Division 1-A Rugby
Division 1-A Rugby (formerly known as the College Premier Division) is the highest level of college rugby within the United States and is administered by USA Rugby. Division 1-A rugby is modeled after NCAA athletic competitions, with the 46 D1-A rugby schools divided into eight conferences: East, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, California, Big Ten, Red River, PAC, and Independent.
| Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Division 1-A Rugby Championship | |
| Formerly | College Premier Division |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 1980 (as National Collegiate Championship) 2010 (as Division 1-A) |
| First season | 2011 |
| Commissioner | Paul Santinelli |
| Organising body | USA Rugby |
| No. of teams | 46 |
| Country | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Navy (1st title) (2023) |
| Most titles | California (26 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | CBSSN, ESPN+, The Rugby Network |
| Official website | craa.rugby/d1a |
The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs. Playoffs are a single-elimination format, occurring each year in April and May, with the winner of D1-A declared the National Champion. Regular seasons for most conferences are played in the spring, although some cold-weather conferences, such as the Big Ten Universities, play their regular season in the fall.
The competition's first season was played during 2011 and consisted of teams from 31 schools from across the United States. The first ever match of the competition was played on Friday March 4, the Arizona State Sun Devils hosted the Colorado Buffaloes at the Arizona State University Soccer Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The 2011 final was played at Rio Tinto Stadium, in Sandy, Utah, on the 21 May 2011.
D1-A Rugby secured sponsorships in 2012 with World Rugby Shop and Veloce.
Several players who have excelled in the top level competitions in college rugby have also represented their country as part of the United States national under-20 rugby union team or the All Americans rugby union team.