One of these areas is improved safety measures and more active university supervision. Rugby, both nationally and locally, is governed by the United States of America Rugby Football Union (USARFU), and at most colleges, also comes under the supervision of the Athletic Department.
The USARFU is behind the Harvard move for varsity status and agrees with the club that the Athletic Department should take the responsibility to control safety by maintaining the conditions of the field, supplying dependable trainers, granting access to training facilities, and actively supervising practices.
"The adequate level of fitness and safety of our club has been achieved as much by our coach's close rapport with the Athletic Department, and through our own care, as it has by any perceived sense of obligation and duty by the Athletic Department," the Harvard rugby club's proposal said.
Rugged Credentials
Harvard rugby is the oldest rugby club in America, founded in 1871 and first recognized by the Harvard Athletic Association in 1932. The Harvard-McGill rivalry, begun in 1874, was the world's first international college sports match-up.
Since the ruggers' fantastic success between 1979 and 1984--when the ruggers won four Ivy championships, the national championship in 1984, and a host of other local titles--the club has been able to capture only a single title of any sort. Last October, as host of the N.E. Championships, the squad was eliminated in the first round.
"Rugby is getting more and more competitive," Kingston said, "and its affecting our ability to stay at the top."
Harvard consistently fielded well over 50 undergraduates at its practices during the past fall season, but it has been unable to keep pace with the improvement of the varsity programs around the country. The list of varsity teams includes Maryland, Colorado, the military academies, and Cal-Berkeley--the winner of six of the last seven national championships.
The Ivy League schools have remained clubs in the face of this national varsity trend, with the exceptional case of Dartmouth. While the Big Green program is labelled a club, it is for all intents and purposes a varsity sport.
Dartmouth, which was the national runner-up to Cal-Berkeley a year ago, receives $10,000 a year from its Athletic Department, money the team uses to pay for professional coaching and the maintenance of its field.
"They are very well organized and it's one of the best run clubs on campus," Dartmouth Administrative Assistant of Club Sports Rhonda Martin said.
In comparison, "we have no building, no office, no central location. The only place we have to meet is the cold-side of a hard field," Kingston said.
"We've gotten more and more each year," Kingston added, "but as a club sport, we don't have good status in the pecking order."
Even if the club is granted varsity status, it plans to continue collecting the dues it now collects from club members.
"Money is not the issue," Rossow said. "We know we'll never be rich, but we will get along."
"We're not looking for a handout," Rossow said. "We're only looking to confirm what we already have."