2008 Woodie Awards
Alumni funding renovates Pat Vincent Field
Better drainage system a top priority for rugby program
Oliva Talavan
Issue date: 9/12/06 Section: Sports
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Despite playing on a poorly designed rugby field, they have survived the past 50 years, continuously building their program. For three consecutive years, the rugby team has been ranked nationally in the top ten.
Now, the Pat Vincent field is under construction. It is being redesigned and reconstructed by Colony Landscaping, a company that focuses its expertise in retrofitting athletic fields. This same company constructed Stanford's rugby and football fields. The Saint Mary's field will be modeled exactly after the Stanford's rugby field and will be amid the finest facilities in America. The cost of the renovation is $500,000.
In June 2003, Coach Jon Everett launched plans for renovation.
Last March, Saint Mary's hosted a celebration for the 50th anniversary for the men's rugby team. The celebration was organized by alumni, Gerald Murphy '72 and Marty Storti, Associate Director of Recreational Sports, who elected a captain from each year (1956-present) to locate all their former teammates and inform them of the gala.
A total of 350 alumni rugby players from all over the country attended the celebration, where they watched last year's Saint Mary's rugby team play and then attended dinner in the Soda Center. It was at this event that the renovation plans were announced and donations were requested.
Because the rugby team is considered a club sport and not a Varsity sport, they receive minimal funding from the school. So with the renovation costing $500,000, the rugby team had to fund a large amount on their own. In addition to alumni funding, the rugby team also received a large donation from the Old Blues Rugby Club (Cal Alumni), who has been raising money for 10 years to build a field for the East Bay Youth Rugby Program. Through an arrangement made with Brother Ron Gallagher, the East Bay Youth Rugby Program will be allowed to use the field twice a week, one day for practices and one day for games.