Monthly Archives: November 2019

Tigers Ranked #8 in the Nation

Goff Report now ranks the Tigers #8 in the nation in D2. You can view that ranking here. The Goff Report is an independent rugby sports news service that provides a national ranking as part of their rugby coverage.

The Tigers jumped into the top 40 this year for the first time with a ranking of #33 due to a strong showing in conference play. After the Tigers beat MTSU to win the conference championship, the Tigers moved up to #27. Success in their playoff run moved them up to #8.

The Tigers success in post season play helped advance conference rival MTSU into the top 20, placing two SCRC teams in the top 20 D2 ranking for the first time.

“We had a great run this fall,” said head coach Marc Holley. “The boys learned a lot. This is a better team for the experience in post season play. They played their hearts out and that is all you can ask.”

Memphis will receive the SCRC D2 champion trophy this week from conference Commissioner Marty Bradley. The trophy will find its way to a new trophy case dedicated to Tiger success in the University of Memphis Rec Center.

Tigers in the Playoffs

The Tigers were in the USA Rugby D2 playoffs at Furman University this past weekend scheduled to play two matches…. Sweet 16 on Sunday and Elite 8 on Sunday if successful on Saturday.

Tigers Best Villianova in a steady rain!

The Tigers beat Villianova on Saturday in what became a mud bowl. This was one of the sloppiest fields that I have ever seen, but the Tigers maintained composure and handily took the match.

On Sunday, the Tigers challenged Wisconsin-Whitewater. This is a strong program, regularly ranked high in D2 and has had Eagles on its team in the past. The Tigers fell behind early due to a pressure offense that they have never seen before. However, as the match progressed, the lads adapted, learned how to play at a higher level and clawed back into the game. In the end the Tigers fell short and their playoff run was ended in a 31-24 loss.

(l-r) Kevin Wright, Nick Nickelson, Jay Hawkins, Jim Wilson, Rick McGhie, Marc Holley, Rick Knowles and Tony Brooks

The Tigers showed plenty of heart through this series and impressed the old boys that were there to support and cheer the lads. “I can’t tell you how PROUD I was of our young men this week end.” said Rick McGhie. “They played with tremendous ability and heart all week end, giving the higher seeded teams a HUGE lesson of how good Tennessee Rugby really is.”

Hawkins, McGhie, and Knowles fed the team on both Saturday and Sunday with their tailgaiting equipment. The food was delicious and made the weekend very special.

The Tigers are very grateful for the outpouring of support that we received from those who cheered us, encouraged us, fed us and financially supported us on our run. A very special thanks to all of Tiger Nation!

Tigers to playoffs!

Team captain Musa Banat leads 31 players who join with 6 coaches to travel to Furman University in South Carolina where they will take on Villianova in the Sweet 16 match in the USA Rugby D2 collegiate playoffs. If successful on Saturday, they move to the Elite 8 match on Sunday against the winner of Vermont v. Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The post season trip was funded by family, fans, alums and supporters. We are close to our fund raising goal. Please consider a gift today to help the players in their efforts. You can contribute here or on our Go Fund Me page.

Many thanks to those who have stepped up to make this a reality. Every dollar counted and they really added up. Special thanks to Kevin Roedel who spearheaded our fundraising project. He is a fund raising magnet.

Good luck lads!

Tigers in the News!

Channel 24 News in Memphis covered the news of the Tigers post season run this past Friday. Here is the link to the story! Coach Marc Holley and Captain Musa Banat were interviewed and did a wonderful job. Made us all proud!

Tigers in the News!

Please share the news of our post season run and spread the news. We need you to help us with finances and any dollar is appreciated.

Donations can be made by going to the TigerRugby.org/donate. If you prefer you can go to our GoFundMe page. Either will work for us.

Thanks in advance for helping us get to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matches.

Tigers vs. Wild Cats for Sweet 16 Playoff Game.

The Memphis Tiger Rugby Team is on its way to the playoffs and the Sweet 16 game for the first time in the team’s history. First round will pit the Tigers against the Villanova Wild Cats in a match to be played at Furman University on 11/23. Time of the match is not yet known.

To make it to the playoffs, the Tigers won their division in the SCRC, besting MTSU in a tough contest. The Tigers were then to host Deep South Champion Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) for a post season play-in match at Memphis. However, SLU opted to bow out of the playoffs and the Tigers automatically advance to the Sweet 16 matches at Furman.

If successful in the Sweet 16 match on the 23rd, the Tigers will face either Vermont, Thomas Moore or Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday the 24th for the Elite 8 match. Thomas Moore and Wisconsin-Whitewater will face off this weekend to see who will be in the Sweet 16 match. The winner of the play-in faces Vermont on the 23rd.

The Tigers are working hard to prepare for the trip. The coaching staff is putting the final touches on logistics for the trip. Looks like the trip will cost $5500 by the time we pay for 3 vans, fuel, food and a place to stay. Through gracious gifts, fans, families and friends have contributed $1700 so far. We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of grace and love. This note is a shameless request for others to step up and help us reach our goal of funding this trip.

We need all hands in Tiger Rugby Nation to help with donations to help fund this run. We will be moving 30 players to Furman for two days of play and need your help to make that a reality.

Every dime is important, so dig in and make a contribution of some type today. You can donate any money at this link. All donations are tax deductible and each dime is squeezed for maximum benefit for the players. Thanks for any funds you can give us.

Thanks to the folks who see the vision and who have stepped up already. Drs. Carol and Dale Smith have joined with Kevin Roedel, Tom Roedel, John Roedel, Renee Shelton, Robert White, Paul Bauer, Stacy Cotton, Steve McCune, Dan Hall, Marty and many others who have contributed to the Tigers post season run.

