As originally reported by the Sports Business Journal , USA Rugb has announced that the organization is partnering with international sports marketing firm IMG in a 10-year deal to market, promote, and develop the college national championships.



The entire deal is centered on college rugby and its length is a critical part of the agreement.

“We are going to build this over time,” said USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville. “It’s a joint venture designed to support true national championships for men and women, across divisions, and in 7s and 15s. IMG is very keen on college rugby. They have a global presence so they are connected with sports marketing in the US but also are involved with rugby around the world. It’s a good partnership.”

Previous attempts to put monetary and marketing backing behind college rugby have faltered because they have not lasted. CSTV was all about rugby for about two years. The National Guard sponsorship dissipated with budget cuts, and was really a year-to-year deal anyway. So, there hasn’t been a dearth of efforts to support American college rugby, it’s just that they haven’t been reliable.

With IMG signing on to promote and develop USA Rugby’s National Championships for ten years, things might settle down a little.

USA Rugby will direct and operate the National Championships. IMG will get the championships on TV or web, find sponsorships, and promote them.

Is this, though, a slight flipping of the bird to United World Sports, the organization that runs the CRC and took over the Varsity Cup - both competitions which bill themselves as national collegiate championships?

Melville said “no,” but added:

“We are cresting true national championships, which give every team an opportunity to participate, not an invitational,” said Melville.