The Lindenwood Lions men's rugby team represents

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...

college rugby College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States of America. Seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side variants of rugby union are most commonly played. Most collegiate rugby programs do not fall under the ...

. Lindenwood plays in

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

in the Mid-South conference. The team is coached by Josh Macy. The Lindenwood men's rugby team won the 2012 USA Rugby Division II national championship in its inaugural season, and finished second in Division I-AA for the 2012-13 season. Following the 2012-13 season, Lindenwood moved up to Division I-A for the 2013-14 season. Lindenwood has also had success in Sevens. The Lions won the D1 7s National Championship in 2015 & the Red Bull University 7s Championship.

Conference affiliations

* 2011–2012: Division II –

Missouri Rugby Football Union The Missouri Rugby Union (MRFU) is the Local Area Union (LAU) for rugby union teams in Missouri and parts of Illinois. MRFU is part of the Mid-America Geographical Union (MAGU), which is of several Geographical Unions (GU's) that comprise Rugby u ...

* 2012–2013: Division I-AA –

Heart of America conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

* 2013–present :

– Mid-South conference

History

2011 launch

Lindenwood rugby began with the announcement in January 2011 the additions of men's and women's rugby to begin competition in the 2011-12 academic year. Lindenwood rugby was launched as one of the few varsity college rugby programs in the United States, and the program also provided scholarship funding for its student athletes. The university launched its rugby program, in part due to the growth of high school rugby throughout the country, Lindenwood's recognition of rugby's potential, and Lindenwood's realization that a strong rugby program could increase admissions.

Ron Laszewski Ron Laszewski is an American rugby union coach. Laszewski has been the head coach of the Lindenwood men's rugby team since it was formed 2011. Under Laszewski's leadership, Lindenwood won the Division 2 national championship in 2011 in the progr ...

was selected as the first head coach of the Lions rugby team. Laszewski is a former head coach of the Saint Louis Bombers in the Rugby Super League, and was the first American coach to complete the International Rugby Board's Level 3 certification program. Lindenwood began play in

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

Division II level in the

(Missouri RFU), and in its first season Lindenwood played a mixed schedule of both Division I and II college programs. Lindenwood began with high expectations, intending from the outset to advance to higher levels of college rugby competition as the program matures. Despite the fact that the Lions had just begun competitive play, Rugby Mag ranked the Lions 2nd in their preseason poll behind defending Division II champions,

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. Student enrollment in the 2014–2015 academic year was more than 12,000. The universit ...

Inaugural 2011–12 season

The team played its first game in program history on September 4, 2011 in an exhibition match against coach Laszewski's former team, the St. Louis Bombers RFC, and won by a score of 21-12. The program earned its first official win against

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

47-10 on September 10, 2011. The team finished the fall 2011 regular season 11-0 and won the Missouri RFU Championship. Lindenwood outscored opponents 1077-43, with six overall 100-point games, six shutouts, and held opponents under 10 points in nine games. Lindenwood's performance during the fall 2011 regular season qualified the Lions for the March 2012 Division II West Region playoffs. In the west semifinals, the Lions posted a 53-5 win over #5 ranked

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

. That win qualified the Lions for a place in the USA Rugby Division II National Sweet 16. In the West final, Lindenwood defeated

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

74-8 to clinch the West Region. The west region playoff victories, combined with Lindenwood's second side victory over D1-AA program

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, resulted in Lindewnood reaching first place in the D2 rankings for the first time in the program's short history. In the national DII playoffs, Lindenwood defeated Wisconsin–Milwaukee 43-5 in the Sweet 16 round. In the quarterfinals, Lindenwood faced its toughest match of the playoffs against #2 ranked Wisconsin–Whitewater, the reigning Division II National Champions. Lindenwood prevailed 27-15, led by fullback Morgan Findlay's 3 tries, to advance to the USA Rugby DII Final Four and cement its #1 ranking in Division II. In the semifinals, Lindenwood defeated #4 ranked

Utah Valley Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

57-10. In the championship game, Lindenwood defeated #3 ranked

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

50-12 to win the USA Rugby DII National Championship. Lindenwood's achieved significant results in its inaugural 2011-12 season—undefeated in conference play, winner of the Missouri RFU Championship, wins against opponents from the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

(Kansas, Missouri, Texas Tech) and the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

(Indiana), with both Missouri and Indiana ranked in the top 20 in D1, and a 6-0 playoff run culminating in a DII national championship. Lindenwood accounted for one third of all players named to the All D2 team, most notably Morgan Findlay, considered one of the best fullbacks in North American rugby, and flanker Trevor Locke, the championship MVP.

