The Woes of Victory Funding a Champion

Author: Matthew Christ

A national championship is a big deal. Whether it's a 10-year-old golfer or a Division I football team, being the best in the country is huge. A national championship not only brings prestige to the players and coaches of the team but all of those involved — including the school where the team comes from. So with all this prestige and honor up for grabs, why is the Middlebury College Men's Rugby Club (MCRC) more worried about getting to the tournament than winning it?

The reason, quite simply, is that the College does not give money to its teams for tournament competition. Whether varsity, club or intramural, the school supplies no funding.

However, sports that are involved with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have little to worry about. The NCAA provides funding for travel, accommodations and food for teams traveling to championship contests. Unfortunately for the MCRC, rugby is not considered an NCAA sport. The governing body for rugby is U.S.A. Rugby, which does not have adequate funds to support the trip to the National Championships in Jonesboro, Ark. So, the club was left with no options but to raise $12,000 itself.

Fundraising seemed like a better alternative than each player paying their own way. The cost would be around $700, and for players who might not even touch the field this price was an exorbitant amount.

Near the end of the first semester, Coach Ward Patterson tried to convince U.S.A. Rugby to make Middlebury the location for the national tournament. Unfortunately, the College lost the bid.

The problems began in the fall when the club defeated Bowdoin College to become the Northeast Territorial Champions of Division II. Patterson, in his fifth year as coach, commented, "To achieve what we achieved wasn't automatic. It was a testament to the determination of the players." With the victory over Bowdoin, Middlebury qualified for the national championship to be held on April 20 and 21. The opponent in the first round of the tournament will most likely hail from the Pacific Northwest.

The season was an overwhelming success. The team went undefeated and beat their biggest rival, Yale University, twice in the playoffs.

The MCRC has had its ups and downs in the past 10 years. Five years ago, for behavioral reasons, the team was restricted from competing against other schools.

They could hold practices, but that was the extent of the team. With the arrival of Patterson, the team got its act together and began to work hard. For the last four years, the team has finished in the top 25 of the Northeast — the only team in the conference to do that.

Initially, the goal of $12,000 seemed insurmountable. One of the first checks to arrive on the desk of Patterson was from U.S.A Rugby, for $200 . The team then plotted an aggressive fundraising campaign.

When the project began, the club was told by the College that they were able to fundraise through the school. From the team's perspective this was a huge step in the right direction. Members of the team began working at men's and women's hockey games in order to earn money which went straight to the club.

Another great gift the school gave to the club was the ability to tap into the rich resource of alumni and parents. An official letter from the College went out to parents of players and alumni of the Rugby Club asking for donations and support for their cause.

Next, Patterson and his players designed T-shirts, bumper-stickers and a raffle in order to raise money.

The raffle boasted a first prize of two airplane tickets anywhere in the United States (a generous gift from a player on the team.) Second prize was almost as lucrative: one plane ticket anywhere in the country.

However, the third-place prize was by far the most attractive: a Middlebury rugby jersey.

Each player took 50 tickets and sold as many as they could. Players stationed themselves at Proctor Hall and at Kenyon Arena in an attempt to sell off as many tickets as possible. In the end, the club raised over $2,700 from the raffle.

The T-shirt and bumper sticker sales have been very strong and will definitely help the team reach their goal. Currently, there is a fundraising party in the works, which will be a great opportunity to have a good time and support the club.

Patterson commented that "with the support from the community and alumni, we are moving towards our goal. We have cracked the half-way barrier."

Currently, the team practices twice a week to prepare themselves for the tournament. Before heading off to the National Championships, the team will have matches against Amherst College and Harvard University to try to knock off some of the rust created by a lazy winter.

In addition to scheduled practices, there are frequent meetings where fundraising is discussed and money collected.

The MCRC has done everything in its power to accomplish its goal of going to the National Championships — what's left for them to do is out of their hands.

If you have the opportunity to support the Club in any way, try to, because you'll help a group of dedicated athletes reach their dreams of becoming national champions.