue-making parts of the playoffs. I personally think it's ridiculous for Arkansas State to travel cross-country three weeks in a row to suit the needs of USAR and foot the bill for getting to the final then have USAR keep the profits from the gate at Rio Tinto.

I watched ASU beat St. Mary's last Saturday while thinking that, wow, St. Mary's just dodged a $20,000 tab if they win that game. It's just crazy to be hoping to lose so the team won't be coming after me to support another post-season travel bill.

Every other real championship foots the travel bill for participants from gate receipts so that teams don't have to worry about geography in the playoffs. Then, the organizers can focus on getting the top 2 teams to the final to maximize the gate. Of course, that didn't happen this year. Oh well.

[huh?]

"Every other real championship foots the travel bill for participants from gate receipts so that teams don't have to worry about geography in the playoffs."

I guess I don't know what your definition of "real championship" is, but most NCAA championships do not work this way. In fact, most college sports teams that make NCAA tournaments lose money as a result of travel, tickets they are required to sell that they have to eat, etc.

[Logic Fail?]

If D1-A was the only competition at the event, there'd be a better argument for potentially splitting revenue. But it's not.

If D1-A was willing to cover losses in exchange for possible profits should it be Life-Arkansas State in Utah, there'd be a better argument for potentially splitting revenue. But it's not.

If D1-A was willing to cover the costs of site exploration, staffing, match officials etc., with the full knowledge that it's cheaper to do these things for multiple events at the same site that have nothing to do with D1-A, there'd be a better argument for potentially splitting revenue. But it's not.

If D1-A was willing to advance-book a large venue that creates revenue, even though such a booking risks there not being teams in the event that create revenue (i.e. BYU playing in Utah), there'd be a better argument for potentially splitting revenue. But it's not.

[7's vs. 15's]

"The CRC has become the signature weekend in college rugby," said head coach Jack Clark. "Our players really enjoy the event and we feel as a team fortunate to be included."
what a jv attempt to spin a season of failure where: failed to qualify for the collegiate 7's championships; quit the top college comp, then apply and are denied TWICE to play in a lower division; lose twice in the same season to domestic college teams.

[Logic Fail?]

It shouldn't be forgotten that if the D1-A Final were being played in a neutral place like Chicago (i.e. the middle of the country), it probably wouldn't even create much revenue. That a final that created revenue happened to feature BYU while taking place in Utah is a bit of a blessing.

[CPDud]

@Realist

Nice links, but it is all just journalist speculation or BYU supporters playing victim. I saw the PAC12 Enterprises General Council speak at USC and he was very clear that media rights negotiations with USC and UCLA - two teams in the biggest market (Los Angeles) - almost killed the whole venture. He also explained that BYU's TV network and the no play on Sunday were deal killers to let them in the expanded PAC10.

I assume you're some crazed Mitt supporter or a Mormon and just think the world is out to get you, but it isn't. Put on those magic underpants and chill out.

[Frustrated Rugby Fan]

Ok I know this is off topic... but no one in the rugby community appears to have seen this but me. As Union fan this press release has me very concerned..

GPE EXPANDS & ACQUIRES AMERICAN NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

(GPE) Grand Prix Entertainment, formally
(GPR) Grand Prix Rugby.

http://www.grandprixentertainment.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77:gpe-expands-acquires-american-national-rugby-league&catid=25:featured&Itemid=280

[Frustrated Rugby Fan]

I’ve been expecting one of the rugby sites to post this to get some feedback going. But alas, I think their timing on the release was perfect with everything that is going on in Rugby Union right now.

[RioTinto]

Anyone know how much it costs to rent a facility like Rio Tinto? Im just running numbers to see how much they (USAR) would make at the gate if they got 12,000 fans, and its a pretty large number.

Just curious on the overhead cost and potential profit, if anyone has any good educated guesses, I'd love to hear them.

Anyone think its over $50,000? I seriously have no idea.

[Eventful]

I can tell you that when putting on a televised sporting event there are three major costs in no particular order:

1) Talent
2) TV Production
3) Venue

USA Rugby gets #1 free. #2 and #3 is where you can earn revenue (i.e. ticket sales, concessions, parking, broadcast rights). If USA Rugby are able to negotiate with ESPN to just cover the production costs, then that should be a wash. So that leaves venue revenue, which should be enough to cover the cost to send out Boulder staff to put up banners, check in players, hand out medals, etc.

With #1 free they should be able to mike a tidy profit.