In early December 2023, the CMU women’s rugby team was down 17-0 just 15 minutes into their semifinal game against the University of Connecticut (UConn). When UConn Huskies fans started yelling at the Mavericks, the team took it to heart and stormed back with a 45-5 score to earn a spot in the national championship game. The final game against Northeastern University was unfavorable for CMU, but the team returned home with the honor of their Division I debut.
“We’re not your typical D1 team,” said coach Mackenzie Lewis, who also serves as CMU’s scholarship coordinator, “we play with a little meanness. We’re a bunch of misfit athletes who play together as a team.”
“We’re not your typical D1 team. We play with a little bit of swagger. We’re a bunch of misfit athletes who play together as a team.” Mackenzie Lewis, Head Rugby Coach
Women’s Rugby is one of 20 CMU club sports teams that compete for collegiate national championships. CMU has three athletic divisions: NCAA Athletics, Club Sports, which includes non-NCAA varsity teams, and Intramural Sports. All teams in the Club Sports divisions must play in leagues that compete for collegiate championships. Currently, CMU has won 17 team national championships and 81 individual national championships in cycling and one team national championship in women’s rugby.
Reece Keggans is CMU’s director of club sports, a role that has grown as additional competitive programs have emerged.
Shooting sports is a recent addition to the club sports. Shooting sports has two teams, archery and shotgun. Both teams are coached by Ashley Teal from Grand Junction, who is the Colorado women’s state champion in both sports. Currently, shotgun and archery have nine athletes on each team. Teal helped start the sports at CMU and also coaches them part-time.
“I’m proud of the strong leaders we have among our coaching staff and their ability to develop all of the students on our team into strong leaders,” Keggans said.
Building a championship tradition in any sport can be both exciting and satisfying, but for Keggans and his coaching staff, supporting student-athletes of all types is the overriding goal.
“Club sports encompass everything from esports to rodeo,” Keggans explains. “Sports are fun, and every athlete matters. We want to help make it a good experience for everyone.”
