Rugby Scholarships
Rugby is the fastest growing team sport in the US and its recent acceleration has been mirrored in universities and colleges across the States. FirstPoint USA now works with more than 100 rugby programs and some of the leading universities in the States, while our rugby activity is led by former Scotland captain John Barclay, who is our Director of Rugby. There are over 35,000 registered college players in the country, and the emergence of Major League Rugby (MLR) – which implemented its first draft in 2020 – has opened up a fantastic pathway for the leading players to play professionally after graduation.
USA Rugby governs the top-level collegiate competitions, while Women’s rugby has been acknowledged as an ‘emerging sport’ by the NCAA, resulting in significantly increased funding for aspiring young female players. And with a growing media profile, the Collegiate Rugby Championships 7s has recently agreed a two-year deal with CBS Sports which will further increase the reach of rugby amongst a US audience
Building on its popularity, the USA will be hosting the Men’s World Cup in 2031 and the Women’s World Cup in 2033, meaning the profile of the sport Stateside is set to increase further, with more and more universities and colleges investing in their rugby programs and recruiting players internationally.
Academic and Sporting Preparation
Targeting University Programmes
Connecting with College Coaches
Ongoing Pastoral Care
To date, we've sent over 35,000 young men and women to the US. Securing over $400 million in scholarship awards and finding a place for every single qualifying applicant.
Every year, thousands of student-athletes and their families come face-to-face with the difficult challenge of securing a scholarship to an American university. What they often discover is that navigating university options is stressful enough, and adding sports into the mix brings it to a whole new level.
Even for those who do a little recruiting homework, they are often left with more questions, very few simple answers and an uneasy feeling they are somehow falling behind.
At FirstPoint, we understand what you’re going through. Many of us have experienced first-hand what the scholarship recruiting experience is like—as players and as coaches. And that experience, combined with our advanced online technology, expansive college coach network and proven recruiting methods, helps thousands of student-athletes and their families take control of their recruiting experience.
Whether you are a first-year high school student or a national ranked athlete, FirstPoint helps take the stress of uncertainty out of your scholarship journey by putting a plan in place to help you find your best university options in the USA.
HOW TO GET A SPORTS Scholarship
Testimonials
I am so grateful for the life changing experience and opportunities that have been available to me as an NCAA DI student athlete. None of which would have been possible without the expertise and knowledge of the staff at FirstPoint USA.
Josh Hendry
A huge thank you to the team at FirstPoint USA for the diligence and attention to detail throughout the whole process. They left no stone unturned gaining interest from a large amount of prestigious universities in USA through their network. Thank you!
John Patton
My son has started his USA rugby scholarship journey. In a very short space of time he’s had his first offer of interest. FirstPoint USA have been excellent - no waffle, straight talking about the reality of what happens and quick to respond to our queries.
Hilary Bolton
Frequently Asked Questions
Opportunities to earn college rugby scholarships are available for you. If you are a woman, there are many more such opportunities. There are approximately 90 NCAA Division 1 colleges and universities with rugby programs and many of them have women’s rugbyscholarship monies available. Schools such as Ohio State, the University of Michigan, Stanford University and San Diego State provide women’s rugby scholarships (including full grants-in-aid) as a method of satisfying Title IX requirements.
- NCAA Division I has 12 colleges offering Scholarships per team and 215 athletes.
- NCAA Division II has 12 colleges offering Scholarships per team and 147 athletes.
- NCAA Division III has 5 colleges with athletic scholarships per team unavailable and 116 athletes.
- Other has 2 colleges with athletic scholarships unavailable and 58 athletes.
The future of college rugby is very bright. The NCAA just recently named rugby of one of its “emerging sports“. This means that the sport is gaining more and more popularity and new teams are created basically every year. All varsity teams’ practice and compete at a very high and professional level. They have their own strength and conditioning coach, schedules that allow athletes to perfectly combine their studies and rugby, and all the academic help necessary in order to be successful in the classroom as well. So, if rugby is your passion and you are looking to continue playing rugby at the same time as getting a university education, coming to the US to play college rugby might be the perfect fit for you!
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