Varsity Cup Championship
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2012 |
| Inaugural season | 2013 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Country | United States |
| Holders | Cal (2017) |
| Most titles | Cal and BYU (2 each titles) |
| Website | http://varsitycup.us// |
| Broadcast partner | NBC Sports |
The Varsity Cup Championship is a college rugby competition established in 2012 to serve as an invitational championship following the breakaway of several schools from Division 1-A Rugby.
The Varsity Cup is organized by United World Sport, the same organization that runs the USA Sevens tournament and the Collegiate Rugby Championship. The 2014 Varsity Cup final was televised by NBC Sports on NBCSN. The Varsity Cup's ability to get onto television was seen as a boost to the Varsity Cup and to the rugby programs of the member schools.
The development of the Varsity Cup post-season tournament has created some controversy. The Varsity Cup Championship doesn't replace Division 1-A Rugby, but it is endorsed by USA Rugby. The schools participating in the Varsity Cup often refer to it as the national championship, but with the rival Division 1-A Rugby post-season tournament running concurrently, USA Rugby does not consider the Varsity Cup to be the national championship.
The founding schools formed the Varsity Cup with a number of goals in mind. One was the ability to manage and control their playoff games. Another was to develop a tournament with commercial appeal, that would generate revenue from attendance and concessions, and that would generate marketing exposure through TV coverage.
The teams invited to compete in the Varsity Cup are from schools where rugby enjoys varsity status or at least advanced club status.
Note: BYU's 2015 victory was vacated because BYU fielded an ineligible player. Since the discovery and further questions of the usage of ineligible players by BYU, the team has left the Varsity Cup and rejoined D1-A.
Note: BYU's 2015 victory was vacated because BYU fielded an ineligible player.
Italicized teams hosted each round.
Most points for one team (single match):
The following table shows the broadcasters for each year's final match.
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