2005 Mizzou Rugby

The club came into 2006 in the middle of a revival. The Maneater reported a fall 2005 record of 11–1 and a third-place finish at the St. Louis Royals Tournament, in a field drawn from Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Arkansas. More than forty players were on the books, across every year of school.

The paper credited the turnaround to organization off the pitch as much as form on it. A new club president, freshman J.P. Victor, appointed a designated treasurer to manage the budget and replaced several officers and captains after what players described as a “less than desirable” job of running the club’s affairs in previous seasons. The club ran on roughly $3,500 a year — about sixty percent of it school funding — topped up by membership fees of $30 to $45, and was looking for sponsors.

Next up was the Big 12 Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma, later that February. The conference did not officially sanction it, the paper noted, but did allow the use of its name; club sides from Iowa State, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were all due to compete.