MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (April 7, 2022) – St. Thomas University (STU) Athletic Director, William Rychel, announces the addition of Men's and Women's Rugby to the Bobcat roster for the upcoming season. Both teams are set to hit the ground running in the Fall of 2022. This brings the department total to 28-varsity sports.
 
Along with the addition of the sport, the department would like to announce the Inaugural Head Coach, Gavin McLeavy, to lead both programs.
 
"Men's and Women's Rugby will be great additions to our growing athletic offerings at St. Thomas University. Adding Rugby continues to allow us to sponsor a diverse grouping of sports that enhance the college experience for many students," stated Rychel.
 
There are currently seven Florida colleges that offer men's rugby and nine women's rugby teams, all are at the club level. In the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), where STU competes in most athletic programs there are eight men's programs and three women's currently competing. St. Thomas will become the ninth and fourth programs, respectively.
 
Life University (Ga.), University of Rio Grande (Ohio), and Aquinas College are amongst the teams that offer both programs.
 
"I was very fortunate to have started Men's and Women's Rugby teams at two different institutions that then won National Championships. Men's and Women's National Championships at Notre Dame College in Cleveland and a Men's National Championship at Thomas More University this past year," stated St. Thomas President, David A. Armstrong, J.D. "That is possible because of great people. True champions as coaches and character student-athletes who succeed in the classroom and on the pitch," added Armstrong.
 
The USA Rugby Chief Executive Officer, Ross Young, weighed in his thoughts on the newest addition to the Rugby family in South Florida: "It is great to hear about the new Rugby program at St. Thomas University in Miami. There is so much athletic talent in Florida, and I know your new coach has his finger on the pulse with youth Rugby in that region. I'm looking forward to seeing St. Thomas lead from the front and hope to see them competing in USA sanctioned regional and national competitions in the near future," stated Young.
 
St. Thomas University new Head Coach, Gavin McLeavy, answered a few questions for us to get to know him:
 
Q1: How do you feel about building a collegiate Rugby program in South Florida? What made attracted you to doing so at St. Thomas?
A1: It is a good challenge for me. S.t Thomas allowing me to start this program from scratch is a big motivator. Building Rugby teams and clubs from the foundations up is something I've been doing for the last 10 years. Plus, South Florida has a lot of talent. I'm looking forward to giving these High School graduates an opportunity to stay local to play College Rugby.
 
Q2: What is your level of excitement on growing the sport collegiately?
A2: I'm genuinely hyped to get started. I've been involved in the local area as a youth coach, then High School coach at Okapi Wanderers Rugby Club in Weston, Fla. I coached against St Thomas Aquinas, Archbishop McCarthy and Cardinal Gibbons, High Schools in Broward County. I've been the Head Coach for the Florida Select Squad the last few years too, so I know all the Rugby talent and their coaches in the state. That makes things very exciting. I obviously want to keep some of those kids in the state because they are great players. Combine that with being able to attract players from other states and other countries and I believe we can build something spectacular at St Thomas. 
 
Q3: What is your style/focus on in coaching? What type of culture do you want to build at STU?
A3: Rugby is a team sport in every sense of the word. Everyone contributes in different ways so I like to create a network of leaders, strategists, mentors, and worker bee's where everyone can contribute in their own way using their strengths, mentally and physically. The thought process is that you can build respect and trust among your piers using your strengths while learning from others to develop your weaknesses and turn them into strengths too. 
Traditionally Rugby Clubs are family friendly places. It's core culture comes from a place where multiple generations can sit and watch the game together, be involved and contribute to the club in their own way. Most Rugby players are accustomed to that. Although I'm from the United Kingdom (UK), I've lived in South Florida for 15 years. It's home, so I'm looking forward to continuing to develop Rugby in the area and again, giving the local High School graduates a place to develop their Rugby careers while they excel in their studies.
 
Q4: Where are you looking to recruit?
A4: I'll be recruiting locally to start, there are some really good Rugby players and cross over athletes scattered in cities all over Florida from Tampa to Jacksonville down to Key Biscayne. I also work as a commentator internationally with Rugby Americas North and World Rugby. So, I spend a fair amount of time with Canadian, Mexican, and Caribbean National U19 teams. I've been fortunate to work with Rugby communities of top Rugby nations like the UK, Argentina, South Africa among others so I'll expect a few players from those locations too.  It'll be a very diverse group, for sure.
 
Men and Women will be eligible to receive scholarship money to be a part of the team we ask all interested to fill out the prospective student-athlete form here.
 
President Armstrong's thoughts on Coach McLeavy: "Gavin McLeavy is an internationally known recruiter and coach who has all the attributes that will make STU an immediate contender on the national rugby scene. We are elated to have him as the founder of our rugby teams!"
 
Athletic Director, Bill Rychel, added on about Coach McLeavy: "Coach McLeavy is well known in the Florida and International rugby community. He brings instant credibility in starting these programs. I look forward to working with him to compete for championships."
 
About St. Thomas University
St. Thomas University (STU) is a private, non-profit Catholic institution committed to the academic and professional success of its students who become ethical leaders in our global community. Rich with cultural and international diversity, STU is the only Catholic archdiocesan-sponsored university in Florida.
 
On our beautiful campus and online, the university's College of Science, College of Law, College of Business and Biscayne College offer 61 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degree programs.
 
In 2020, STU launched our Limitless five-year strategic plan, based on the pillars of limitless Devotion, limitless Opportunities, and limitless Results. The plan was conceived to provide students with a magical collegiate experience which incorporates mentoring faculty, character formation activities outside the classroom, and required real-world experience before graduation.