The 15-member Council will equally represent men’s and women’s programs in all regions of the country and serve as the focal point for implementation of USA Rugby college operating policies.

“We are entering a new era in college rugby,” USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville said. “The seating of the College Management Council puts decisions on the issues facing the college game directly in the hands of college stakeholders.”

Members of the Council are:
Chair: Peter Seccia, USA Rugby Board of Directors
East Region: Alex Magleby, Dartmouth; MaryBeth Mathews, Bowdoin
South Region: James Farrar, South Carolina; Nancy Kechner, Virginia
Central Region: Scot Prunckle, Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Bill Sexton, Truman State
West Region: Ellen Owens, California; Matt Sherman, Stanford
International Athletes: Dan Payne, Life; Alex Williams, USA Rugby High Performance
Staff Liaison: Todd Bell, USA Rugby Collegiate Director

A breakdown of the schools represented in each region will be available on the USA Rugby website.

Rounding out the Council are the chairs of the four college-specific committees that will serve under the Management Council:
Women’s Strategic: Sue Parker, Navy
Eligibility: Marty Bradley, Tennessee
Men’s Competitions: Kevin Battle, UC-Santa Barbara
Women’s Competitions: Jonathan Griffin, Stanford

The four chairpersons will serve as ex-officio (non-voting) members of the Council. Full committee rosters will be announced in the coming days.

“I am looking forward to chairing the College Management Council,” USA Rugby Board member Pete Seccia said. “The Council will now receive the baton from the College Strategic Committee and expand on that work. My fellow Council members represent a broad cross-section of the sport and bring a diverse set of experiences and opinions to the table. It’s a dynamic group.

“I’m excited about the progress we’ve made at the college level over the last year with the founding of the Premier competition, the administrative restructure and the move to a conference-based system for the men’s game. The Strategic Committee and our Collegiate Director, Todd Bell, should be commended for all that they accomplished in such a short period of time.”

The Management Council replaces the College Strategic Committee as the lead body directly overseeing the college game in the USA Rugby structure.

Among its charges, the College Management Council will:
• Implement USA Rugby college operating policies.
• Consider, rule on and guide implementation of recommendations from college committees.
• Make policy recommendations to the Rugby Committee related to college rugby.
• Provide guidance to, and oversight of, college committees.
• Supervise compliance with USA Rugby college operating policy.