Buffalo University qualifies for USA Rugby's Round of 16

As the D1 playoff picture begins to take shape in the Ivies, the University of Buffalo clinched the top spot in the New York State Conference. Columbia will host the Wildcard playoffs on November 7 and 7 at Baker Field on the campus of Columbia University to determine the Ivy League Rugby Conference D1 representative for the spring. The Ivy second seed Columbia will take on 5th seed Brown, while Harvadr (3) will match up against Yale (4) also at Baker. Columbia will also host the finals on Sunday.

The 1st Team To Qualify For DI Nationals Is...

By Pat Clifton (from www.rugbymag.com)
(Buffalo races to program's first National berth. Don Neiman photo)

Buffalo capped off its dream, undefeated regular season Saturday with a 36-5 win over Binghamton, winning the New York State Conference and punching its ticket to the National Round of 16.

“These guys, they set some goals for themselves and they have followed through every step and every turn and they completely deserve what they got today,” UB coach Mike Hodgins said.

Buffalo finished fourth in the NYSC last season, and Mike Hodgins is in his first year at the program’s helm. Both Buffalo and Hodgins will enjoy their first-ever trip to the National Round of 16 in the spring. This possibility has been a probability ever since Buffalo’s Oct. 9th defeat of Syracuse, but Hodgins & co. had been reluctant to relish in what ifs.

“We’ve been a little bit wary because we thought we’d been getting premature praise, but now, I told them after the game, now they can have it,” said Hodgins. “We’ve actually accomplished something now. Up till now, we’ve just been playing rugby, but now we’ve actually achieved something really good for them.”

Though Buffalo isn’t slated to play another meaningful game for six months, Hodgins won’t let the celebration over Saturday linger much past Monday.

“We’re going to enjoy it for about two days and then we get ready for Nationals,” he said. “We just got done talking to the guys about now we’ve gotten to one step, and now it starts all over and the job just gets harder. Knowing this group of players, I really don’t think they’re going to rest on this. I think they’ll keep moving and keep trying to achieve that next plateau.”

When pushed to gush about what he’s accomplished as a coach, in just one semester of taking over a fourth-place team, Hodgins all but refused.

“We couldn’t ask for a better outcome, so I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” he said. “I truly do give them all the credit on this, because they really did it themselves.”