Sport Rugby union No. of teams 9 | Founded 1975 Most recent
champion(s) University of Missouri | |
The Heart of America Rugby Football Union is a college rugby conference playing in Division 1-AA, with members composed mostly of Big 12 and SEC schools (and many of these schools enjoying longstanding rivalries from the former Big Eight Conference). HOA organizes a league competition with the winner qualifying for the national playoffs, and every fall hosts a rugby sevens tournament with the winner qualifying for the national sevens championships.
Contents
Heart of America was a Division 2 conference until 2011, with Arkansas and Missouri ranked among the top teams in Division 2. In summer 2011, however, with the creation of the Premier College Division (Division 1-A), several conferences including HOA decided to move up to Division 1-AA.
The HOA conference is led by Conference Commissioner Miles Hunter of Oklahoma State.
Current members
The current member schools (and the date they joined the conference) are:
Member notes:
Heart of America Sevens
The HOA sevens tournament is played every fall among the eight members of the HOA conference and a limited number of additional Division 1 schools. The winner of the HOA sevens tournament qualifies for the annual USA Rugby sevens national championship.
The HOA sevens tournament is one of a number of college rugby tournaments that are tapping into the increased interest of rugby sevens while also targeting traditional collegiate conference rivalries. The HOA developed this competition due to the increasing popularity of rugby sevens throughout the United States, particularly since the 2009 announcement adding rugby sevens to the Summer Olympics, and in the wake of the success of the Collegiate Rugby Championship rugby sevens tournament broadcast live on NBC every year.