College National Championship playoffs begin for Men's DII this weekend

LAFAYETTE, Colo. – The playoff bracket for the 2016 USA Rugby Men’s Division II College National Championship has been published online.

Twenty-three teams in all will have a shot at reaching the National Championship Semifinals and Final at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., Dec. 3-4. The play-in rounds kick off Saturday, Nov. 12, in seven regions, before the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals are held in Pittsburgh, Nebraska, and South Carolina.

2015 National Champion University of Minnesota, Duluth, and runner-up University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, have already claimed their Round of 16 places out of the Northern Lights and WIIL (Wisconsin-Illinois) conferences, respectively.

“This year’s bracket sports several teams that are relatively new to the recent championships – Furman (Southern Conference), Sacred Heart (Tri-State), North Dakota State (Northern Lights), Plymouth State (Colonial Coast), Western State (Rocky Mountain), North Carolina State (Cardinals), Norwich (New England) – although many have achieved national prominence before,” USA Rugby College Director Rich Cortez said. “With these newcomers added to the stalwarts like Rowan, Whitewater, and Minnesota-Duluth, this year’s championship should be extraordinary once again.”

Visit the College Championships page on USARugby.org to view the most up-to-date competition bracket, and find out more about the 2016 playoff venues here.