4/21 Update: This weekends's match against University of Wisconsin Eau Claire has been cancelled.
The team's spring schedule includes visits to Illinois and Wisconsin for the Big Ten Rugby 7's Series, as well as a trip to Notre Dame to compete in an inter-division tournament.
4/13-14: Big Ten 7's Series-University of Illinois 7's (Champaign, IL)
4/27-28: Big Ten 7's Championship-University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
5/11-12: Notre Dame Irish 7's (Notre Dame, IN)
Metropolis Mens Rugby will host the Gophers 2nd Big 10 match of the season as they host the Wisconsin Badgers this Saturday, September 30th.
The event will be held at Metropolis' home field in Northeast Minneapolis. Minnesota's games will be preceded by the Menagerie Women's Rugby club vs the Will County Morrigans at 10am and followed by Metropolis vs. Kansas City at 4 PM.
Head Coach Jimmy Hanson’s second season at the helm of University of Minnesota Men’s Rugby started with a come-from-behind victory over the University of Kansas and concluded this past Sunday as the Gophers were named champions of the All Minnesota Tournament.
The match against the University of Kansas was played at the Gophers’ new-look home field on the Saint Paul campus, where the Alumni Association unveiled new field dressings including custom goal post pads and flags. It was the first ever meeting between the teams, but it quickly became clear that it was an equitable matching.
Although Minnesota scored first via Robert Licari, Kansas would take advantage of the Gophers’ mistakes and put their mark on the game, running to a 25-point lead with a quarter of the game left to play. However, Minnesota’s nerve held true as the team clawed its way back, ultimately winning the match 31 points to 28.
With their first match under their belt, the team turned their attention to the upcoming All Minnesota Tournament, of which the Gophers are returning champions. Practice was high-intensity all week, and on Friday morning’s 6 AM practice nearly 40 athletes were on hand with one goal in mind: being the best team in Minnesota.
Day 1 of the tournament went as planned: victories against Bemidji State University (28-7), Moorhead (31-5) and Saint Cloud (22-8) meant that Minnesota would advance to the semi-final match on Sunday. More importantly, every single player was given substantial playing time as the Gophers rolled their reserve bench at half time of each game.
Day 2 brought together the best collegiate teams and would provide a sterner test for the Gophers. Minnesota began the day with a semi-final match against Winona State, handily winning 19-7 while providing new players an opportunity to test themselves against strong competition. North Dakota State University would be the opponent for the weekend’s final match, and provided the most challenging test of the Gophers’ abilities. Tied 0-0 at half, both teams engaged in a war of attrition as massive tackles were made and rucks were competed for aggressively. Ultimately, Minnesota would score two tries to NDSU’s 1, winning by a score of 12-5 and earning their 2nd consecutive All Minnesota title.
The Gophers will now enjoy a bye-week before their first league match of the season, followed by hosting Wisconsin on September 30th.
This Saturday, April 8th, the Golden Gophers will head to North Dakota State University for the annual SNAFU Rugby 7's Tournament. This will be Minnesota's 2nd 7's tournament of the season, following on the heels of the Heart of America Rugby Tournament.
The Gophers' match schedule is as follows:
Minnesota vs. U of MN - Morris: 9:50 AM
Minnesota vs. UND B: 11:30 AM
Minnesota vs. NDSU: 1:20 PM
Semi Finals: 2:40 PM
Championchip Match: 3:20 PM
Please visit Gopher Rugby on Facebook for live updates.
To all alumni, boosters and fans:
2016 saw measurable improvements against each of the goals we aimed to accomplish.
The year began with the nomination of three new members to the Alumni Board: Chris Babiash, Jack Butterfield and Andrew Makredes, in addition to Brendan Bark and Walter Kaplan who were re-nominated.
The state of the program then was poor: we had no coach, Alumni Organization taxes had not been filed in 2 years, the board had no substantial funding (less than $2,000 on hand) and no plan of action for forward progress.
• Hire and be able to pay a coach
• Establish recurring / primary Alumni Organization events
• Establish a budget
• Launch a monthly membership program (The Excellence Fund) and enroll 30 members
• Be able to afford making the annual banquet free for current players.
• Jimmy Hanson was hired, and his PAID contract has been extended for 3 years.
• Key events established: Winter Alumni Game + Banquet, and Golf Tournament
• Established a budget
• Launched a membership program, although we have NOT hit our goal of 30 members.
• Banquet is free for current players.
• New website launched
• Photo archive launched
• We have begun advertising on Google, targeting potential athletes / recruits
In 2017, the Alumni Organization's operating budget will be over $15,000
In 2017, we will
• Increase communication with the U of MN Sports Clubs Department
• Identify volunteers to serve on sub-committees
• Continue to improve communication with alumni and grow database
• Increase alumni attendance at alumni game and banquet
• Grow monthly giving program to 50 members.
During the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held this past January, these topics and more were discussed. Additionally, Walter Kaplan was nominated to the position of Communications Chair, leaving the Events Coordinator position open. If you have interest in being nominated, or if you have interest in assisting in any capacity, please let us know immediately.
There is far too much work for our Alumni Board alone to accomplish – we need your help!
If you can give, give. Whether its $5, $25, $50 or more, your monthly tax-deductible membership is necessary for our program to grow. Set it and forget about it – until your yearly gift arrives.
We need volunteers to help manage events, collect product donations for the golf tournament, fund-raise, solicit sponsors, re-engage alumni and more. Do you have a skill? LET US KNOW! Look to Stephen “Beck” Sundquist, who has volunteered his web development skills to help improve our website, advertising and analytics. Everything helps, no matter how much (or little) time you’re able to commit.
Our next alumni meeting is Thursday, February 16th at 7 PM at Insight Brewery in Minneapolis and is open to all.
On behalf of your University of Minnesota Men’s Rugby Alumni Association, thank you for reading and as always: Ski U Mah