Eastern Illinois University Men's Rugby

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Eastern Illinois Men's Rugby, located in Charleston Illinois, has existed as an official institution since around the mid to late 70's. According to Alumnus Kevin "The Ox" Hunt, the club was founded in 1976 by four students from Kankakee, Illinois: Check Squires, Doug Moyer, Tom Raguse, and Jay Makin. Reports have been disputed by recent Alumni and some would claim the club was not formed until 1984, but these claims have since been disregarded.

Currently the EIU Rugby "Hornets" compete under the National Governing Body of USA Rugby, Territorial Governing Body of the Midwest Rugby Union, and Local Area Governing Body of The Illinois Rugby Football Union. EIU Men's Rugby fields both a starting side, the "A" side and a "B" squad, which consists of newer players and those not yet possessive of the skill to play as starters. The team also competes in the division II bracket of Midwest Rugby.

[edit] Why The Hornets?

An example of the Hornet Logo

The official mascot of Eastern Illinois University is a Panther, but the men's rugby club has adopted a Hornet as its official symbol. There are several differing theories as to how the team became known as the Hornets. Some claim that the hornet mascot evolved naturally from the nickname given the team's "B" side: The Killers "B's". They were given this nickname as a result of their skill and ability to dominate teams even though they were not the starting side. EIU Rugby lore has it that in the mid to late 90's the team was so good it was not uncommon for the "A" side to play the "B" side in the finals of various tournaments. The "Killer Bees" then evolved into "The Hornets" and a logo was adopted that is very similar to that of Mickey's Malt Liqour. A second theory has it that in the early 90's the team was involved in a house fire and was thereby disallowed from being able to call themselves the Panthers (Which would imply that at one time or another the team's mascot was indeed an EIU Panther). No facts of the matter have ever been uncovered by present members and their seems to exist no record of the event. Faced with this void the current members, inspired by a night of drinking Mickey's Malt Liqour, adopted the EIU Hornet as their mascot.

[edit] Structure and funding

Image:Eiuhawaii1.png

The team during its annual Hawaii Fundraiser - Spring 2005

EIU Men's Rugby currently exists as a Club Sport and receives no funding from Eastern Illinois University or its affiliates. Funds are raised to pay for equipment, travel, and operating costs through dues and various social fundraisers that are handled by the students themselves. At the beginning of each Fall and Spring semester team members meet to discuss goals and past achievements and vote to select administrators for the following semester.

The administrator docket up for a vote is as follows:

President - Handles administrative duties such as reserving fields, registering players.
Vice President - Assists the President in his duties.
Treasurer - Collects and handles funds for the team.
Pack Selector - Captains and selects the starters for the pack.
Back Selector - Captains and selects the starters for the back line.
Social Chair - Arranges and plans social and fundraising events for the team.
Field Captain - The only player allowed to talk to the Sir (Referee) during a game.