Founded in 1967, the UC Santa Cruz Men’s Rugby Football Club is the oldest intercollegiate sport on campus. Hundreds of lifelong friendships have been forged from the mud and blood on the UC Santa Cruz East Field. I’m grateful for both the lessons learned on the rugby pitch and the bonds I formed with my teammates. My only regret is being unable to consistently compete with the best universities in California. Rugby is a game of great courage, character, and commitment. Each match is contested by teams of 15 players, with another 8 in reserve. Success on the pitch requires teamwork, sacrifice, and, most importantly, practice. Our club has more than 50 playing members at any given time. Unfortunately, class schedules coupled with a lack of athletic facilities prevent our club from consistently training together. With your help we can solve this problem! We aim to purchase portable, stadium-quality floodlighting so that practice times can accommodate our academic schedules. Our ideal solution requires an investment of $60,000. Thanks to our alumni, we’ve already raised $25,000 toward that goal. Your support will enable future Slugs to experience the joy of beating a team like Stanford, UC Davis, or maybe one day even Berkeley.
-Miles Stern, president, UCSC RFC
Starting now: $5,000—Mad Dash Evening Challenge. Project with the most donors from 6–8 p.m. wins the bonus. GO! #ucsc #gameonucsc
Pop-up at Mission Hill Creamery til 7 p.m.! Head downtown for some Banana Slug ice cream and get your game on. #ucsc #gameonucsc
