On Thursday the 28th February 2019 the University of Denver men’s rugby club took a well prepared 7s squad to compete for the first time in NSCRO 7s qualifier in Vegas. Not losing a game the club competed against teams outclassing the opposition to win the NSCRO 7s qualifier and booked a place in Philadelphia in the CRC on the 1st and 2nd June 2019. Head Coach Ken Stone said “This is a great achievement for the club to qualify for a National championship, and to be able to do this on our first attempt is testament to the squad and staff who worked together for the last 6 weeks to be ready for this tournament.”

Winning the event and qualifying for the CRC is just the first step to making DU Rugby National Champions. It's going to take the whole club, its supporters and stakeholders to work together to enable the club to have the funds to travel to Philadelphia; and compete against ‘battle hardened’ 7s colleges who have played in this competition previously. Claremont University, who DU Rugby played in the PACWest Championship in Spring of 2018 are just one of those teams who won the 7s in Spring 2018. Coach Stone, “believes that DU Rugby has a great chance to cause an upset against these well established 7s identities like Claremont. We have the skill and the determination to succeed, it's now installing the belief into the club to make it a reality”

To make this dream a reality the club needs to raise $24,000/$1000pp to facilitate this opportunity into a goal and not just a dream. The club is looking to travel to Philadelphia on Thursday 30th May to the Monday 3rd June. In this unique experience Penn Mutual will be hosting all the teams in a banquet style dinner on the 31st May to kick off the CRC 2019.

Coach Stone says “The continued support by Penn Mutual into the collegiate game and its development is fantastic for the sport. It gives us a perfect opportunity to present the University of Denver onto the Championship stage. I want to be able to present each player with a CRC 2019 blazer/jacket, as well as each player having his own DU jersey/number that he can keep to remember this occasion. I truly believe that DU Rugby & the university has a great tradition in the game and this will be a great opportunity to showcase that to everyone else. If you look good, you play good and we will look amazing.”

This unique opportunity will enable each player to be sponsored by a company, individual or group. Player sponsorships will be $250 each and your logo/name will be printed on the front of each players jersey with a personal thank you from that player and gift. Players sponsorships will also be opened up to those who are attending the end of season banquet on May 4th, where the starting price will be $250 in an auction style/theme. In the championship games when that individual scores a try or is man of the match your company/name will be mentioned as well as being published on our website.

DU Rugby relies on financial support from friends of the program, parents, alumni, and sponsors. Our fundraising goal for the 2018-2019 season is $35,000. To date, DU Rugby has raised just over $11,000 through the generosity of its supporters. Every contribution helps us towards this goal. If you are interested in supporting the program and making a gift then please contact Ken Stone. Gifts can also be made online via the DU Rugby website