LAFAYETTE, Colo. – D1A Rugby is pleased to announce that Brigham Young University has joined college rugby’s premier competition. The Cougars, who won USA Rugby National Championships in 2009 and 2012, have most recently played in the Mountain States Collegiate Rugby Conference and will be D1A Rugby’s lone Independent team for the 2016-17 season.

“Myself, along with the coaches and administrators of D1A Rugby, are thrilled to add one of the most storied programs in the nation,” said D1A Commissioner Kevin Battle.

“BYU’s inclusion into D1A Rugby will enhance the overall competitiveness of an already impressive field of teams and universities as we continue to pursue a unified landscape for men’s collegiate rugby.”

Independent of D1A Rugby’s seven conferences, BYU will play a minimum of six D1A teams over the course of the 2016-17 season. The Cougars played six regular season matches against D1A teams last season, going a perfect 6-0 in those contests.

Beginning in 2013, BYU won three consecutive Varsity Cup finals. This past spring, the Cougars dropped their first postseason final in four years when they fell to Cal, 40-29.

The AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans continue to benefit from the BYU program. This past season, eight Cougars were named to the 2015-16 All-Americans list.

BYU is also one half of one of college rugby’s great rivalries – the Wasatch Cup. In an annual fixture against the University of Utah, the Cougars and Utes duke it out for in-state bragging rights in one of the most hotly contested college fixtures of the year.

The addition of BYU will make the Cougars eligible for a place in D1A Rugby’s weekly Top 20 rankings effective immediately.