Welcome NMSU Ruggers!

The NMSU Rugby Alumni Association is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2020 and managed by rugby alumni. The Association is recognized by the NMSU Men’s and Women’s Rugby Clubs, NMSU Foundation and NMSU Campus Recreation as the representative of alumni interests in the rugby club.

The Association operates under a set of bylaws outlining our objectives, roles & responsibilities:

• The promotion of the game of rugby in Southern New Mexico and within the NMSU community.

• To generate, administer and disperse funds, consistent with the NMSU Rugby Clubs’ needs and long-term interests.

• To represent the interests of NMSU Alumni in rugby, to the NMSU Rugby Club and University administration.

• To advocate and advise – only as requested by students, administrators and coaches – on matters related to Club, assuring its long-term financial health, competitiveness, stature and traditions.

• To improve the quality and consistency in decision-making and communications among Alumni, related to the Club and alumni activities.

• To serve in a stewardship role, maintaining and improving information about past players and Club history.

• To bring Alumni of the Club together to further their mutual rugby, professional and civic interests, through individual relationships and organized Alumni activities.

We need you

The Alumni Association is a team sport. We need your assistance to help sustain the competitiveness and traditions of NMSU rugby. There are many ways to be involved, including fundraising, organizing, event planning and sponsorship. As a volunteer philanthropic organization, we operate on the "4Ws" principle. Contact us to be more involved: nmsurugbyalumni@gmail.com

History

Why was the Association formed?

For many years the alumni was an informal group with no real structure that would organize alumni matches and raise funds for the current team. We would get together every few years, have a day of alumni matches and an evening or two of social events. There was a relatively small group of alumni that maintained the responsibility of organizing these events, fundraising, alumni outreach and communication (special mention to Aaron Cardiel and Tim Worley for their dedication over the years). Over the last several years, it became obvious that both the men’s and women’s clubs have been in decline. This culminated in a notice from the University that they were going to repurpose our beloved rugby field into a dedicated soccer complex for the new club soccer team that had been established. It was obvious that we needed a formal alumni association to restore NMSU Rugby to it’s past glory. Shawn Loudenback and Keffory Levy both stepped up big time and got it off the ground. We now have a board of Directors and close to 100 members. (They learned well: “Never stop running support.”) Through this turmoil came some conversations about how we prepare NMSU Rugby for the future it deserves: 

• Continuing the ethos of our club;

• Sustainable structure and finance;

• Competitive on the field;

• Respected by students, the administration and opponents;

• Unique opportunities for student-athletes interested in rugby.

Why does NMSU Rugby need an Alumni Association?

For many years, there has been no structure in place to develop any kind of stability within the NMSU Rugby program. Our goal as Alumni Association is to help restore and maintain that stability and take some of the burden off the coaches and players by providing financial assistance to help pay for uniform kits, travel and recruiting expenses. In the near future, we hope to add coaching stipends and partial scholarships to that list.

Now the dynamics of campus, college athletes and rugby have evolved, and will change further at an extraordinary rate. This will challenge the alumni to work interdependently with other groups.

Today, students are increasingly choosing universities with rugby as their very-first priority. Unlike the days when nearly every new college player was also new to rugby, there are more High School rugby programs than ever and they are producing lots of talented players. The only way to attract those kids is to have a well organized and well funded program.

As the visibility and stature of rugby grows, 7’s is now an Olympic sport and the US has a professional 15’s league that is televised on FOX Sports, we want to position NMSU Rugby to leverage that into a competitive organization.

Quite simply, NMSU Rugby is going through a period of rapid transition:

• NMSU Rugby’s ability to attract and retain committed players and quality coaches, long-term, is function of the steadiness and professionalism of the organization;

• As key sponsors/donors step-in with significant contributions, they expect and deserve to see more stability and consistency in the organization;

• Tuition-paying parents (who have poured years and resources into their players interests and talents) want a rugby program that reflects the interests and abilities of their player.

• As rugby explodes at the high school level, NMSU Admissions has taken an interest in how rugby helps the school compete for academically gifted students;

• Our goal is to become an employer of a paid coach, and so takes an interest in the functioning of the Club;

• As we reach further and deeper into the community for financial support, The NMSU Foundation is more involved. Our efforts have implications related to policy, data privacy, fund administration, branding and donor fatigue.

Clearly, there are many more audiences today. And as the stakes grow higher, each constituency’s interest in the program is amplified. In short, we alumni need to work proactively and cooperatively with each of these many constituencies in a positive, productive, coordinated manner.

What is the Alumni Association working on?

The Association is relatively new. and the first wave of efforts were focused on: 

• Organizing the group’s bylaws, establishing our role and working relationships with the Club, campus administration and Arizona Foundation.

• Working with the coaches and Club officers to establish a unified vision and aligned roles.

• Expanding participation in the Association board, to better reflect the generations of NMSU Rugby players.

• Developing a meaningful and accurate list of all past rugby alumni.

• Begun establishing business routines between alumni fundraising, the Foundation and Club, to recognize donations made to the Club.

• Continued to solicit funding, while organizing a focused alumni membership campaign.

• Planning & preparations for a major endowment campaign

How can alumni be involved?

There are many ways to be involved, including fundraising, organizing, event planning and sponsorship. The Association has adopted a "4Ws" principle. Contact us if you'd like to be more involved: nmsurugbyalumni@gmail.com