PAC Rugby Conference

PAC Rugby Conference
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023
ConferencePac-12
SportRugby union
First season2012
No. of teams4
CountryUnited States
RegionWestern United States
Most recent
champion(s)		California
(2024)
Most titles15s: California (11)
7s: California (9)
Official websitepac-12.com/rugby

The PAC Rugby Conference was a college rugby conference composed of four schools from the Pac-12 Conference that competed against each other in Division 1-A Rugby. It was formed in 2012 with six teams, with conference play beginning in February 2013 to compete in Division 1-AA. In 2016, PAC added USC and Stanford and dropped Oregon State, and moved up to D1-A.[1] Despite only recently moving up from D1-AA affiliation, the PAC has historically been one of the strongest conferences in college rugby, with five of its members consistently ranked in the Top 25 overall.[2] The PAC Rugby Conference began play on February 2, 2013, with Cal beating Arizona State at Witter Field in Berkeley.[3]

History of rugby at PAC schools

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Around the turn of the century, American football was frowned upon for its violence, and President Theodore Roosevelt insisted upon reform or abolition of the game. During this period of uncertainty, rugby made a brief but important reappearance in many colleges, most notably at Cal and Stanford. It was these two Universities that supplied most of the players to the two U.S. Olympic rugby teams that won gold medals at the 1920 Olympics and 1924 Olympics. PAC Rugby was shown on television for the first time in 2014, when the PAC 12 Network broadcast Cal vs UCLA.[4] Cal has long been one of the faces of rugby at the collegiate level. In addition, excellence by teams such as UCLA and Arizona, as well as recent growth by USC, have made the conference one of the toughest in the country.

Members

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Institution Team Location Founded Enrollment Endowment Nickname Rugby
Since		 Head coach
Arizona Arizona Wildcats Tucson, AZ 1885 40,223 [5] $563,655,000 [6] Wildcats 1969 Sean Duffy[7]
California California Golden Bears Berkeley, CA 1868 36,142 [8] $3.15×10^9 [9] Golden Bears 1882 Jack Clark
UCLA UCLA Bruins Los Angeles, CA 1919 40,675 [10] $2.98×10^9 [11] Bruins 1934 Harry Bennett
Utah Utah Utes Salt Lake City, UT 1850 32,388 [12] $670,411,000 [6] Utes 1972 Adam Griffee[13]

Results

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Season Champion Runner Up Third Player of the Year Ref.
2013 California UCLA [14]
2014 California [15]
2015 California Utah Arizona State [16][17]
2016 California UCLA Utah [18][19][20]
2017 California Utah Arizona [21]
2018 California Arizona UCLA [22]
2019 California Arizona
2020 California Arizona Utah [23]
2021 Only one match was played with California defeating Arizona 48–7.[24]
2022 California Sam Golla (Cal)
Lucas Lacamp (UCLA)		 [25]
2023 California Arizona UCLA [26]
2024 California UCLA Arizona [27]

PAC Sevens Rugby Tournament

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This PAC Sevens Rugby Tournament occurs every fall. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. The tournament debuted in 2011 where Colorado beat Utah in the final match.[28] In 2012, all 12 of the Pac-12 schools participated for the first time and Cal won.[29] In 2016 the tournament was hosted in Tucson, Arizona for the first time, where it was won by Cal for the fifth straight year.[30]

Date Location Champion Final score Runner Up Third Tournament MVP Leading Try Scorer Ref.
Oct. 21-22, 2011 Stanford Colorado 14–12 Utah UCLA Luke Lahman -- [28]
Nov. 3-4, 2012 Los Angeles California 21–12 Utah UCLA -- -- [31]
Nov. 2-3, 2013 Los Angeles California 22–0 UCLA Oregon State -- -- [32]
Nov. 8–9, 2014 Berkeley California 45–5 Arizona State UCLA Russell Webb [33]
Nov. 6–7, 2015 Berkeley California 17–5 UCLA Arizona State [34]
Nov. 12–13, 2016 Tucson California 47–14 Arizona State Utah [35][36]
Nov. 11–12, 2017 Tucson Arizona 31–26 (a.e.t.) California [37]
Nov. 3–4, 2018 Berkeley California 33–5 Arizona Arizona Zachary Tavenner [38]
Nov. 9–10, 2019 Stanford California 24–7 Arizona UCLA/Utah [39][40]
No event held in 2020
Nov. 6–7, 2021 Berkeley California 10–0 UCLA Arizona Lucas Lacamp (8) [41][42]
Nov. 12–13, 2022 Stanford California 31–5 Arizona Stanford/UCLA Kealan O'Connell [43][44]
No event held in 2023

