“The Aussie Rules”
The Maneater’s two-page feature on the club, February 10, 2006.
What It Records
The club had more than 40 members and ran on an annual budget of about $3,500, roughly 60 percent of it from school funding, with membership fees between $30 and $45. Team treasurer Joe Bollinger gave the figures; captain Alex Kopulos said the side wanted to travel more but could not afford it.
On the field the piece records a fall 2005 record of 11–1 and a third-place finish at the St. Louis Royals Tournament against teams from Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Arkansas. The Tigers were preparing for the Big 12 Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma, later that month — not sanctioned by the conference, the paper noted, though the Big 12 allowed the name — alongside club sides from Iowa State, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
The revival is credited to off-field organization under a new club president, freshman J.P. Victor, who appointed a treasurer and replaced several officers after what players called a “less than desirable” job of running the club’s affairs in previous seasons. Sophomore flankers Ryan Schulz and Mike Peurrung, freshman forward Brett Moeller and match secretary Will Rein all speak in the piece.
Story by Jon Bailey, photographs by Mike Tigas, The Maneater, February 10, 2006. Posted to the Mizzou Rugby Old Boys group by Ryan Schulz. One inconsistency in the original: the body text calls Will Rein the match secretary while a photo caption gives that role to Sean McDonald — we have reproduced both as printed.