BYU Rugby: A Bright Future... of Blue and White

As I was leaving the Wilkinson Center today, I happened to glance up at the TV monitor to see some highlights of the BYU Rugby team playing in an ad for the 2009 highlight video... I couldn't help but think of the great things that happened over the course of last year's season... and of the great advances that have occurred for the benefit of the team within the last few months...

Just yesterday, for example, I had the opportunity to speak with newly announced Cougar Rugby Foundation President Aaron Webber (interview forthcoming), and I can assure all alumni and fans in the ranks that the future of BYU Rugby looks bright indeed. This man, a BYU Rugby alum himself, well recognizes the obstacles preventing the team from developing into a full-fledged, self-sustaining program. I am confident, that with Aaron Webber at the helm of the CRF, we can look forward to the BYU Rugby team making great strides to become the program we all envision.

In the same breath, I wish to applaud the BYU Rugby coaching staff for their various efforts to build the rugby team into an established program, especially in the last year. As if winning a National Championship wasn't progress enough, the BYU Rugby team now enjoys a new and improved website with several great features never available in the past... and only more to come in the future.

Add to all of these advances the amazing schedule prepared for the team this season: a game this weekend against an emerging collegiate rugby presence, the University of Delaware; a Homecoming match against our rival Utah for the Wasatch Cup to be broadcast nationwide on BYU-TV; and a later match against the same University of Utah to be held in the 20,000-seat capacity, Rio Tinto Stadium... not to mention the usual playoff and National Tournament games at season's end...

And so, my beloved BYU Rugby Fans near and far, I share with you a bright image of the future... a deep sea of blue and white, spanning the nation over: BYU Rugby fans coming out of the woodwork lining up to embrace the nation's greatest team. It can happen... It will happen... It is happening already, right before our very eyes...

We are truly blessed... all of us: BYU Rugby players, coaches, staff, alumni, fans, friends, and family alike. Though outsiders may scoff as they please, no one close to the team can deny that the camaraderie experienced, the personal developments realized, and the relationships forged all serve to make BYU Rugby more than just a team... more than just a sport... it's a family that forms part of who we are and what we do...

As a member of that wonderful family, I take pride and joy in doing what I can to make it better... and I invite each and every one of you to do the same. After all, you never know what amazing things might happen as a result of your efforts!

Now, as concerning me and mine, well, you already know that we're keeping it 'in the family' from here on out... BYU Rugby Forever, my friends... onward and upward we go!