The Penn College community is getting a Rugby Club! The student organization was officially approved this spring by the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Engagement.
"We are ecstatic to announce to the Penn College community that PCT Rugby Club is now official,” said Morgan E. Regan, club president. “The current officers have been working on this goal since the start of the 2023-24 academic year and cannot wait to see what the future holds. We hope by providing students with an athletic club on campus, more people will get to experience playing a sport in college and building a wider sense of community while attending school. We hope that the club will become something students can look back on after graduating and think of the great experiences they had."
Regan is a business administration student from Pleasant Gap.
On the Engage site, which offers students the ability to find organizations, keep tabs on events and track their involvement, the PCT Rugby Club mission states: “PCT Rugby Club allows Penn College students to learn and have the chance to play the game of rugby, while allowing them to get connected with other students on campus who share the same passion. No activities or functions of the organization will conflict with the Penn College mission, vision or values, including College Policies and Procedures or any College policy or regulation. All activities related to competitively playing rugby will fall under the most recent laws enforced by World Rugby and USA Rugby to ensure a safe learning and playing environment for club members.”
The club’s adviser is David S. Richards, professor of physics. Richards played rugby during his undergraduate years at Mary Washington College.
Richards met with Regan and Adam C. Moyer, an avid rugby player from Kutztown, who is graduating next week with degrees in heating, ventilation & air conditioning technology and plumbing. The duo’s plan and professionalism impressed Richards, so he decided to sign on as the club's adviser.
The PCT Rugby Club started practicing this spring on Sunday afternoons on the library lawn and intramural field and also chose a weekday evening based on the weather and member availability. Regan says members are not expected at every practice. “We understand and respect that schoolwork comes first,” she said. “If anyone is interested in receiving messages about when we will be practicing (in the fall), they can reach out to us via Engage."
The Penn College community is encouraged to check back in on this exciting initiative when it kicks off its first full academic year in August.