The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) is a governing body of

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) collegiate women's rugby programs in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

founded in 2015. The organization is further organized into conferences (i.e. Rugby East, Ivy, etc.).

History

The NIRA traces roots back to 2015 when eight NCAA member institutions formed the National Collegiate Varsity Women’s Rugby Association (NCVWRA) to organize collegiate competition and aid in the promotion of rugby at the varsity level in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

after rugby was promoted to Emerging Sport status. Inaugural members of the association included Army, Bowdoin, Brown, Central Washington, Harvard, Norwich, Quinnipiac, and West Chester. Membership in the organization was limited to NCAA institutions who sponsor women’s rugby at the varsity level. The foundation of the NCVWRA was in contrast to USA Rugby who sponsors collegiate competition for men’s and women’s rugby teams in a mixed format of club, quasi varsity, and full-varsity programs. In 2016 the association became known as the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA).

Members

Championship finals

Division 1

* 2019 –

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

7–18

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

* 2018 –

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

19–14

*2017 – Quinnipiac 29–20 Dartmouth *2016 – Quinnipiac 46–24 Central Washington *2015 – Quinnipiac 24–19 Army

Division 2

* 2019 – West Chester 15–14

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

* 2018 – Mount St. Mary's 22–15

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

*2017 – University of New England 57–14 Bowdoin *2016 – Bowdoin College 32–22 University of New England

Division 3

* 2019 – Bowdoin College 27–5 University of New England

References

External links

* {{Rugby union in the United States College rugby union in the United States College rugby union competitions in the United States College sports governing bodies in the United States Rugby union governing bodies in the United States