The Atlantic Coast Rugby League’s Atlantic Coast Invitational 7′s tournament kicks off this coming weekend, September 11-12th, at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The ACRL is one of the first college rugby conferences that re-aligned along traditional NCAA conference battle lines and is now taking their plan to 7′s with ten Atlantic Coast teams set to duke it out over league 7′s bragging rights.
The tournament is set to be played at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro. Macpherson Stadium is a 1600 seat facility and home to the Carolina Dynamo that play in the USL Premier Developmental Soccer League.
The choice of locations for the tournament and the setting were carefully planned.
“We wanted to hold the tournament in Greensboro because it is the home of the ACC and is relatively central geographically. MacPherson therefore was a logical choice. It’s a nice, modestly sized facility with a great playing surface,” said Pat Kane, Head Coach of Wake Forest who played a vital role in getting the ACI 7′s up and running.
Ten traditional ACC teams will take the field in Greensboro this weekend and the title is up for grabs as there isn’t a clear-cut favorite in the field.
Pool A has Virginia Tech, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Duke.
Pool B includes Florida State, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Maryland, and Clemson.
The ACI 7′s is one of a growing number of tournaments that are tapping into the increased interest of 7′s while also targeting traditional collegiate conference rivalries.
The tournament officials have tapped into local resources in Greensboro and want to take the ACI 7′s to the next level.
“The Greensboro Sports Commission has been a huge help. They carried the ball on getting the stadium for us to use, which was obviously the biggest piece of the puzzle. They’ve also been proactive about promoting the event locally and have gotten us access to the local media. We did a media day where all the local sports media came and heard presentations from us,” added Kane.
“The local media is definitely interested, I did a long interview with the Greensboro News and Record yesterday and the local Fox affiliate will be out filming highlights on Saturday.”
The ACI 7′s has also gotten a major boost from the USA 7′s as they have signed on as sponsor of the ACI 7′s (more details on the sponsorship to come soon) and bodes well for the future of the tournament and could be a hint of where Collegiate 7′s may be headed.
The fall setting for the ACI 7′s is also an indication of where collegiate 7′s is headed. With 15′s firmly entrenched in the spring, the fall appears to be where most 7′s will be played at the collegiate level.
One thing is certain, fans of college rugby and in particular 7′s, will get a real treat this weekend with the action taking place at the Atlantic coast Invitational.
2010 Tournament Matches
| Pool A | Pool B |
| Virginia Tech | Florida State |
| UNC | N.C. State |
| UVA | Maryland |
| Georgia Tech | Wake Forest |
| Duke | Clemson |
Saturday, September 11, 2010
| Game | Time | Pool | Game |
| 1 | 10:00 am | A | Virginia Tech vs. UNC |
| 2 | 10:25 am | B | Florida State vs. N.C. State |
| 3 | 10:50 am | A | UVA vs. Georgia Tech |
| 4 | 11:15 am | B | Maryland vs. Wake Forest |
| 5 | 11:40 am | A | Virginia Tech vs. Duke |
| 6 | 12:05 pm | B | Florida State vs. Clemson |
| 7 | 12:30 pm | A | UNC vs. UVA |
| 8 | 12:55 pm | B | N.C. State vs. Maryland |
| 9 | 1:20 pm | A | Georgia Tech vs. Duke |
| 10 | 1:45 pm | B | Wake Forest vs. Clemson |
| 11 | 2:10 pm | A | Virginia Tech vs. UVA |
| 12 | 2:35 pm | B | Florida State vs. Maryland |
| 13 | 3:00 pm | A | UNC vs. Georgia Tech |
| 14 | 3:25 pm | B | N.C. State vs. Wake Forest |
| 15 | 3:50 pm | A | Duke vs. UVA |
| 16 | 4:15 pm | B | Clemson vs. Maryland |
| 17 | 4:40 pm | A | Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech |
| 18 | 5:05 pm | B | Florida State vs. Wake Forest |
| 19 | 5:30 pm | A | UNC vs. Duke |
| 20 | 5:55 pm | B | N.C. State vs. Clemson |
Sunday, September 12, 2010
| Game | Time | Bracket | Game |
| 21 | 10:00 am | Championship Play-in | B4 vs. A5 |
| 22 | 10:25 am | Championship Play-in | A4 vs. B5 |
| 23 | 10:50 am | Championship Quarter Final | B2 vs. A3 |
| 24 | 11:15 am | Championship Quarter Final | A2 vs. B3 |
| 25 | 11:40 am | Championship Quarter Final | A1 vs. Winner Game 21 |
| 26 | 12:05 pm | Championship Quarter Final | B1 vs. Winner Game 22 |
| 27 | 12:30 pm | 9th Place Match | Loser Game 21 vs. Loser Game 22 |
| 28 | 1:00 pm | Challenger Semi-Final | Loser Game 23 vs. Loser Game 25 |
| 29 | 1:30 pm | Challenger Semi-Final | Loser Game 24 vs. Loser Game 26 |
| 30 | 2:00 pm | Championship Semi-Final | Winner Game 23 vs. Winner Game 25 |
| 31 | 2:30 pm | Championship Semi-Final | Winner Game 24 vs. Winner Game 26 |
| 32 | 3:15 pm | Challenger Final | Winner Game 28 vs. Winner Game 29 |
| 33 | 4:00 pm | Championship Final | Winner Game 30 vs. Winner Game 31 |
Joseph Peluso
September 11, 2010
I remember reading somewhere that there will be videos of the games?
Where can I find these?
RugbyAmerica
September 13, 2010
I never heard anything about video, but I’m with you. If there is something out there, I’d love to get my hands on it. I’ll check around and see if I can dig something up.