As the end of the year and holidays approach we know many take this time to make end of year donations to their favorite causes. We also know there are many organizations you hold near and dear and are thankful Penn State Rugby continues to be one of them.

Fall 2020 has proven to be one of the oddest in the program’s history with no games, limited small group training and full of everyone’s two new favorite activities, zoom meetings and socializing distantly. Through it, the team has persevered working to find their identity and continue to grow on and off the field.

To fulfill our program's commitment to finding ways for alumni, friends, family, and players to connect, the Booster club hosted and held our first ever virtual Reunion Week.

Shawn Crago ‘92 is the owner of Patrick's Pub and Grille (click here) located outside Pittsburgh. After his teammate Howard Goldfine made the recommendation to support Crago during this tough time for restaurants, the PSU Rugby Family followed suit by making donations to pay for meals for essential employees.

In the last 5 years, many collegiate rugby programs have been elevated to varsity status accessing the support and resources associated with this designation. While Penn State provides a lot of support to rugby, the men and women’s teams no longer compete on a level playing field.

Amy Manidis ’05 is a registered nurse on loan from her hospital in San Francisco. She has been working at NY Presbyterian Queens. “The last few weeks have probably been the hardest I’ve ever worked and some days it doesn’t feel like enough.”

The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, more commonly referred to as THON, is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and has been raising money to support children diagnosed with cancer since 1977.

My name is Laura LaVigne, and I am currently a sophomore at Penn State working towards dual degrees in criminology and psychology. This is my fifth year playing rugby, starting as a sophomore at Orchard Park High school, and I am a tighthead prop.

The Penn State Women are looking forward to an exciting Spring season. The team is eager to showcase the growth and experience gained through the Fall season while representing the program at the USARugby D1 Elite National semifinals in April and the USARugby 7s championships in May.

The Spring Season is underway, and it is a busy time for the team. We have been in a good pre-season training regimen since returning from Winter Break as we prepare for our first contest; 21 March at Army.

The Nittany Lions saw major growth this past weekend at their spring opener in Washington, D.C.. The team stepped up and showed tremendous improvement since the fall.

The women’s team finished the season 7-4; 5-0 in the Big Ten, earning and retaining their 8th consecutive B1G championship!

The Penn State Men’s Rugby team ended the Fall conference season 4-5 and third in the Rugby East Conference -an unfamiliar place for the Lions who had a tough back-loaded schedule and finished the season with 4 of those 5 losses to ranked opponents.

David Labovitz ‘67  played rugby for over 28 years and loved every minute of it!