| Full name | Northeastern University Rugby Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | ECRC | ||
| Nickname(s) | Maddogs | ||
| Founded | 1984 | ||
| Ground(s) | Parsons Field (Capacity: 3,000) | ||
| Coach(es) | Michael Rosbottom | ||
| League(s) | Collegiate Division I | ||
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| Official website | |||
| www.maddogs.neu.edu | |||
The Northeastern University Rugby Football Club (or NURFC or Maddogs) is a college rugby union team representing Northeastern University, competing in East Coast Rugby Conference and governed by USA Rugby. The team competes in College Division I rugby, against the best college rugby teams in the Northeast.
The Northeastern Maddogs has approximately 70 members from all over the United States, and from countries all over the world, including South Africa, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, China and Japan. The Maddogs field a competitive team every year, and have been nationally ranked.[1][2]
The NURFC competes in, and is an original member of, the East Coast Rugby Conference that was founded in 2011 during the USA Rugby college re-structuring.
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The club was founded by a Northeastern University student and rugby enthusiast named Bob Hubbard in 1984. He, along with 14 other students were the first team ever fielded by the Northeastern University Rugby Club. This first incarnation was not affiliated with Northeastern University, its only connection to the school was its players being students. The team's practices were held on a small triangle of dirt on Huntington Avenue across from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which is now the Wentworth Institute of Technology athletic complex.
In 1985, the club became more organized as another key leader named Tony Kalaijakis emerged. Kalaijakis turned the rag-tag group into a team, under him the club drafted a constitution and elected leaders yearly. The team lobbied for school recognition, hoping to become an official Northeastern club, but was denied. Disappointed by the university's decision, but wishing to maintain a connection with the school, the team chose as its mascot, the MadDog; instead of the traditional mascot of Northeastern University, the Husky.
In spring of 1987, aided by Northeastern University Professor Peter Eastman, the team became an official club of Northeastern. The club then hired its first coach, Jay Dacey of the Mystic River Rugby Club. Competing in its first Beast of the East Tournament, the Maddogs went undefeated and won the 1987 tournament. The following fall the Maddogs joined NERFU Division I and made the play-offs in their inaugural year.[3]
The NURFC competed in New England Rugby Football Union College Division I from 1987 to 2010, playing against teams such as Army and Boston College. Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale competed in NERFU until fall 2009, leaving to join the new Ivy League Conference.[4] In 2011 Northeastern along with Boston College, UMass Amherst, University of Connecticut, Middlebury College, UAlbany, and Southern Connecticut State University joined to form the East Coast Rugby Conference. In their inaugural season, Northeastern went undefeated and allowed an average of 4 points per game.
| Week | Team | Result | Record | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Connecticut | W 50-0 | 1-0 | 9/17/2011 |
| 2 | @ University of Massachusetts | W 11-0 | 2-0 | 9/24/2011 |
| 3 | Middlebury College | W 34-3 | 3-0 | 10/1/2011 |
| 4 | Boston College | W 30-8 | 4-0 | 10/9/2011 |
| 5 | @ University of Connecticut | W 50-6 | 5-0 | 10/15/2011 |
| 6 | Bye Week | - | - | - |
| 7 | @ University of Albany | W 51-10 | 6-0 | 10/29/2011 |
Winners of the 2005[5] & 2010[6] Beast of the East Rugby Tournament, and placed 2nd in 2007.[7]
2009-2010 NERFU All-Stars: Mike Bruce (Number 8), Alex Throssel (Flanker), Nick Smit (Fly-Half)[8]
2010-2011 New England DI Champions [9]
2011-2012 East Coast Rugby Conference Champions (6-0)
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