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All of our most recent statements have made it very clear that the USCRA wants a prominent role in promoting and managing the collegiate game and believes that an organizational structure that enables input from the member colleges to a responsive and transparent board will enable college rugby to grow and assume a more prominent position on college campuses.
The USCRA attempted in good faith to establish a viable partnership with USAR, well before any logos were designed or policy statements were released.
However, it became very clear through numerous delays and recasting of the USCRA as a coaches organization only, that USAR was not interested in such a partnership.
The choice of the logo is hardly a blunder, logos are easy to change. More importantly, the logo choice reflected the USCRA membership’s desire to have an alliance with USAR rather than a conflict.
The USCRA understands the position that USAR has taken with regards to the logo, however, as stated previously, the USCRA has not as yet planned any product development and is not interested in making a profit from the college game.
It is difficult to envision how the use of the USCRA logo to promote college rugby diminishes USAR’s ability to use the All-American logo for financial gain.
One could easily argue that it could only strengthen the All-American brand and make it more prominent on college campuses.
Even if USCRA was able to obtain financial support as a result of the use of the logo, these funds would be invested directly in the college game which is a more equitable situation than currently exists.
The USCRA was not built on the premise that the majority of rugby clubs were unhappy with USAR.
The USCRA was built on the premise that USAR has under-served college rugby in this country and has not taken actions or initiatives that would enable college rugby to reach its full potential.
Even if the majority of clubs don’t care one way or the other about USAR, that is no reason to maintain the status quo and be willing to accept a continued lack of progress, miss-management of college funds and sponsorships, and a multitude of wasted opportunities to promote and invest in the college game at all levels.
Suggesting that college rugby players should be simply happy to be playing and have a chance at a National Championship is exactly the stance that USAR has taken and completely undervalues the potential of college rugby.
Most of the interim board members have either coached All-Star programs or been intimately involved with them so the USCRA is all too aware of the shortfalls in funding and focus for those programs.
However, the All-American programs are high performance programs and this is from where those funds should be derived. The USCRA believes that high performance funds should be diverted from the current Eagles budget to support the college All-American programs.
Suggesting that the majority of college dues and college sponsorships should be allocated to the All-American programs implies that the majority of colleges and college rugby players should be subsidizing the few individuals who participate in these programs.
If the majority of colleges don’t care about USAR, one can also assume that they really don’t care about the All-American programs either. Asking these member colleges to blindly support the All-American program is no different than asking them to blindly support the Eagles program.
With all due respect, focusing purely on the All-American programs is only a small step better than focusing purely on the Eagles national team.
How does this benefit the college rugby player as stated in the last paragraph of this editorial?
It would certainly benefit those that are lucky enough to participate in the All-Star programs and they certainly need deserved attention and support, but how does a successful All-American program benefit the average college rugby player or result in the growth of college rugby?
The USCRA believes that by focusing on the individual college clubs and thus college brands, significant improvements in the status and support of college rugby can be achieved which will ultimately benefit the All-American program in terms of financial support, recognition and a significant fan base.
