By Justin Nunez

Last year CWU took a large step and decided to make the school rugby teams, both men’s and women’s, a varsity sport.

This was in part to the men’s long winning tradition and the growing popularity of women’s rugby.

“There will be new student athletes coming to Central that would’ve not come to Central if we didn’t have varsity rugby,” Dennis Francois, CWU Athletic Director, said.

This last season the men’s rugby team went 14-1 losing only to the University of California, ranked fourth in the nation.  The men’s rugby team has a long standing tradition of being great, which draws players.

The women’s team not so much, but with the move to make both rugby teams varsity means that more women, as well as men, will be attracted to the school. Francois said it made much more sense to add the women’s team as well because it is an emerging sport.

Since CWU has elevated their programs, so have Brown and Harvard University. CWU wants to be on the front end of the growing rugby hype.

“Hopefully we are starting that trend on the west coast, having more varsity programs,” Francois said.

 Finances

The Service & Activities Fee committee is funding the rugby team for the next four years as the programs transition. This committee is made up of students, with non-voting faculty members and staff advisors. This is only a small amount of the team’s funding though, the vast majority comes from the university administration.

The athletic department has allocated $75,000 in tuition waivers between the men’s and women’s teams. The operational budget is $110,000 for each rugby team.

The largest expenses are travel because of all the games that the teams play away from Central. The S&A Committee has granted them $33,000 per year to accommodate for international travel and other necessities.

Francois shut down rumors that budget cuts around the athletic department would affect the rugby teams. There are no pending cuts this year that are being looked at but the department is making sure they are moving forward in a responsible manner as far as financial moves. Francois said no type of cuts moving forward would affect the teams.

“I think that our program is going to be really good really quick; and moving forward I think that they are going to set the tone for rugby in the northwest at the college level,” Francois said.