West Point Director of Rugby Rich Pohlidal distributed an email Tuesday to the press and coaches in collegiate rugby stating in grand detail his argument for a fall season for college rugby.

At the heart of the email is the likelihood that the Army men’s team, at least, could be switching its season to fall-only for 15s, with emphasis on 7s and select-side play in the spring.

The topic has been one close to Pohlidal’s heart for some time, and in a conversation with RUGBYMag.com following the email, he outlined his thought processes.

“Win-loss records are not how I am judged,” said Pohlidal. “Our program is judged on academics, military development, and then athletic success. Now, if we get those first two right, we will likely win as well. But I want to look at solutions that develop rugby. I really strongly believe that moving to playing in the fall, with a championship in the fall, that puts teams on a more equal footing in terms of their preparation, is the right way forward.”

Pohlidal pointed out that the teams that did well at the USA 7s CRC were those that had the most preparation time, regardless of state of origin (Utah had a week more than Cal, and beat Cal; Army a week longer than Utah, and Army beat Utah; Dartmouth a week longer than Army, and Dartmouth beat Army).

It’s  unlikely that many other coaches will agree, especially those for whom fall play would be a drastic departure. But some in colder states certainly would second Pohlidal’s feelings. Still others might look at their current schedule, which often includes a split schedule with a long winter layoff, and welcome a shorter season.

What he is proposing is to play a fall season that, for some schools, asks players to arrive on campus early (this, Pohlidal says, is much easier on the players than making them play a championship during finals), devotes seven to ten weeks for preseason games and league matches, and then three weeks of national playoffs. Or, it might not even end in a national playoff, depending on what colleges want from their rugby.

Such a plan, Pohlidal said, would mean every team has the same preparation (while the current system favors teams that have warm weather in January), and would free up the spring to ensure players were available for the USA U20 team or other select or national teams, provide time to prepare for the USA 7s Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s event, and also free up coaches and players to help coach high school and youth teams, and by extension allow coaches to recruit potential students to their universities.

Stated Pohildal in his outline (emphasis his):

While the Pacific Coast, Southern California, and South Unions enjoy fairer weather and outdoors training environments year round, the largest unions and the majority of colleges/ universities to include the three military academies do not; we are snow bound in Jan and February, and for some, most of March and April. With 4 of the seven unions (NE, West, Mid-West and Mid Atlantic) playing a split season in both fall and spring due to weather restraints through late December into mid March (April for some), only a small window exists  to provide collegiate teams across the country equal footing to train, compete, and build up to peak performance for a national championship competition in 15’s. This preparation gap creates an unfair advantage for warmer climate teams which in a full contact sport like rugby cannot be mitigated without undue hardship placed on the shoulders of the schools and moreoever the student athletes.    Modulated training on “basketball courts or on wrestling mats” as suggested by once D1 coach could never compensate for 10-12 preseason matches and outdoor training on grass/ turf fields in rather normal rugby conditions.

However, we can make best use of the small spring playing window for a collegiate sevens season which would allow equal opportunity for all collegiate athletes to compete, in a fair play model, in the code of rugby sevens.  The CRC and NBC’s drive for rugby content demonstrate that we are now being given a golden opportunity for rugby- not just sevens.  It should be recognized that the 15’s World Cup in 2011 NZ, has been picked up by NBC- without a doubt sevens rugby has influenced this positive repositioning of the 15’s game in the American Sporting Landscape this fall…..seems like NBC doesn’t mind competing with football?

Pohlidal called his solution “an American solution.” One that standardizes the schedule in a country where coordinating the right weather conditions to play an outdoor sport can be a challenge.

This is by no means a settled issue, but Pohilidal has taken a big step not only by outlining his ideas in a formalized form, but also by strongly hinting that whether any formal change is made or not, Army rugby may well switch to fall play regardless.

If nothing else, it seems that the success of the USA 7s CRC and the new Collegiate Premier Division have not settled anything in American college rugby. Rather, they have simply uncovered more issues, and more questions.

Below is Pohlidal's suggested college rugby calendar (some dates of the IRB Sevens World Series are guesses based on this past season's dates). Right now it is presented by RUGBYMag.com as a point of discussion. Certainly other college coaches have called for a fall-only competition, and others believe strongly in a spring-only competition.  

Suggested Fall XV’s Calendar for 2011:

NOTE: Holiday break, Exam time, and winter weather begins to set in.

Suggested Spring 2011 Seven’s and Elite: