The Villanova University Rugby Football Club was founded in November of 1959 by Francis Coghlan, a Welsh professor of history at the university. His first team was composed mainly of his own students, but in the spring of 1960, forty players filled the roster of Coghlan's new rugby club to compete against experienced Ivy League teams from the Eastern Rugby Union (ERU). The club struggled in that spring 1960 season, as the experienced teams they were playing were filled with foreign players with prodigious rugby skill. Villanova, on the other hand, had only one non-American on their roster. Despite these initial setbacks, the team persevered and continued to grow. In an article in the September, 1960 edition of the Villanovan, Coghlan invited all Villanova students “for whom rugby is still a mystery, to observe the practice sessions, or to try out for the team.” Under Coghlan's leadership, a 1960 Thanksgiving sevens tournament in New York City would change the fortunes of the team. In this event, the second ever sevens competition held in the United States, Villanova finished 4th out of 16, against some of the best rugby clubs in the nation. Today, this tournament continues to be held annually and is the oldest sevens event in the country. The strong performance of Villanova in this prestigious tournament can be pinpointed as the foundation of the success the club would have in the following years under Coghlan.

 In the spring of 1961, Villanova built off their success from that Thanksgiving tournament during their second ERU season. According to the Brown Daily Herald, the 1961 Villanova team was undefeated in their first four games of the season. The club then beat Columbia University by a score of 22-9 to claim the Division III ERU crown, moving Villanova into the playoff with the Division II champions from Brown. Their point differential coming into the Brown game for Villanova was an astonishing 156-14. As the match report in the May, 1961 edition of the Villanovan reports, the only Villanova try on the day was scored by scrumhalf Ralph Lewis twenty five minutes in to the match, with senior forward Bill McClure putting through the conversion. Villanova led 5-3 at the half after Brown scored on a penalty kick. The opponents would then score again, this time on a try late in the second half through a counter play from a Villanova kick. Brown led 6-5 after missing their conversion attempt. This close score led to “many frustrating moments for both teams” as Villanova valiantly attempted to answer back, but the 6-5 score would ultimately be the final. Despite the disappointing ending, the 1961 season of rugby in the ERU for Villanova wound up being a resounding success. The team had a 5-1 record, a point differential of 161-20, and an ERU Division III crown. In only its second year of existence, Coghlan had turned Villanova into one of the premier college rugby teams in the nation.

There is a lack of recorded knowledge on Villanova Rugby after the initial seasons of the club up until recently. We welcome any additions or memories our alumni might have about their days playing rugby for Villanova. Please email us at villanovarugby1@gmail.com with any stories, memories, or photographs that you may have from Villanova Rugby's storied past and we will post them here on the website!


Recent History

​In 1997, Villanova won the Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union playoffs and was, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “the top-ranked Division II college team in the nation by the USA Rugby Football Union.”=

​In 2010, the team was restored its club charter and became an officially sanctioned club sport again for the first time in over a decade. Articles in the Villanovan from 2008 and 2010 document this period.

​Ever since returning to campus in the fall of 2010, Villanova Rugby has been a club on the rise. In that first fall season, Villanova hosted the first rugby match on campus in decades against their local rivals, St. Joseph’s University. Over 1,000 students and supporters packed Villanova Stadium to see an exciting night of rugby. St. Joe’s would ultimately prevail, but Villanova put up a gallant effort in their return to legitimacy.  That season, the club ultimately qualified for both the EPRU and the MARFU playoffs.

In 2011, Villanova had a strong regular season and finished as the fourth best team in the conference, but lost to the regular season champions East Stroudsburg University in the EPRU semifinals.  The winner of the 3rd place match between Villanova and Lafayette College would earn the final spot in the MARFU playoffs that year.  In a tightly contested match in the bitter cold, Villanova ultimately lost an incredibly fought game, 10 to 5, and missed out on the MARFU playoffs.​

In the fall of 2012, Villanova became one of the founding members of the Mid Atlantic Rugby Conference. The team underperformed for the first half of the MARC season, starting off with four consecutive losses. However, Villanova won their next four matches in decisive fashion, outscoring their opponents 189 to 48. The team ultimately won the inaugural MARC Plate Championship against The College of New Jersey in front of a large crowd of students and team supporters at Villanova Stadium, after narrowly missing the Cup playoffs.

​The following summer, Villanova was a last minute addition to the Collegiate Rugby Championships, a nationally recognized sevens tournament broadcast on NBC, an incredible achievement and recognition for the club that only a few years before was not recognized by the university. Faced with little preparation time and matched up with the best rugby teams in the nation, Villanova decisively lost all four games they played against teams from the United States Naval Academy, UCLA, St. Joseph’s University and Temple University.  However, the club now had a clear view of the direction they wanted to head after sharing the pitch with the best collegiate rugby teams in the nation.

​In the 2013 fall season, the team was led by a group of 16 seniors that were freshmen when the team was restored their charter.  They were the first group of Villanova Rugby seniors in almost two decades to play all four years under university recognition.  With that group and a talented set of underclassmen, the team started off the regular season strong, defeating Division I University of Pennsylvania 32 to 10 to start the season and following soon after with a 30 to 15 win over nationally ranked Rowan University.  Villanova finished the regular season with six wins and two defeats, but ultimately lost in the first round of the MARC playoffs to yet another nationally ranked team, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

​​The following spring, Villanova hosted their Spring 2014 Stadium Series, featuring fives matches played on campus in Villanova Stadium. These contests were a huge step forward for Villanova Rugby. The club had strong wins against Rutgers University and LaSalle University, a narrow loss to Temple University, and a decisive loss to the US Naval Academy. The fifth part of the Stadium Series was the annual Alumni Game, which brought the past and present together to mark the beginning of a new era for Villanova Rugby.

Villanova was admitted to the Keystone Rugby Conference, a Division 1-AA rugby conference in the Summer of 2015.  The KRC holds 15s conference play during the Fall season, followed by a 7s circuit during the Spring season.  

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Villanova struggled to gain a strong footing at the D1-AA level for a few seasons. They did log some wins, such as their conference opening rout of West Chester in 2015, but often struggled later in the season. Villanova's 7s squad performed admirably in the spring, and in the Collegiate Rugby Championship was a consistent contender. Though there were moments such as the dramatic win against Drexel in the stadium in front of the entire CRC crowd, Nova has not yet one the Challenge Cup. 

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For the 2018-2019 season Villanova moved to the MARC Division 2 conference. Playing against the likes of Lehigh, York, Slippery Rock, Bloomsburg and others Villanova would score 233 points in the regular season, for a net +190 over all opponents and an undefeated regular season. They would advance to the conference semi-finals against York with a #1 seed in the conference and a #13 rank nationally. Villanova would duel with York and eventually pulled away in the second half to win 52-31. The next day Villanova played Bloomsburg for the Championship. A tight first half with much back and forth would see the score at 8-5 in favor of the Wildcats. However, in the second half Villanova dominated in dramatic fashion, relying on frequent kicking and open-field footraces to win 57-12. 

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With the conference championship secured, Villanova earned a Sweet Sixteen bid to the national D2 Championship.