August 2013 Alumni Newsletter

Gentleman,

With the summer heat starting to abate (at least here in DC), the NFL back our on TVs, and the College team getting ready for the coming season, it’s time to reminisce about our college rugby glory days for a few minutes; here’s your Summer ’13 alumni newsletter…
* 15’s Season on the Move
* Spring Season Overview
* Alumni Weekend
* New Website!
* Like us on Facebook
* Details, details, details
* Fall Schedule
* Alumni Updates
* Alumni Association Update / Membership (Important – Read This!)
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15s Season on the Move
 
Over the past year there had been musings that the collegiate season for 15s could be moved to the fall to better align the southern conferences as part of the USA Rugby collegiate realignment. This spring this came to pass and the CofC team now plays in the Southern Rugby Conference. The conference is broken down into three regional divisions:
Coastal: Coastal Carolina, UNC-W, CofC, Citadel
Piedmont: UNC-G, Elon, UNC-C, Eastern Carolina
Mountain: Furman, Appalachian State, Lander, Western Carolina
More information about the conference can be found here – http://www.rugbysouthernconference.com/about.cfm
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Spring Season Overview
 
In what was a rebuilding year for the college team, we saw some strong development in key areas with players such as Thomas Smith (current President), Kendrick Evans, and Marcus Johnson all being named to the SoCon All-Star team. On the field the team grew as the season progressed, which culminated in the traditional beating of the Citadel in a close 14-13 CofC win. This was just the latest in a string of wins over our neighbors and keeps the Holy City Cup in the hands of the good guys for another year.
A full schedule result will be added to the website shortly.
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Alumni Weekend
 
Due to the matrix season moving to the fall, alumni weekend will be moved to the Spring. Although this is a change from our usual gathering, it allows us to maximize the number of former players that can attend. More details will be sent out later in the year, so keep in shape (looking at you Logan) and get ready to put another pounding on the college boys.
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New Website
 
Over the summer, former President Sam Cook has been working hard to develop a new website for the team. The results are pretty amazing, especially for a college team, and are part of a strategy to develop the CofC Rugby brand with the aim to attract more sponsors that will help grow the club.
The structure rivals any other collegiate club team’s site and is better than many of the pro club sites. If you have any comments, match photos, or ideas to improve the site, send them along to alumni@cofcmensrugby.com. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out here: www.CofCMensRugby.com
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Like us on Facebook
As part of our effort the expand the recognition of the club, we have a new Facebook ‘fan’ page. Please take a moment to ‘like’ it. You won’t get hundreds of posts, but occasional club updates and it helps us show potential sponsors the large support we have – invite a friend to like it too!
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Details, Details, Details
We hope you enjoy getting these updates and enjoy being a part of the alumni rugby tradition. If you haven’t updated you info recently, please take a moment to let us know your contact details and a little about your CofC rugby past. It’s only 10 short questions, and it’s all on one page!
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Fall Schedule
Anyone in Charleston come along and see the team play! The matrix schedule will be:
September 28 – Home vs. Coastal
October 5 – Away vs. App State
November 2 – Away vs. UNCW
November 9 – Final Four
November 16 – Conference Finals
Keep an eye on the website for schedule updates.
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Alumni Updates
 
Logan Honeycutt married longtime (suffering) girlfriend Erika Lindroth in Charleston this summer. Many alumni were in attendance.
Todd Burnaford and Allie Stack tied the knot in a ceremony in NJ.
Jon Hansen married Shauna Ford in a waterside ceremony.
Kyle Pudney and Kate were married this summer.
 
Andy Evans and his wife are celebrating the first birthday of their daughter, Molly.
Kevin Coco and his wife are living in Northern Virginia and will be welcoming a son in October.
Lawson Ballard is getting his Masters in Teaching, and coaching USC’s B side
Cullen Lea saved 15% by switching to GEICO
Christopher McMullin is living in Philadelphia and working as an attorney for Kent/McBride P.C.
David Bethel is living in the Bahamas playing with fish – check out his Fat Tuesdays if you’re down there!
Chris Sigmund (Grandpa) trained with the USA Eagles during a scrimmage at the Citadel
If you have updates for our next newsletter, let me know.
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Alumni Association Update / Membership
 
As the Alumni Association enters it’s second year, we are developing the structure to grow fundamental areas of the club. Funds raised through the association will be used to strengthen three key areas of the club – Training (through equipment), Performance (through scholarships to recruit better players), and Sustainability (through long-term goals such as finding field space and growing club resources).
The majority of this work will be achieved through club sponsorship and donations. The association is seeking to become a 501(C)(3) non-profit to allow this support to become tax deductible.
Alumni are invited to join in the growth and development of the club through becoming Members. Membership is set at a modest $25 ($15 for first-year alumni) with the membership year starting with the fall season (September to August). Alumni whose means allow are encouraged to invest more than the membership amount (and will be recognized as such on our website). Participation in the alumni weekend game requires current membership.
Membership can be paid by check or paypal (preferred) – donation@cofcmensrugby.com or click the link on the membership page: www.cofcmensrugby.com/association
If you have any questions about membership, would like to make a larger donation, or find out more about the long-term strategy of the alumni association, please contact me.
Before the next alumni game we will be emailing out a detailed strategy on our short, medium, and long term plans.
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Thank you to everyone who has helped grow the club and continues to work to promote the game of rugby at the college.
Until next time,
Rupert “Pip” Munro ’10
Alumni Newsletters