Two National Championship Teams Set for Spectacular Evening

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Two National Championship Teams Set for Spectacular Evening

Laura Gill | May 16, 2013

Life University of Georgia and St. Mary’s College of California to vie for Men’s DIA College Rugby National Championship at UNCG Soccer Stadium

The field has been set for the USA Rugby DIA Men’s College National Championship to be held on Saturday, May 18 at 7:00 pm at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.  Life University defeated rival Arkansas State 18-13 to advance to the championship game where they will play the Gaels of St. Mary’s College.  The St. Mary’s Gaels took out Cal Poly 58-24 in the USA Rugby National Championship Series Playoffs.  The DIA College National Championship game will be the culmination of a weekend of rugby in Greensboro. 

The United States Military has been a vital component to the growth of rugby in the United States and abroad and the national championship game will also celebrate the pageantry of all five branches of the US Military in a pre-game salute on Armed Forces Day.  The evening will begin with a spectacular demonstration by the Repel and Recovery Team from the US Veterans Corps.  US Congressman Howard Coble will be part of the pre-game festivities honoring the fives branches of the military and will also include a national anthem performance by Greensboro City Councilmember T. Dianne Bellamy-Small.  The game ball will be delivered by four former Golden Knights from the All Veterans Parachute Team.  An elite performance group, the All Veterans Parachute Team is led by SFC Mike Elliott who tandem jumped with President George H.W. Bush on his 83rd birthday and is one of America’s most acclaimed sky divers with over 9,000 jumps. 

The weekend will start with youth rugby games sponsored by the North Carolina Youth Rugby Union at Oka T. Hester Park and UNCG Recreation Field.  Two youth state championships will be determined at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.  The Multi School State Championship and the U15 State Championship will be contested in the stadium prior to the start of the National Championship game and admission to these two games is free. 

NOTE TO MEDIA: An opportunity for the media to meet players and interview coaches will be Friday, May 17th between 11:00am and Noon at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.  St. Mary’s College will be conducting a light open practice from 10:30-11:30am followed by Life University from 11:30am-12:30pm.  In addition, both teams will do outreach programs at Brooks Global Elementary School on Friday.  They will be providing some fundamental instruction and conducting demonstrations in rugby techniques for the students.  Please contact Karah Jennings at the Greensboro Sports Commission, (336) 378-4499, if you are interested in being present for the outreach and she will make the appropriate arrangements with Brooks Global Elementary. 

Tickets will be available for the sale on the day of the game beginning at 5:30 pm. 

About Men’s D1-A College Rugby Men’s Division 1-A is an elite collegiate rugby competition sanctioned and administered by USA Rugby.  The conference-based league features 35 elite men’s college rugby teams competing in five conferences: Allied Rugby, Big Ten, California, East, Mid-South, and West.  The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs.  Playoffs are single elimination and the two unbeaten teams advance to the Division 1-A final. 

About USA Rugby Established in 1975, USA Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby in America and a Full Sport Member of the United States Olympic Committee.  Currently headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA Rugby is charged with developing the game on all levels and has over 115,000 active members.  USA Rugby oversees four national teams, multiple collegiate and high school All-American sides, and an emerging Olympic development pathway for elite athletes.  It also hosts over 30 national playoff and championship events every year as a service to its members.  In October 2009, the International Olympic Committee announced that Rugby Sevens (the seven-a-side version of the game) will appear in the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro.  Visit www.usarugby.org for more information. 

About ESPN3 ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members.  It is currently available to more than 85 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. 

About ESPNU The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually and offers over 1,000 original studio shows.  ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception on March 4, 2005 and is now in 75 million households.  The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNUHD, now in over 20 million homes.  The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers – Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.