“March Madness” in the United States may have ended a few weeks back when Duke University donned the crown, but for rugby union fans it’s “April Madness” in the United States with the start of the Collegiate Men’s Division I National Championship Tournament. We started with 16 sides today. After this weekend, four will remain, and we’ll have a champion in a couple of weeks.
The drama of March Madness, of course, is a great lure for television viewers, so it’s fitting that America’s rugby union version now has extensive live coverage as well. Given rugby’s niche status in the United States, though, the feed isn’t on the networks, but can be found on the UStream Internet site.
The producton values aren’t quite what you’re used to with broadcast television, but you can certainly follow the matches. There are two channels showing this weekend’s Men’s DI matches (here and here; there will also be some women’s matches on the first channel and a third channel is showing women’s matches and matches from Division II). Four of the weekend’s 16 men’s DI matches were already played today, but there are 12 to go as well as the women’s and Division II matches. Fill out your bracket, check the schedule, and log on to enjoy some spirited American rugby.
