University of Arkansas Women’s Rugby Club History

In the late Fall of 1976, four students at the University of Arkansas started the Women’s Rugby team, Sarah Douglas, Margret Baus, Beth Borne and Cathy Rankin. Most of the team came from the 4th floor of the Pomfret Dorm where Beth Borne was the RA of the dorm. They had seen the men play and a couple of Arkansas Men’s players, Fred O’Laughlin and Phil Brazelle coached them in the beginning. Their first match was against JBU on a snowy pitch, and of course they wore their rugby shorts.

In 1984, Susan Parrott (Mother Rugby) moved here from Oklahoma and helped revigorated the team, which included five of the original players from the 1976-81 team.

Then Karen Monson, who played in 1988, took over in 1999 and coached the club until 2008. Karen had several All-Star players, Lauren Rushing and Susan Riggs were on that team and are still playing today for the Little Rock Stormers and Chicago Lions respectively.

In 2012, Susan Parrott took over as Head Coach of the team until 2014, when the team saw great success and numbers. The team was coached by various alumni from 2014 until 2021. Then in the summer of 2021, Jason Ayers who is a former rugger, coach and active rugby advocate for the NW Arkansas community was approached by the team and asked to coach the club.

Currently the University of Arkansas Women’s Rugby Club is going strong with new players, a fun atmosphere, and a competitive culture. The team currently competes in the NCR Division 2 competition and qualified for National 7s in the Spring 2024 season.