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March 19, 2026
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This weekend is the backend of a banner two-week stretch where teams are AQ-ing up for a shot at a 2026 Collegiate Rugby Championship title. Between Friday, March 20, and Sunday, March 22, seven teams across four tournaments will lock in bids to Maryland, beginning with a tourney that will decide the third of only four automatic bids in the Women’s Premier Cup.
Brown 7s (Women's Premier Cup)
The Brown Bears begin their season seeking their fourth CRC championship in as many years, and head coach Rosalind Chou is also looking to pass Jack Clark for the most 7s national titles by a head coach after winning two in her previous role at Life University. But the chase for all of that history can’t begin until the Bears qualify, which they will seek to do as they host their own AQ tournament this weekend.
The field for Brown 7s is pretty bonkers, as it contains not only last year’s Premier Cup champs (Brown), but also last year’s Premier Cup runner’s up (Army), last year’s Premier Cup third-place finishers (AIC), last year’s DI-Club champions (Northeastern), and last year’s DII champions (Coast Guard). Despite the Justice League-level lineup, Brown have been playing 7s since late Fall and Laryssa Barbosa, Caitlin Moroney, Lily McGettigan, and Kate Muldoon should have no trouble leading the Bears to a tournament berth – especially since AIC has already punched their ticket.
This tournament will be a good chance, however, to see what reigning champs Northeastern and Coast Guard look like in 2026 as they gear up for qualifiers in their respective divisions and look to mount title defenses of their own.
Richmond 7s (Men's Division III, Women's Division III)
An all-DIII tournament is my kind of tournament and that’s what Richmond will be putting on this weekend as the Spiders lure several local teams into their web for both a men’s and women’s AQ.
On the men’s side, the Spiders themselves have already qualified, doing so by winning Southern 7s in dominant fashion nearly a month ago. So, a Richmond victory in their home tournament will leave the automatic bid on the table for the second-highest finisher. VMI had the honor of finishing one spot behind Richmond at Spider 7s in early February, and the Keydets will be eyeing a similar finish, if not one spot better, with qualification now on the line.
Susquehanna put their hand up as another strong contender for this bid with a dominant third-place finish at Cowboy 7s. The Riverhawks went 5-1 with a point differential of +141. Their only loss was to the eventual runners-up, John Carroll, 7-5. Christendom is also another possible contender, though the Crusaders did not have as good a time at Cowboy 7s, with a double-digit loss to John Carroll, a loss to upstarts Alfred, and a five-point loss to Cedarville on day two appearing as blemishes on their record. Head coach Jim Conrad usually finds a way to get his squad moving in the right direction, however, and they may start clicking in some warmer weather down in Richmond.
On the women’s side, Christopher Newport, Alfred, Sewanee, Roanoke College, Longwood and UNC-Wilmington will duke it out for a bid. None of these teams made the CRC last year, but Christoper Newport and Sewanee went dancing in 2024 and are looking to return. CNU looks like a favorite, having already beaten Longwood and Roanoke this spring, winning the Mary Washington tournament last month.
Sandman 7s (Men's Division I-AA)
The MARC, MAC, SCRC and Southern conferences all converge on Blacksburg, VA for the Sandman 7s this weekend, with the champion punching its ticket in Men’s DI Club. This tournament features a who’s who of DIAA bluebloods.
2025 XVs national champion Tennessee and runner-up Bowling Green, 2024 7s national champion Louisville, and 2025 7s runner-up Charlotte are all in the mix. As is host Virginia Tech, 2021 and 2022 XVs champion. Appalachian State and Georgia round out a jam packed field.
City 7s (Men's Premier Cup, Men's Division I-AA)
The longest-running automatic qualifier dating back to 2017, City 7s is hosted by the Kansas City Rugby Football Club. It features teams from Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Missouri meeting at Paragon Star in Lee’s Summit, MO.
Iowa Central are the defending champions, but the Tritons look a little different this year. A pair of young playmakers from Kansas City will be playing on home turf – Vincy Jacoby and Mau Lopez. Fueled by their all-tourney performances, ICCC finished second at the Cornhusker 7s earlier this spring, falling to Nebraska in the final.