References

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  1. ^ "PAC Rugby Conference joins D1A Rugby – Stanford & USC to become new members". D1A Rugby. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  2. ^ Rugby Mag, All Divisions College Top 25, Jan. 28, 2013, "All Divisions College Top 25 Jan. 28, 2013, presented by Selective Service". Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  3. ^ Cal Wins PAC Opener Over ASU, Feb. 2, 2013
  4. ^ Mainstream Broadcast for Cal v UCLA, February 20, 2014, http://www.rugbytoday.com/college/mainstream-broadcast-cal-v-ucla
  5. ^ "UA Enrollment Tops 40,000 and Retention, Graduation Rates are up Too | UANews". Archived from the original on 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2013-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-08-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "University of Arizona rugby team hires Sean Duffy to replace legendary coach Dave Sitton". Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  8. ^ Facts at a glance – UC Berkeley
  9. ^ About Us Archived 2011-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Berkeley Endowment Management Company. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  10. ^ Quick Facts – UCLA Undergraduate Admissions
  11. ^ UC Annual Endowment Report Archived 2012-01-12 at the Wayback Machine Office of the Treasurer of The Regents. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2012-12-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "COACHES". u of u rugby. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  14. ^ Cal rugby defeats Utah, clinches inaugural PAC Rugby Conference title, Mar. 30, 2013, http://www.dailycal.org/2013/03/30/cal-rugby-defeats-utah-clinches-inaugural-pac-rugby-conference-title/
  15. ^ Cal Takes PAC With 43-31 Win at Utah, Mar. 15, 2014, http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209435860
  16. ^ "Rugby: Utes take second in Pac-12; Oklahoma banned from Varsity Cup". Deseret News. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  17. ^ "Men DI College Standings 2014-15 - Updated". Goff Rugby Report. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Cal Clinches PAC Conference Title". Goff Rugby Report. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Cal Beats Utah to Win PAC Rugby Conference Title". djcoilrugby. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Cal rugby wins 4th straight PAC Rugby Conference championship crown by defeating Utah, 46-19". The Daily Californian. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Utah Slams Arizona in PAC Finale". Goff Rugby Report. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  22. ^ "2017-18 D1A Conference Results". Flo rugby. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  23. ^ "D1A Latest: Standings And Winners". Goff Rugby Report. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  24. ^ "CATS FALL IN BERKELEY TO CLOSE 2021". Arizona Rugby. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  25. ^ "PAC Names All-Conference 15". Goff Rugby Report. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  26. ^ "UCLA Gets PAC Conference Win on the Road". Goff Rugby Report. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  27. ^ "Bears Handle Utes On The Road". Cal Bears. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Colorado Takes Pacific 7s". Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  29. ^ Pac-12, Cal beats Utah, 21-12, to take PAC Sevens title, Nov. 6, 2012, [1]
  30. ^ Recap: Cal claims fifth consecutive Pac Sevens Rugby Championship, Nov. 13, 2016, [2]
  31. ^ Cal Wins Pac 7s, "Cal Wins Pac 7s". Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  32. ^ Cal Wins PAC 7s, http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/collegiate-sevens/9763-cal-wins-pac-7s.html Archived 2013-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "Cal Wins PAC 7s". Goff Rugby Report. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Cal Wins PAC Conf. 7s". Goff Rugby Report. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Cal Wins 5th Straight PAC 7s". Cal Bears. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  36. ^ "Cal Wins PAC 7s". Goff Rugby Report. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Bears Edged By Arizona In PAC 7s Final". Cal Bears. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  38. ^ "Bears Win PAC 7s Championship". Cal Bears. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  39. ^ "Bears Win PAC 7s Championship". Cal Bears. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  40. ^ "Cal Sweeps Weekend To Win PAC 12 7s". Goff Rugby Report. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  41. ^ "Bears Claim PAC Rugby 7s Championship". Cal Bears. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  42. ^ "Cal Edges UCLA for PAC 7s Title". Goff Rugby Report. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  43. ^ "Cal Wins Ninth PAC Rugby 7s Championship". PAC. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  44. ^ "Cal Gets Past Arizona To Win PAC Sevens". Goff Rugby Report. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
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