Princeton Rugby
Encyclopedia
The Princeton University Rugby Football Club (or PURFC) comprises the rugby union
club of Princeton University
. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of USA Rugby's intercollegiate competition.
, Harvard, Princeton
, and Columbia
formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, which used the rugby code. This makes it one of the oldest rugby clubs in North America. After an interruption, the club was reorganized in 1931 under the leadership of Monte Barak, Hugh Sloan H.F. Langenberg, and coach John Boardman Whitten. It has been playing continuously ever since. Over 5,000 people attended the inaugural Harvard - Princeton game in 1931. The club competes in the Ivy League
. With around 40 members, Princeton Rugby is one of the largest club teams at Princeton. The PURFC has won the Ivy League Championships in 2004, 1979, 1977, 1973, 1971 and 1969. PURFC is currently coached by Richard Lopacki.
club of Princeton. PUWRFC was established in 1980, and the new team aspired to compete in the young world of U.S. women's rugby, which was established only eight years earlier by the creation of four women's teams in 1972. Since then, the sport has grown quickly across America and PUWRFC has continually found itself at the top levels of Division I competition.
PUWRFC won back-to-back national championships in 1995 and 1996. Princeton women advanced to the Final Four in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Throughout the team's history, PUWRFC has often won the MARFU Championship, the Ivy League Tournament, and has secured several bids to the Sweet Sixteen. 32 Princeton women have been named All-Americans, and several of those received honors for multiple years.
Princeton women compete in Division I of the Ivy League
, against Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, UPenn, and Yale. PUWRFC is coached by Emil Signes, Peter Kelly, and Ginny Pitzer.
, and the women began a full season of Ivy League play in the fall of 2011.
Princeton Rugby, along with the Harvard and Yale Rugby teams, began the tradition of U.S. college students going on Spring break
to the Caribbean.
In 1940, the team traveled over spring break to Nassau and played before the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Princeton University’s West Windsor fields were the site of a week-long USA Rugby
Collegiate All-Star selection camp in 2009.
The sport of rugby has been played in New Jersey for more than 130 years, yet it has only been since 2006 that the colleges of The Garden State have competed for the intercollegiate state championship. Whoever wins the single-elimination format championship is awarded "The Rickerson Cup." The trophy is named for Princeton alumnus Stuart Rickerson.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of USA Rugby's intercollegiate competition.
Men's team
The men's team was first established in 1876 when YaleYALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Harvard, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, which used the rugby code. This makes it one of the oldest rugby clubs in North America. After an interruption, the club was reorganized in 1931 under the leadership of Monte Barak, Hugh Sloan H.F. Langenberg, and coach John Boardman Whitten. It has been playing continuously ever since. Over 5,000 people attended the inaugural Harvard - Princeton game in 1931. The club competes in the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
. With around 40 members, Princeton Rugby is one of the largest club teams at Princeton. The PURFC has won the Ivy League Championships in 2004, 1979, 1977, 1973, 1971 and 1969. PURFC is currently coached by Richard Lopacki.
Women's team
The women's team, Princeton University Women's Rugby Football Club (PUWRFC), is the women's rugby unionWomen's rugby union
Women's rugby union is a sport identical to the men's game with the same rules, same sized pitch, and same equipment. However, it has a history which is significantly different, due to various social pressures, and the self-image of rugby union in general...
club of Princeton. PUWRFC was established in 1980, and the new team aspired to compete in the young world of U.S. women's rugby, which was established only eight years earlier by the creation of four women's teams in 1972. Since then, the sport has grown quickly across America and PUWRFC has continually found itself at the top levels of Division I competition.
PUWRFC won back-to-back national championships in 1995 and 1996. Princeton women advanced to the Final Four in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Throughout the team's history, PUWRFC has often won the MARFU Championship, the Ivy League Tournament, and has secured several bids to the Sweet Sixteen. 32 Princeton women have been named All-Americans, and several of those received honors for multiple years.
Princeton women compete in Division I of the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
, against Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, UPenn, and Yale. PUWRFC is coached by Emil Signes, Peter Kelly, and Ginny Pitzer.
Ivy League Rugby
The first Ivy League Rugby Championship was played in 1969. In 2009, the men joined a newly established Ivy League that kicked off as a separate conference in the Northeast Rugby UnionNortheast Rugby Union
The Northeast Rugby Union is the Territorial Area Union for rugby union teams playing in the Northeastern United States . It is one of seven TAU's that govern specific regions of USA Rugby.-LAU's:...
, and the women began a full season of Ivy League play in the fall of 2011.
- Ivy League Rugby
- Harvard RugbyHarvard rugbyThe Harvard Rugby Football Club is a collegiate rugby team at Harvard College. Founded in 1872, the HRFC is the oldest Rugby Club in the United States. It competes in the Ivy League. With around 50 members, Harvard Rugby is one of the largest club teams at Harvard...
- Yale Rugby
- UPenn Rugby
- Dartmouth Rugby
- Brown Rugby
- Columbia Rugby
- Cornell Rugby
International tours
Princeton Rugby goes on tour each spring. Past tours have included travel to Bermuda, England, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Ireland, and Barbados.Princeton Rugby, along with the Harvard and Yale Rugby teams, began the tradition of U.S. college students going on Spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
to the Caribbean.
In 1940, the team traveled over spring break to Nassau and played before the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
West Windsor Fields
Princeton plays on Rickerson Field located at West Windsor Fields. A third field is often set up for tournaments. The pitches are across Lake Carnegie and are accessible from campus by a stone footbridge.Princeton University’s West Windsor fields were the site of a week-long USA Rugby
USA Rugby
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
Collegiate All-Star selection camp in 2009.
New Jersey State Tournament
The New Jersey State Tournament has been hosted at West Windsor Fields every spring since 2006.The sport of rugby has been played in New Jersey for more than 130 years, yet it has only been since 2006 that the colleges of The Garden State have competed for the intercollegiate state championship. Whoever wins the single-elimination format championship is awarded "The Rickerson Cup." The trophy is named for Princeton alumnus Stuart Rickerson.
Alumni
- James BakerJames BakerJames Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
- William Clay Ford, Jr.William Clay Ford, Jr.William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. , is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, and serves as the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, Ford also served as the President, CEO, and COO until turning over those roles to former Boeing executive Alan Mulally in September 2006...
- Claiborne PellClaiborne PellClaiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
- Richard RiordanRichard RiordanRichard J. Riordan is a Republican politician from California, U.S.A. who served as the California Secretary for Education from 2003–2005 and as the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from 1993–2001...
- Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...