Harvard University announced that it will field a varsity women’s rugby team during the 2013-14 academic year. The team will be the 42nd varsity sport at the nation’s oldest university and the 21st varsity sport for women. Harvard fields more varsity sports and more varsity sports for women than any university in the United States.
In the nineteenth century Harvard, through its affiliated Radcliffe College, offered varsity teams for women in tennis and basketball. In 1923 women from Radcliffe participated in the nation’s first intercollegiate swimming meet.
Women’s rugby is not new to Harvard. The university has fielded a club team since 1982 and the club team has won two national championships. There are about 300 women’s rugby club teams at colleges and universities across the United States. Rugby will be an Olympic sport in 2016.