The story
History
The U.S. men's national team, the Eagles, won the gold medal in Olympic rugby in 1920 and 1924. After that time, rugby in the U.S. stagnated while continuing to grow in other parts of the world.
Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s, the sport of rugby union enjoyed a renaissance in the US. This created the need for a national governing body to represent the United States. On June 7, 1975, four territorial organizations (Pacific Coast, West, Midwest, and East) gathered in Chicago, Illinois, and formed the United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby). USA Rugby then fielded its first national team on January 31, 1976, in a match against Australia in Anaheim, California, which Australia won, 24–12.
In 1993, the Southern California RFU, a local area union of the Pacific Coast RFU, applied to become a separate territory. This was an impetus for others around the country to do the same, changing the make-up of USA Rugby, which now has seven territories (Pacific, Southern California, West, Midwest, South, Northeastern, and Mid-Atlantic).
USA Rugby lobbied for several years for participation in the IRB Sevens World Series. It was finally awarded the annual USA Sevens tournament, beginning in 2004 with Los Angeles as the venue for the initial USA Sevens tournaments. In summer 2006, the tournament was moved to Petco Park in San Diego. Since 2010, the tournament has been held every year at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas Valley and has been broadcast live on NBC.
USA Rugby is a Founding Sports Partner of the Sports Museum of America, joining more than 50 other single-sport Halls of Fame, national governing bodies, museums, and other organizations across North America, to celebrate the history, grandeur, and significance of sports in American culture. Opened in New York City on May 7, 2008, the Sports Museum of America showcases USA Rugby in its Hall of Halls Gallery, in return for their support of the creation of the nation's first all-sports museum experience.
In 2014, USA Rugby created Rugby International Marketing, a for-profit company that is responsible for promoting the sport of rugby.
Recent achievements
In the 2009–10 Sevens World Series, the men's sevens team finished the season ranked 10th in the world, their highest ranking to date at that time.
In 2010, USA Rugby became an Olympic Sport member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
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In 2011, the International Rugby Board, now known as World Rugby, gave its Development Award to USA Rugby for its Rookie Rugby program that introduced over 100,000 new children to youth rugby.
In 2014:
the U.S. Women's Sevens finished 4th in the World Rugby Women's Sevens World Series, their highest finish to date.
the U.S. vs New Zealand match sold out Soldier Field in Chicago, drawing over 60,000 fans and setting a U.S. attendance record.
In 2015:
USA Rugby won the bid to host the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in the San Francisco Bay Area.
the U.S. Men's Sevens team finished sixth in the 2014–15 Sevens World Series, including first at the 2015 London Sevens. The team also defeated Canada 21–5 to win the 2015 NACRA Sevens and qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2017:
the Women's U.S. National Team finished 4th at the Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland. Their second highest finish since winning the 1991 tournament.
the U.S. Men's Sevens team finished fifth in the 2016-17 World Rugby Sevens Series, their highest-ever finish at the time.
In 2018:
the U.S. Men's National Team won the America's Rugby Championship (ARC) for the second consecutive year.
the United States hosted its first ever Rugby World Cup event with the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco at AT&T Park. The event welcomed more than 100,000 in attendance, setting the mark for highest attended Rugby World Cup Sevens to date.
In 2019:
U.S. Men's Sevens team finished second in the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series, their highest-ever finish. The team would make five Cup finals including a win in the 2019 USA Sevens against Samoa.
In October 2021, the U.S. vs New Zealand (All Blacks) match at FedEx Field in Washington DC. The final score was 104–14 to the All Blacks.
the U.S. Women's Sevens team finished third at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Elected governance history
In June 1987, the position of chairman of the Board was added to the executive committee, and Bob Watkins was named to that position. Effective June 1989, that position was retitled Post of Past President, and remained an appointed post until the position was dropped in 1996.
Effective January 1996, an executive vice president was added.
Effective March 2000, the Vice President was replaced with Athlete Vice President.
Effective April 2004, the President title was replaced with chairman, and an USARRA Representative was added.
Effective July 14, 2006, the governance was changed to a model with a board of directors nominated and approved by a congress.
From Wikipedia’s article on USA Rugby, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5