The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association, the competition for women’s NCAA varsity programs, will start its D1 season on September 3 with an expanded number of teams.
Princeton joins the D1 conference.
“There are so many exciting sports on Princeton’s campus, and we are thrilled to add to that list this fall,” said Princeton Head Coach Josie Ziluca. Ziluca had a lot of work to do after he appointment in 2019. While Princeton was on the road to being an NCAA varsity program, they also had to start all of that while navigating the COVID shutdowns. Ziluca’s biggest victory may well have been just keeping the players and the program connected when they couldn’t play.
Princeton opens the season on the road at Sacred Heart and then hosts Army on September 10.
“You only have one chance to make a first impression, and we cannot wait to make our debut this season,” said the coach.
With the Tigers joining, NIRA’s D1 is nine teams. Defending champs Dartmouth will get a bye on the first weekend and have scheduled a scrimmage. the other eight are all set for action with Mount St. Mary’s at West Point, Brown at Quinnipiac in a really interesting early-season clash, Harvard at Long Island, and Princeton at Sacred Heart.
A talented Harvard side has a good mix of youth and experience, and with Dartmouth graduating some big names—two Sorensen award winners and a capped 7s Eagle—and 2021 runners-up Army doing the same, the Crimson might be nicely poised this season. Quinnipiac returns almost all its roster and should be much improved. Brown, with a new coach in Ros Chou and a good pool of rising juniors and sophomores will want to build on their semifinal appearance from last fall.
The NIRA championship weekend is set for November 19, and on that day the D1, D2, and D3 champions will be crowned.
Fall 2021 NIRA D1 Schedule
(This has been updated with two fixture changes)
| 9/3 | Mt. St. Mary’s | at | Army | NIRA D1 |
| 9/3 | Brown | at | Quinnipiac | NIRA D1 |
| 9/3 | Harvard | at | Long Island | NIRA D1 |
| 9/3 | Princeton | at | Sacred Heart | NIRA D1 |
| 9/10 | Dartmouth | at | Long Island | NIRA D1 |
| 9/10 | Army | at | Princeton | NIRA D1 |
| 9/10 | Quinnipiac | at | Harvard | NIRA D1 |
| 9/10 | Sacred Heart | at | Brown | NIRA D1 |
| 9/17 | Dartmouth | at | Sacred Heart | NIRA D1 |
| 9/17 | Harvard | at | Mt. St. Mary’s | NIRA D1 |
| 9/17 | Army | at | Quinnipiac | NIRA D1 |
| 9/17 | Brown | at | Princeton | NIRA D1 |
| 9/24 | Quinnipiac | at | Dartmouth | NIRA D1 |
| 9/24 | Princeton | at | Harvard | NIRA D1 |
| 9/24 | Brown | at | Army | NIRA D1 |
| 9/24 | Long Island | at | Mt. St. Mary’s | NIRA D1 |
| 9/30 | Sacred Heart | at | Harvard | NIRA D1 |
| 10/1 | Army | at | Dartmouth | NIRA D1 |
| 10/1 | Mt. St. Mary’s | at | Brown | NIRA D1 |
| 10/8 | Long Island | at | Brown | NIRA D1 |
| 10/8 | Dartmouth | at | Mt. St. Mary’s | NIRA D1 |
| 10/15 | Dartmouth | at | Harvard | NIRA D1 |
| 10/15 | Sacred Heart | at | Quinnipiac | NIRA D1 |
| 10/15 | Princeton | at | Mt. St. Mary’s | NIRA D1 |
| 10/15 | Long Island | at | Army | NIRA D1 |
| 10/22 | Princeton | at | Dartmouth | NIRA D1 |
| 10/22 | Harvard | at | Brown | NIRA D1 |
| 10/22 | Mt. St. Mary’s | at | Sacred Heart | NIRA D1 |
| 10/22 | Quinnipiac | at | Long Island | NIRA D1 |
| 10/29 | Brown | at | Dartmouth | NIRA D1 |
| 10/29 | Harvard | at | Army | NIRA D1 |
| 10/29 | Sacred Heart | at | Long Island | NIRA D1 |
| 10/29 | Mt. St. Mary’s | at | Quinnipiac | NIRA D1 |
| 11/5 | Sacred Heart | at | Army | NIRA D1 |
| 11/6 | Long Island | at | Princeton | NIRA D1 |
| 11/12 | NIRA Semifinals | NIRA D1 | ||
| 11/12 | NIRA Semifinals | NIRA D1 | ||
| 11/19 | NIRA Finals | NIRA D1 |
