1980 National Collegiate Rugby Championship
The 1980 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the first edition of an official national championship for intercollegiate rugby organized by the U.S. Rugby Football Union. The tournament was hosted by Palmer College of Chiropractic at Credit Island in Davenport, Iowa.[1] The Cal Bears were victorious in large part to Mick Luckhurst who was tournament MVP.
| 1980 National Collegiate Rugby Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Tournament format(s) | Knockout |
| Date | May 17 – 18, 1980 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 4 |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Final | |
| Venue | Credit Island, Davenport, IA |
| Champions | California (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Air Force |
Participants
- President- Jeff Ruckman
- Coach- Merle Faminow
- Captain- Kevin McSweeney
- Record 22-4-1(10-1-1)
Qualified for the National Championship by winning the college division of the Mid-America Cup at the Midwest Rugby Championship at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH.[2]
- First round
Illinois 17-0 Dayton - Second round
Illinois 16-10 Palmer - Semifinal
Illinois 8-3 Ohio State - Final
Illinois 7-6 Minnesota
- Record (10-1-1)
Qualified for the National Championship by winning the Eastern Collegiate Cup on April 5–6 at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.[3]
- Navy 6-4 Virginia Tech
- Navy 15-6 Army
- Coach- Alan Osur
- Captains- Kevin Nagie/Steve Miller
- Record- 11-1
Qualified for the National Championship by winning the West Regional on 2–4 May in Lawrence, KS
- Air Force def. Principia of St. Louis
- Air Force def.University of Northern Colorado
- Coach- Ned Anderson
- Record 15-5-1
Qualified from Far West Regional on March 22–23 at Pebble Beach, CA.
- California 18-4 University of Oklahoma
- California 12-7 Old Mission Beach RC
- California 6-0 San Francisco RC
- California 9-7 Santa Monica RC
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| March 23 - Pebble Beach, CA | ||||||||||
| California | 9 | |||||||||
| May 17 – Davenport, IA | ||||||||||
| Santa Monica | 7 | |||||||||
| California (Pacific) | 15 | |||||||||
| April 6 - Blacksburg, VA | ||||||||||
| Navy (East) | 0 | |||||||||
| Navy | 15 | |||||||||
| May 18 – Davenport, IA | ||||||||||
| Army | 6 | |||||||||
| California | 15 | |||||||||
| May 4 - Lawrence, KS | ||||||||||
| Air Force | 9 | |||||||||
| Air Force | ||||||||||
| May 17 – Davenport, IA | ||||||||||
| Northern Colorado | ||||||||||
| Air Force (West) | 15 | |||||||||
| April - Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Illinois (Midwest) | 4 | Third place | ||||||||
| Illinois | 7 | |||||||||
| May 18 – Davenport, IA | ||||||||||
| Minnesota | 6 | |||||||||
| Illinois | 10 | |||||||||
| Navy | 0 | |||||||||
Semifinals
| 17 May 1980 1:00 PM |
| California | 15–0 | Navy |
| Try: Tim O'Brien 25' c Mark Deaton 70' c Con: Mick Luckhurst (2/2) Pen: Mick Luckhurst 10' | [4] |
| Credit Island |
| 17 May 1980 3:00 PM |
| Air Force | 15–4 | Illinois |
| Try: Mark Roling 30' Steve Miller 38' Art Smith Pen: Tom Jones 52' | Try: Pete McHugh 89' |
| Credit Island |
Third place
Final
| 18 May 1980 1:15 PM |
| California | 15–9 | Air Force |
| Try: Mark Deaton Con: Mick Luckhurst Pen: Mick Luckhurst 72', 75' Drop: Mick Luckhurst 77' | [6] | Try: Bruce Stark Con: Tom Jones Pen: Joe Motz |
| Credit Island Attendance: 200 |
See also
References
- White, Don (May 18, 1980). "Ruggers battle in rain, muck". Quad-City Times, p.1B
- Cirillo, Chip (April 29, 1980). "Rutgers prove quality win mid America cup". The Daily Illini, p.1B
- "Navy Tops Army; Tech Makes Semis". (April 8, 1980). The Collegiate Times, p.9 col.4-5
- "Cal Gains National Rugby Final". (May 18, 1980). S.F. Sunday Examiner & Chronicle, p.C7 col.1
- Cirillo, Chip (June 5, 1980). "Rugby Club Places Third At National Championship". The Daily Illini, p.23
- Bates, Dearrel (May 19, 1980). "California Captures Rugby Title". Quad-City Times, p.15
