2023 Division 1-A Rugby Championship Explained

Division 1-A Rugby Championship
Tournament Format:	knockout
Date:	6 April 2023 – 6 May 2023
Teams:	12
Matches:	11
Venue:	SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Champions:	Navy
Count:	1
Runner-Up:	California
Website:	https://craa.rugby/
Previous Tournament:	2022 Division 1-A Rugby Championship
Next Year:	2024
Next Tournament:	2024 Division 1-A Rugby Championship

The 2023 Division 1-A Rugby Championship is the eleventh season of the Division 1-A Rugby championship, the annual university rugby union competition run by USA Rugby for teams from the top twelve college teams in the United States. Navy won their first Championship with a 28–22 win over California, capping a perfect 18–0 season.^[1]

Teams

Twelve clubs from the six major conferences compete in the 2023 National Championship playoffs.

The distribution of teams is:

PAC Rugby Conference

two teams

California: two teams
Rocky Mountain: one team
Independent: one team
Rugby East: two teams
Mid-South Conference: three teams
Red River Conference

one team

The following teams qualified for the tournament.

Standings

Independent^[2]
scope=col	Team	scope=col	Record	scope=col
Central Washington	8–1	+174

Mid-South^[3]
scope=col		scope=col	Team	scope=col	Record	scope=col	scope=col	scope=col
1	Lindenwood	5–1	+181	3	23
2	Life	4–2	+61	3	19
3	Davenport	3–3	–41	0	12
4	Arkansas State	0–6	–101	1	1

Pac Rugby Conference^[4]
scope=col		scope=col	Team	scope=col	Record	scope=col	scope=col	scope=col
1	California	3–0	+169	3	15
2	Arizona	2–1	+76	2	10
3	UCLA	1–2	–5	3	7
4	Utah	0–3	–240	0	0

Rugby East (North)^[5]
scope=col		scope=col	Team	scope=col	Record	scope=col	scope=col
1	Navy	5–0	3	23
2	Army	4–1	5	20
3	St. Bonaventure	3–2	2	14
4	Notre Dame College	2–3	2	10
5	Kutztown	1–4	3	7
6	Penn State	0–5	1	1

Big Ten
scope=col		scope=col	Team	scope=col	Record
1	Indiana (W)	5 — 0
2	Ohio State (E)	4 — 1
3	Notre Dame	4 — 1
4	Illinois	3 — 2
5	Wisconsin	3 — 2
6	Michigan State	2 — 3
7	Michigan	1 — 4
8	Purdue	0 — 5

Red River
scope=col		scope=col	Team	scope=col	Record	scope=col	scope=col
1	Texas A&M	6–0	30	+493
2	Texas	4–2	20	+30
3	Baylor	3–2	15	align=center	-22
4	North Texas	2–3	10	align=center	-172
5	Oklahoma	1–4	7	align=center	-79
6	Texas Tech	0–5	1	align=center	-250

Bracket

Round 1

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Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Final

Rudy Scholz Award

Winner

Lewis Gray, US Naval Academy

Finalists

Wyatt Parry, BYU
Max Schumacher, Cal
Joe Marchant, Saint Mary's
Lewis Gray, US Naval Academy
Orrin Bizer, Life University

2022–2023 First Team All Americans

Gabe Mahuinga – Brigham Young University
Runako Brynard – Lindenwood University
Joe Marchant – Saint Mary’s College
Ben Haugh – Navy
Lucas Pattinson – Army
Kaipono Kaioshi – Saint Mary’s College
Alex Cleary – Central Washington University
Orrin Bizer – Life University
Tiaan Mosconi – Army
Max Schumacher – University of California – Berkeley
Nick Hardrict II – Lindenwood University
EJ Freeman – University of Arizona
Lewis Gray – Navy
Daelen Denenberg, Santa Clara University
Roanin Krieger – Navy
Emilio Shea – University of California – Berkeley
Adam Chadwick – Life University
Connor Devos – Lindenwood University
Jack McMahon – Navy
Dominic Besag – Saint Mary’s College
Cole Semu – Brigham Young University
Calvin Liulamaga – Central Washington University
Donovan Law, Life University

Notes and References

Web site: Navy Caps Off 18-0 Season With Dramatic Final Win Over Cal . Goff Rugby Report . 7 May 2023.
Web site: Central Washington University 2023 Men's Rugby Schedule . CWU . 18 April 2023.
Web site: Around D1A: Confirmations, Cancelations, and Surprises . Goff Rugby Report . 17 April 2023.
Web site: UCLA Gets PAC Conference Win on the Road . Goff Rugby Report . 18 April 2023.
Web site: Fall 2022 Standings . Rugby East . 18 April 2023.