“The endowment is an incredible achievement and it really shows how deep the connections we make in this sport run,” said senior Vanessa Somoza, a current player and biological sciences major. As the University’s first recreation sports endowment, the hope is that it will serve as a model for other rec sports programs. It will also open opportunities to students who may have felt the program was out of their financial reach because of annual dues. The annual distribution of funds will boost the budget for travel, uniforms, and equipment.
It will provide lasting academic and programmatic support for both club teams. Since then, they and other rugby alumni have stepped up and established a $70,000 endowment with the University Foundation in support of the men’s and women’s programs. “I thought if they have an endowment, why can’t we?” “We wanted to model the endowment after Cal’s men’s club, which is the premiere collegiate program in the country,” said Alex Triantafyllou.
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Years earlier, Alex and Mary had started thinking about how to build a lasting foundation for both programs while alleviating some of the financial pressure on the student-athletes. In 2016-17, the Wildcats upset UC Davis-the undefeated, defending national champions-with a program-changing win that propelled the team to the conference title again during the following season. Led by coach Lucas Bradbury for the last 10 years, the program won the Pacific Western Rugby Conference and made the D1-AA Sweet 16 round in 2016. Not to be outdone, the men’s club finished the 2019 season as the D1-AA national runners-up. Alumna Megan Foster (Anthropology, ’15) is a starter for the women’s national team, the Eagles. In addition to its two national championships, it has won multiple conference titles and made numerous Sweet 16 appearances. The women’s rugby team, now coached by Stacey Espinoza (Exercise Physiology, ’19), competes at the Division 1 club level. “Especially as both the men’s and women’s teams developed into the premier rec sports programs on campus and teams that have been perennially nationally ranked.” “Though I think it toughened our players and helped them come together, it was a challenge to fully fund the program solely via support from rec sports and member dues,” said Alex Triantafyllou. That has meant long car and bus rides, eight players crashing at a parent’s house on a road trip, and sending out emergency pleas for donations when a player needed new cleats.
She thought about her days as a member of the inaugural 1998 team, coaching the program’s first national championship in 2001 over Penn State (yes, that Penn State), and meeting her husband, Alex Triantafyllou (Construction Management, ‘98), with whom she coached the women’s team for 20 years.ĭespite all the euphoria of winning a national championship, coaching or playing for an intercollegiate club team means you can never stop grinding.įor much of its history, the men’s and women’s rugby teams at Chico State have operated on a frugal budget. When the Wildcats women’s rugby club team built a 35-0 halftime lead over the University of Central Florida and cruised to a 54-26 victory to capture the 2018 Division I Spring Championship, co-head coach Mary Triantafyllou (Credentials, ‘99) couldn’t help but reflect on the program’s history.
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