Also, please consider joining The Tiger Rugby 100 Club. We need 100 supporters to give us at least $10 per month to properly fund our basic program for the year. You can sign up to be a monthly supporter here. Thanks to Tiger Alums and supporters Dave Hill, Steve Ballard, Chris Lemons and many others for being monthly supporters.

Many others purchased bling to support the Tigers at the last match. Bling will be available at the match on Saturday and may also be purchased at our store at Tytan Rugby.

Please sign up your Kroger Card to give the Tigers free money. This can be done here. We get a small piece of every dollar you spend at Kroger. This is easy and does not hold you back in any way. Please sign up your Kroger Card today.

Thanks to all. Every dollar donated helps. Please donate today!

Go Tigers Go!

Tigers Advance in Playoffs

The Tigers were scheduled to play Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) Saturday 11/16, but SLU has opted to not participate in post season play. Therefore, the Tigers get an automatic bid to move to the next round of playoffs. In discussions with university representatives, SLU was just not ready for post season play and have opted to not participate.

Note: the match scheduled for 11/16 at Memorial Field has been cancelled.

Thanks for your help!

The Tigers were disappointed but now can focus their energies on travel and winning at Furman. To advance, the Tigers will need to win 80 minute matches on Saturday and Sunday.

Now the pressure is on. We need all hands in Tiger Rugby Nation to help with donations to help fund this run. We will be moving 30 players to Furman for two days of play and need your help to make that a reality.

Every dime is important, so dig in and make a contribution of some type today. You can donate any money at this link. All donations are tax deductible and each dime is squeezed for maximum benefit for the players. Thanks for any funds you can give us.

Thanks to the folks who see the vision and who have stepped up already. Drs. Carol and Dale Smith have joined with Kevin Roedel, Paul Bauer, Stacy Cotton, Steve McCune, Dan Hall, Marty and many others who have contributed to the Tigers post season run.

Also, please join the Tiger Rugby 100 Club. We need 100 supporters to give us at least $10 per month. You can sign up to be a monthly supporter here. Thanks to Tiger Alums and supporters Steve Ballard, Chris Lemons and many others for being monthly supporters.

Many others purchased bling to support the Tigers at the last match. Bling will be available at the match on Saturday and may also be purchased at our store at Tytan Rugby.

Please sign up your Kroger Card to give the Tigers free money. This can be done here.

Thanks to all. Every dollar donated helps. Please donate today!

Go Tigers Go!

Tigers vs Lions in Playoffs!

The Tigers will be playing the Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) Lions in the first round of the D2 playoffs. The Tigers were granted home field advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs due to their 27th national ranking. The Lions are not currently ranked in the top 40.

SLU was established in 1967 and is the oldest rugby club in Louisiana. SLU’s impressive competition gave rise to the prestigious Mardi Gras tournament in Hammond that has been enjoyed by tens of thousands of ruggers over the years. At one time the Mardi Gras tournament was the largest rugby tournament in the world.

The Lions walked through their conference undefeated besting UL-Lafayette 53-17, Tulane 29-10, La-Tech 40-31, University of NO 39-12. Spring Hill forfeited and the Lions were crowned Deep South Champions. SLU returned to the Deep South Conference in 2012 after may years away.

Southeastern Louisiana University Rugby

The contest will kick off this Saturday, 11/16, at 1:00 pm. Family, friends and fans are encouraged to come cheer on your Memphis Tigers.

Please join the Tiger Rugby 100 Club. We need 100 supporters to give us at least $10 per month. You can sign up to be a monthly supporter here. Thanks to Tiger Alums and supporters Steve Ballard, Chris Lemons and many others for being monthly supporters.

Or, you can donate any money at this link. All donations are tax deductible and each dime is squeezed for maximum benefit for the players. Thanks for any funds you can give us.

Thanks to the folks who see the vision and who have stepped up already. Drs. Carol and Dale Smith have joined with Paul Bauer, Stacy Cotton, Steve McCune, Dan Hall, Marty and many others who have contributed to the Tigers post season run.

Many others purchased bling to support the Tigers at the last match. Bling will be available at the match on Saturday and may also be purchased at our store at Tytan Rugby.

Thanks to all. Every dollar donated helps. Please donate today!

Go Tigers!

Tigers Now Ranked #27

The Tigers moved in ranking from #33 to #27 in Goff Rugby ranking when they beat MTSU last week to win their first conference championship. Goff also highlighted the three tries scored by Calvin Gentry which made the win possible.

Calvin Gentry

The Tigers are now moving to post-season play representing the SCRC in the D2 bracket. We will be hosting the play-in match on Saturday, November 16. Details on that match will be posted as soon as they are available.

If we get past November 16, we will travel to Furman for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matches on 11/23-24. The Final 4 and championship will be played in Charlotte, NC on 12/7-8. It is a long run and will cost a lot of money, but we are committed to the project. We are asking Tiger Rugby Nation to come along side us with donations for the playoffs.

Please sign up your Kroger Card to give the Tigers free money. This can be done here.

Please join the Tiger Rugby 100 Club. We need 100 supporters to give us at least $10 per month. You can sign up to be a monthly supporter here. Thanks to Tiger Alums and supporters Steve Ballard, Chris Lemons and many others for being monthly supporters.

Or, you can donate any money at this link. All donations are tax deductible and each dime is squeezed for maximum benefit for the players. Thanks for any funds you can give us.

Thanks to the folks who see the vision and who have stepped up already. Drs. Carol and Dale Smith have joined with Stacy Cotton, Steve McCune, Dan Hall, Marty and many others who have contributed to the Tigers post season run. Many others purchased bling to support the Tigers at the last match. Thanks to all. Every dollar donated helps. Please donate today!

Go Tigers!