Southern Nazarene also has a second-place finish under its belt, falling to Indiana both in pool play and the final of the Yellow Rose 7s in Houston last month. The Crimson Storm did scoop up wins over Texas A&M’s seconds, Utah State and Harvard. Drury went 2-3 in Houston, and the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis went 1-4. They’ll all be in Kansas City looking to go one better, alongside Wisconsin and Emilio De Palm and DII up-and-comer Benedictine.
Missouri, K-State, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota make up the all-Midwest DI Club division. The Hawkeyes, Tigers and Cornhuskers represented this field at the CRC last year, and the Gophers have been to Nationals recently, too.
Kansas State and Missouri have undergone coaching changes recently, but the Wildcats boast some talented youngsters from Kansas City, with guys like Aidan Skahan, Jacks Bichelmeyer and Scheffler and Max Requet.
Iowa looks like the team to beat, driven by the speedy Renn Heimer, and the Hawkeyes also have an impactful KC native in scrumhalf Michael Johnson. They won their home tournament, like Nebraska did. Iowa beat its B-side in the Iowa City final, while Nebraska upended Iowa Central in the Lincoln final. Jordan Sweiss is dangerous in space for the Huskers, and props Ben Kubicek and Drew Moser are stalwarts in the scrum.
Ruck the Rock 7s (MPC, MDII)
An epic day of rugby awaits those who tune into Ruck the Rock 7s, hosted by the Rugby XV Rugby Academy in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Men’s Premier Cup qualifier bracket features four pools of three teams, all of which could realistically be referred to as “the pool of death.”
Wheeling, the defending champs, sit perched atop Pool A, ready to take their first stab at qualifying in 2026. The Cardinals are joined by Queens University of Charlotte and Southern Virginia University. Wheeling and Queens squared off earlier this month when the Royals hosted a number of top teams at their non-AQ Queens Cup tournament. While the home team looked strong, beating Kutztown, Belmont Abbey, and Indiana’s second side, they were blanked by the Cardinals 24-0 in the only matchup between the two. Wheeling did lose to Belmont Abbey and draw with Kutztown, however, albeit in their first live action of the 2026 Spring season.
In Pool B, Walsh University will face off against Notre Dame and the University of Rio Grande. The Fighting Irish have already qualified for the CRC with an impressive performance at Sunshine 7s, but they will still be looking to sharpen their blade ahead of Nationals. Rio Grande have also looked good so far this Spring, finishing fourth at Frostbite 7s where they beat Babson and played St. Bonaventure close in the semifinals. The Cavaliers have yet to play any meaningful 7s in 2026 but can always be relied upon to bring the physicality.
Last year’s Ruck the Rock champions, Belmont Abbey, headline Pool C along with perennial contenders Dartmouth College and Wingate University. After securing their bid at this tournament in 2025, the Abbey made it all the way to the semifinals in Maryland where they fell to St. Bonaventure by one score. They have also looked great so far this Spring, winning the Deacon Duel 7s tournament in early February and holding their own at Queens Cup. This will be Dartmouth’s first tourney action in 2026, but the Big Green will certainly have an extra chip on their shoulder during pool play as it was Belmont Abbey who ended their 2025 campaign in last year’s Elite Eight.
And finally, in Pool D, pseudo-home team South Carolina will have to contend with a strong side from Lander University and a Kutztown team that punched its ticket to Maryland last weekend over Brown and St. Bonaventure. The Gamecocks have played a lot of 7s so far this Spring and have certainly won more than they’ve lost, but they, along with Lander, are mostly testing themselves in preparation for lower division qualifiers.
The Men’s DII bracket at Ruck the Rock features two pools of five teams, headlined by two of the top teams from the 2025 CRC tournament. Defending national champions UNC-Wilmington are certainly interested in repeating in 2026 and certainly have the horses to do it. The Buckingham’s, Max and Trey, and the Wiseman’s, Marshall and Mason, will lead the team’s title defense, though they are still working out some of the kinks. UNC-Wilmington lost in the quarterfinals of the Gold Rush 7s tournament three weeks ago to satellite campus rivals UNC-Charlotte, 21-19.
Charlotte was bounced in that tournament by Coastal Carolina, the other contenders who headline Pool B. Coastal made it to the semifinals in the 2025 national tournament where they lost to Montana State by an unconverted try. They’ll be looking to get over the hump in 2026 but, barring any unexpected upsets, will have to UNC-Wilmington for the chance to try.
