Women's Rugby and NCAA Status (2014)

Undergraduate: Elizabeth Sherling

Faculty Advisor: Barbara Osborne
Department: Exercise & Sport Science

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This study attempts to gain perspective from current women's rugby players on elevating club teams to the varsity level. USA Rugby, the governing body of all rugby organizations in the US, supports the elevation initiative and has invested time and resources to the cause, but the conversion rate remains low. By surveying current club student-leaders, I aim to determine whether the lack of progress is due to a lack of interest or a lack of awareness. For universities, elevating rugby to a varsity sport could be beneficial for Title IX compliance. For USA Rugby, this study could help to shape new strategies for elevating the sport if there is significant interest. Using Qualtrics software, a survey was distributed to the population of women¿s rugby club student-leaders to gauge interest in and awareness of the NCAA sport elevation process. The data was cross-tabulated to analyze interest, awareness, perceived benefits and drawbacks of NCAA participation and club teams¿ goals and values. I predict that teams may feel stifled by NCAA regulations and may value the social camaraderie that the culture of rugby offers over the desire to hold varsity status. Conversely, many teams may be unaware of their ability to elevate to varsity status as there have not been effective marketing methods utilized to raise their awareness.