UMD Rugby Changes Leagues, With First Game August 31

UMD Men's Rugby team will see a few changes. With a new league, joining the Great Midwest Rugby Conference along with Northwestern University.

UMD is coming from the Northern Lights Conference and was a finalist in that conference. As they move to the Great Midwest Conference, UMD brings a winning history with five consecutive USA Rugby 15s Final Four appearances, three of those years they won the National Championship.  The Bulldogs also won the 2016 USA Rugby D2 7s National Championship.

According to the Great Midwest Rugby webpage, The Bulldogs will compete in the North Division along with Marquette, Northern Michigan, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Platteville, UW-Stout, and UW-Whitewater. The Wildcats will compete in the South Division along with DePaul, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and the University of Illinois-Chicago.

UMD starts defending their winning season August 31st with three consecutive away games. The first home game will be September 28th.