2012–13 season

The Lions were promoted to Division 1-AA for the 2012-13 season to play in the Heart of America conference against regional rivals such as

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

. Lindenwood began the season ranked 6th in Division 1-AA (all five teams ahead of them were teams that had dropped down from D1-A). Lindenwood was also ranked 16th among all Division 1 schools at the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the only school that had been in Division 2 the prior season to be ranked in the Top 25. Any doubt as to whether Lindenwood could play at a Division I level was quickly erased in their first conference matchup, as Lindenwood defeated

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

98-5. Lindenwood finished the 2012-13 regular season first in the Heart of America conference with a 7-0 record.http://www.lindenwoodlionssls.com/schedule.aspx?path=mrugby&tab=rugby-m2 All seven conference wins were lopsided victories, with the closest match a 79-14 win against

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...

. Lindenwood also scheduled several matches against non-conference D1A opponents Davenport (L 10-14),

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(W 54-10),

Life University Life University is a private university focused on training chiropractors and located in Marietta, Georgia, USA. It was established in 1974 by a chiropractor, Sid E. Williams. History The university was founded in 1974 by Williams as "Life C ...

(L 10-31), and

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

(L 15-26). Lindenwood's match against Davenport, featuring the reigning Division 2 champion against the reigning Division 1-AA champion, was Lindenwood's first ever loss against a college team. Sophomores Morgan Findlay and Tyler Black were named by Rugby Mag to the college All-Americans team for the 2012-13. In sevens competition, the Lions clinched the Fall 2012 Heart of America 7s tournament, defeating

in the semifinals, and defeating

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in the final 21-5. The HOA 7s tournament win moved the Lions up into their first ever national top 25 ranking in rugby sevens, ahead of D1-A powerhouses such as

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The win in the HOA 7s tournament also earned the Lions automatic qualification to the 2012

USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships The USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships is an annual competition among the top college rugby teams in the country to decide a national champion in rugby sevens. USA Rugby organized the championship to capitalize on the surge in pop ...

. In the national sevens championships, Lindenwood went 2-2 to finish tied for 13th. Morgan Findlay was named to both the USA Rugby and the Rugby Mag all tournament team.

2013–14 season

For the 2013-14 season, Lindenwood left the Division I-AA Heart of America conference and was promoted to

to compete in the Mid-South conference,. During the summer of 2013, Lindenwood hired as assistant coach the Fijian international

Seru Rabeni Ratu Seru Rabeni (27 December 1978 – 15 March 2016) was a Fijian rugby union player. He played as a centre or wing. At both club and international level, his physicality and heavy tackles earned him the nickname "Rambo". Career Early career R ...

who had played in two

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

s. During the 2013-14 winter break, the program announced that Ron Laszewski was stepping down as head coach, and that JD Stephenson was taking the reins. Lindenwood's first win in D1-A conference play came on March 15, 2014 with a 27-16 win against the #13 ranked

Davenport Panthers The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

.Rugby Mag, Lindenwood Bags Watershed Win, MArch 15, 2014, http://www.rugbymag.com/men's-di-college/10733-lindenwood-bags-watershed-win.html

Current coaching staff

* Josh Macy (head coach) * Jimmy Harrison (assistant coach) * Nic Tyson (assistant coach) * Aaron Browne (assistant coach) * Trevor Locke (assistant coach) * Dan Ward (manager) * Michael Cullen (S&C coach)

National results

National playoffs (15s)

Lindenwood won the 2012 USA Rugby Division II National Championship with a 50-12 win against

Rio Tinto Stadium America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. The Lions went undefeated in the regular season, won the Western Division II Rugby Football Union Championship and the USA Rugby Midwest Regional Championship and advanced to the USA Rugby semifinals in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the semifinals, Lindenwood beat Utah Valley 57-10 before advancing to the championship game. With the win over Salisbury, Lindenwood became the first men's rugby program to win a collegiate national championship in its first year of existence.

USA Rugby Sevens National Championships

Lindenwood won the men’s USA Rugby Sevens Division I national championship in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Format & Results

The men's tournament features 24 teams, divided into six pools of four teams each. Eight teams qualify for the quarterfinals - the winners from each of the six groups, plus the two best second-placed teams from among the six pools. Note: There was no distinction between 3rd and 4th places in 2013.

Conference affiliations

History

2011 launch

Inaugural 2011–12 season

2012–13 season

2013–14 season

Current coaching staff

National results

National playoffs (15s)

USA Rugby Sevens National Championships

Format & Results

Conference results

Conference results (XVs)

7's tournament

Season-by-season records

Head coaches

See also

References

External links