In order to be a competitive collegiate rugby club in the CRAA D1AA conference, we have to acknowledge a difficult truth. The era of the “volunteer coach” has come to an end. The conference has never been as competitive as it is today, and to be able to compete, we must attract, hire, and retain quality coaching staff. While “love for the game” must always be part of the DNA of a quality coach, it is no longer suitable tender to assume love and joy of the game will adequately compensate for a coach’s time. Having been involved in the hiring of no less than 3 head coaches, and conducting a nationwide search for our most recent head coach, I can assure you that 100% of the applicants expected some level of compensation varying from $50,000 per season on up to $100,000. Many coaches in our conference are able to be paid a living wage. Meanwhile SJSU provides a meager $1000 stipend per coach for their club coaches. This barely covers the coach’s gas bill for the season. We have got to do better.

Thus far this season, we’ve already witnessed the amazing outcomes when you pair quality coaching with quality players, and adequate financial and organizational support. Club Sports will help to fill gaps, but it’s clear that the Spartan Alumni Board, with the help of all of our alumni, play a more crucial role in building a foundation for success both in the short term and for years to come.

There are two critical factors in building a successful rugby program. The first is quality coaching. The second is having quality players to coach. The best coach in the world is limited in their ability to bring about success by the talent on the pitch. As the days of the volunteer coach are behind us, so are the days of thinking it’s possible to build winning programs on the backs of new players. Of course, the athlete new to rugby will always have a place on the team. They are the backups, the ones learning their craft from seasoned players, who will become future starters. But the team can only advance with exceptional athletes who have already built a foundation of rugby prior to joining SJSU. It’s no wonder that the best collegiate rugby teams in the state (Cal, St. Mary’s, etc.) are that way because they recruit top high school players. In order to attract those top tier players, the Alumni Foundation is committed to offering tuition assistance for highly qualified scholar athletes considering enrollment into SJSU. First and foremost, the players must be intent on attending and graduating SJSU with a degree. Secondarily, the must meet specific qualifications to receive tuition assistance including recommendations made by our head coach and recruitment committee.

It takes a lot of coordination, support, planning, and material equipment to manage a successful rugby season in the D1AA Conference. All of the training and assets required, logistics, and myriad other needs that come up throughout the season need to be addressed in order for the team to establish a program characterized by excellence. We no longer wish to see the team “do more with less” as we know that model is not sustainable. It leads to frustrated coaches, frustrated team leadership, frustrated alumni and fans. All of that frustration leads to abandonment. It is intolerable and both the team and alumni deserve better. Help us raise money to support the team so that they can do more with more, for a long time!