Hall of Fame 2026 Class

The third class of the Collegiate Rugby Championship Hall of Fame will be inducted Saturday April 25, 2026 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, MD, with Lindenwood’s Richelle Stephens, Delaware’s Chris Mattina, Kutztown’s Doc Jones and Life’s Darian Lovelace being enshrined. 

The induction will take place Saturday afternoon while all 144 teams are playing, after the women’s opening rounds and amid the men’s semifinals. Three of the four honorees are expected to be participating in the weekend, with Jones coaching Kutztown, Mattina coaching Fordham, and Lovelace co-hosting The College Rugby Show live from the tournament.

Jones is the first Kutztown Golden Bear inducted and the second coach, and Mattina is the first Delaware Blue Hen. Stephens is the third Lindenwood Lion to be inducted, and Lovelace the third Life Running Eagle.  

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Gregg Jones - Kutztown

For 40 years, Dr. Gregg “Doc” Jones has been the head coach at Kutztown University. Under his leadership, KU has become a blueblood of college rugby, especially in 7s. In 11 Collegiate Rugby Championship appearances, the Golden Bears have made nine quarterfinals, seven final-fours and four finals. In 2022, Jones-led Kutztown ended Lindenwood’s three-year championship run in the semifinals en route to the Golden Bears’ first-ever national title. 

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Darian Lovelace - Life

A two-time All-American and 2017 Collegiate Rugby Championship MVP, Darian Lovelace was a key contributor in the Running Eagles’ back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. The daughter of a rugby coach, Lovelace picked up the sport in high school in Naples, FL, played a season at American International College before transferring to Life to help the program’s first two national titles. Lovelace played professionally in Premier Rugby 7s, and is now a voice of college rugby as a host of The College Rugby Show and a renowned broadcaster. 

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Chris Mattina - Delaware

The best player on Delaware’s best teams – Cinderella quarterfinalists in 2012 and Plate Champions in 2013 – Chris Mattina was a star of the early CRCs who enjoyed a long and storied post-graduate career, playing for the USA in 7s and XVs, alongside a 46-cap Major League Rugby career with the San Diego, New York, Austin and Chicago. Mattina, now the United States Rugby Players Association’s executive director, displayed administrative talent as a student-athlete, guiding the Delaware rugby club through some difficult administrative years and helping reestablish the club’s standing on campus. 

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Richelle Stephens - Lindenwood

Many have cut their teeth at the CRC and gone on to play in the Olympics, but Richelle Stephens is the only player to represent the USA in the Olympics before playing in the CRC. At 20 years old, Stephens was the youngest player on Team USA’s rugby squad at the 2016 Rio Games. After which, she landed at Lindenwood University, and helped the Lions win the 2019 and 2021 national titles in the middle of their run of four straight. 

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Read more about past inductees.

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