Miami's rugby team defeated the University of Wisconsin in the regular season and will face them again in the Final Four.
The Miami University men's rugby football club (MURFC) has seen great heights.
Established in 1968, the team eventually found itself playing in the Final Four of the 1984 National Championships. While they went on to lose to Cal Berkley, the 1984 Miami rugby team would remain the most successful team in the club's history for a long time to come. Cal grew to be a Division I dynasty. Miami's success wavered as the talent and coaching came and went.
Fast forward to a few years ago. When this year's seniors first came out for the team, the heights of the 1984 team seemed impossible. Coaching was inconsistent, spring practice was arbitrary, if not optional, and discipline was lacking. The biggest tasks of the season were to beat rival teams like OU and make it past the first round of the Midwest Tournament. Miami had some talent, but success as a team required dedication, discipline and consistency.
That's when Coach Jared Moore stepped in. A Miami rugby alumnus of '98, Moore originally came to coach in 2002 after the death of the significant and influential coach Doug Edwards. Other obligations resulted in a five-year hiatus, but Moore returned for good in the 2007-08 season.
"The talent has been here, but nobody was properly channeling them to their goals," Moore said.
He led the team to an impressive season, just barely losing to the University of Michigan in the first round of the DII Midwest Tournament.
This heartbreaking loss was motivating. The team came back for the 2008-09 season with a plan and a new attitude. Recruitment efforts nearly doubled the size of the team, and an emphasis on fitness allowed the MURFC to dominate its opponents. The club went 5-0 in regular season league play during the fall and dominated the Division II Midwest Tournament, outscoring its opponents by a total of 165-17 and climbing to rankings as high as the No. 3 Division II team in the nation.
Miami beat out Slippery Rock University, West Virginia, St. John's and University of Wisconsin-Madison to clench the team's first Midwest Championship since the 1984 season and advanced to the National Tournament in Sanford, Fla.
While awaiting the first round of Nationals, the club kept in shape by training with Adrenaline Sports Fitness in West Chester and scheduled matches with Division I teams to challenge themselves. Moore attributes the team's success to alumni, parent, school and coaching support but more importantly to work ethic.
"The players have worked harder outside of practice than any other team I've seen," Moore said. "In the past, a few students would push themselves year round while the rest would just show up to practice."
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In a three-week span leading up to Nationals, Miami beat three DI powerhouses - Notre Dame (39-3), University of Michigan (22-10) and Ohio State (15-0).
This momentum carried into the first round of Nationals in Florida, where the team imposed its will April 17 and 18. Miami defeated Eastern Carolina University (36-10) and Northern Colorado (50-7) to secure a spot in the Final Four, along with Georgetown, Middlebury, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, to be played May 1-2 in California.
The heights of the 1984 team have been met again, and Miami is looking to raise the bar to make this 40th anniversary season the most successful in team history. The MURFC already beat Wisconsin this year to secure the Midwest Championship, and the club is determined to move past them in pursuit of a national championship.
"We will prepare how we have prepared for every game before it, and we will play like we have played every game before it, except harder, and then in the end if we have played like we are capable of playing and we (the coaches) have prepared like we know how, we should win the national championship," Moore said.
Senior captain Kenny Thompson also reflected on the thought of a national championship.
"As a senior, it'd be the perfect culmination of all the hard work put in on and off the field over the past four years, but we don't see the championship as the end goal," Thompson said. "It would be a tremendous achievement, but we want to build a program that is going to be competitive for years to come. I care about the future of this club and the way we represent this university."
As the team prepares to leave for California Wednesday, the players share a common sentiment, focus and goal. In the words of coach Moore:
"Do work, impose our will and come home with a national championship."
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