Michigan Collegiate Cup

Ann Arbor, MI- A collegiate champion will be crowned this Spring for the state of Michigan as the University of Michigan Rugby Football Club will be hosting The Michigan Collegiate Cup on Saturday March 26th at Mitchell Field. The mitten state boasts many college sides that range across several competition platforms from NSCRO to D1A and it is the organizers hope that this tournament will serve as a purpose for the schools to unite and show what kind of talent is offered in our great state.

“Our goal in creating a tournament like this” says head coach Brandon Sparks and Michigan native “is to add some value to the Spring season for the players and teams not playing 7s and to show that rugby here in Michigan is still very active.” The idea for this tournament came while Sparks was watching Detroit native Ahmad Harajly represent the USA on the World Rugby 7s series. “It was frustrating to hear the announcer keep saying that he came from an area of the country where rugby isn’t played” Sparks said “and all I could think about was how wrong he was. Almost every university stretching from Detroit all the way to the upper peninsula has a team and we needed to do something to show people on the outside that there is more to Michigan than the doom and gloom stories they have heard and that we have incredible athletes playing rugby here.”

He enlisted the help of the current Michigan players who bought into the idea right a way and they went about setting up the logistical parts to make this event happen. The tournament will be played on the two artificial fields at Mitchell Field with the final most likely taking place under the lights. Immediate buy-in from other teams like Oakland University and Western Michigan means that the tournament is already gaining traction and even more schools are looking to get involved. The format for the event will see pool games with two 20 minute halves being played to determine the knock-out round for the championship. It promises to be a full day of fun and exciting rugby.

If your school would like to participate, or ask a question about the event please contact Coach Brandon Sparks (sparksbr@umich.edu) or sign-up on HERE.